Sulis and Sarum Express - 60163 - 24/03/18

My footage of Tornado filmed at Eckington, Haresfield and an epic ascent of Upton Scudamore. Enjoy.

 

Almost sounded as if more of the effort was coming from the rear up Lickey..!

 

Climbing to Dilton Marsh Halt, Wiltshire.

 

Shocked !

 

From where I was standing, only one coach behind Tornado, going up the Lickey it sounded like she was working fairly hard, but there was almost as much noise from the safety valves lifting.

 

Some film of Tornado I took yesterday in the Bristol area, morning and evening. I was the only spectator on Narroways Hill in fading light, but I think it was worth the effort.

 

Glad you made the effort! I live half a mile away. It looked a bit different last Sunday.

 

To finish off..

Due to points prob at Bromsgrove all up trains using plat 1 at Bromsgrove so we had to wait at Stoke Works for late XC HST.

We passed 66103 and during the stop it was announced that the banker would not couple up but would simply push then drop back at the top. Pleasantly surprised as I assumed it would be attached and left on until Tame Bridge/Bescot.

Couldn't hear traditional crowing but we got away smoothly and soon up to 30 with max 33 then minm 32 near the top. Bit of a jolt when banker dropped back. 49 thro Barnt Green then checked and put slow line at Longbridge for unit to overtake. Slow plod round the western suburban to New Street.

Priority over a Lichfield 323 at Grand Jn and a nice 52 thro Hamstead near journey's end.

Enjoyable day out. Looking forward to the Ebor on 14 April. Logs to follow later in the week.

 

A couple of shots taken on arrival at Salisbury and the subsequent shunt into the Through Siding with the Empty Stock.

 

Sorry for being so late with the response but in case you never went there and for future reference, the loop is surrounded by large trees and although you can see it from London Road, it is heavily obstructed. Worse in summer. Visibility of the Dean road is also not that great due to the steep embankment, trees and the curvature of the line however, an unobstructed view towards Laverstock North can be had.

 

The usual entertainment from Tornado & DB Cargo ! Enjoy =)

 

My video yesterday, lovely Doppler in the evening return at Cam & Dursley

 

Better late than never! 10 locations in total including Upton Scudamore and Lickey... enjoy!

 

I had no intention of doing a report on this train but looking at the timing logs and considering the weight of the train was 500 tons+, I decided it was probably worth doing to supplement Sean's excellent speed and time tracking on the day.

The Sulis and Sarum 24th March 2018

This was the first run of the year behind Tornado for us. Up at 0430 out of the house at 0530 to find the elusive Tame Bridge Parkway. We did it once in the dark last year and only saw 2 signs to the Parkway and one of those was at the entrance!! Definitely Satnav territory if you aren't locals. We got there at 0710, had a coffee, and were on the platform to watch Tornado bring the train in from Bescot Yard, just around the corner. Graham Ward was our driver; Steve Matthews his fireman; Bob Hart was Traction Inspector. They were up bright and early and had brought the engine and Support Coach down from Kidderminster at 0523 so had already been on the footplate for 2 1/2 hours.

We left 2 mins late for our mini tour of the Birmingham suburbs. We did get to 42 a mile and a half out but were only running at 22 through Hamstead and didn't exceed 30 on the way to New Street which we left 3 down. On this tour we took the enthusiasts favourite route via Camp Hill, one we'd not done with steam before. We climbed up the short 1in53 through Proof House Jn at 22 and drifted past Saltley at 20 where the fun started. On damp rails Tornado was very surefooted up the 1/2 mile of 1in172/105 to Landore St Jn, passed at 18. We dropped to 16.7 up the quarter mile of 1in62 to St Andrews Jn. There the grade 'eased?' and up the 1 1/4 miles of 1in85 speed increased to 23.3 then fell a little as we passed Camp Hill, the top of the 1in85, at 22. The rail conditions weren't great and our speed stayed in the low 20s up the mile of 1in280. We may have been signal checked but then Tornado accelerated sharply up the half mile of 1in108 to leave it at just under 30 and lost to nothing up the half mile of 1in353. On level track we passed Lifford, 37, and up the 1in301 got to 40 before a signal check pulled us back to 15 through King's Norton. Still on the 1in301 Tornado accelerated the train to 38 by Northfield; to 45 at Longbridge and to a max of 54. We passed Barnt Green near the top of a mile of 1in290 at 48 and then Graham braked heavily down the Lickey Incline to our stop at the new Bromsgrove station. The max down to Droitwich Spa was 54 but we did get the opportunity to just top 60 between the Spa and Worcester Shrub Hill.

We left Shrub Hill 7 down and accelerated smartly to 41 before we slowed for Norton Jn, 19. Speed picked up and we joined the mainline at Abbotswood Jn at 27. The road to Cheltenham Spa has become a bit of a racetrack in recent years with 5043 turning in some excellent runs in the mid 70s most of the way with 9 or 10 + Reg, their water carrier. We had a big train of 500 ton+ and had to pick up at the Spa so I wasn't expecting any fireworks. So what do I know?. The noise from the big engine was clearly heard 11 back as Graham took us to 69 down the gentle grades. The speed was held into the level section past Eckington, and up the mile of 1in319 to Bredon. We charged down the 1in301 and passed through Ashchurch at 73. Up the mile and a half of 1in297, Tornado was worked quite hard and speed only just dipped below 70. We were now only 5 miles from our pick up at the Spa but there were still rising grades of 1in285/305 and Tornado was worked quite hard. We passed Cleeve at 63 and up the 1in305 as we crossed Swindon Road at 62, just after mp84. The brakes came on and we arrived 2 early into Cheltenham Spa Station for our last pickup of the day.

It's usually a fast run from the Spa to Standish Jn but we had to stop for water in Barnwood Yard. Still we had almost 7 miles of 1in368/304 down to cover and speed rose noisily 65 by mp90, under 4 miles out. Then the brakes came on and we drifted into the yard to take on water. Steve and Graham switched roles here. We left on time and it got very noisy up front as we got to 40 up the mile of 1in108. After a mile or so downgrade/level we started up the mile of 1in104 at 49 and held it to the end of section. On lesser grades speed fell slightly to 48 and picked up to 49 again over the easier grades past Haresfield. We dropped down to pass Standish Jn at 51. It got a bit noisy as we ran down to Stonehouse, 64, and Cam and Dursley, 69, just after mp105. Tornado was held around 67 over undulating track past Berkley Road. Then, with plenty of noise from the front, we hit the first part of the climb through Wickwar Tunnel to a summit at mp117 1i/2. We met a section of 1in357 at mp110 at 67, and left it at 65. We came out of the short dip and took 65 onto the two part climb, 1/2 mile of 1in411 then the 5 1/2 miles at 1in281.

We left the 1in411 just before mp112 at 63 and began to attack the 1in281. As expected it took its toll on our 13 coach 500 ton+ train, and despite a glorious note from the exhaust, speed fell to 56 as we entered Wickwar Tunnel, just past mp 115 1/4. We burst out of the mile long tunnel at 52 and left the 1in281 at 54, a speed retained to the summit at the top of the short 1in340. Always good to top this summit in excess of 50; very good with a 500 ton+ load. We met the gentler 3 mile climb to Yate, at 58 and passed the station at 51. Then Tornado was eased as we approached Westerleigh Curve, where we had an excellent view of the engine on the long right hand curve down to the junction. We came off the junction at 42 and got to 54 before braking to go into the new platform at Bristol Parkway to take on water. Here Graham and Bob left the train. Tim Stedman joined as fireman and Geoff Ewans as TI.

Steve stormed away from Parkway Station and hit 42 by Filton Jn. We drifted down through Filton Abbey Wood at 42 before Steve braked hard down the 1:75. We drifted through Stapleton Road and Lawrence Hill before we came to a stand at Dr Days Junction. When we got the green signal, Steve made a rapid, noisy departure off Rhubarb Curve and dived into Foxes Wood Tunnel, a mile away, at 40. The 10 mile run to Bath is up a very gentle 1in1320 or on level track. We rushed through Keynsham at 58 and Saltford Tunnel at 64. Speed rose to 69 on 2 miles of level track and we held that into Twerton Tunnel on the 1in1320. There's a restriction through Oldfield Park, 45 and then the brakes came on harder. We arrived at Bath Spa on time where the Hastings Unit passed us.

Again Steve made a noisy departure and we crossed Bathampton Jn, just over 2 miles out, at 41. No slack under Dundas Aqueduct, 57, and Tornado charged up the mile at mainly 1in286 to blast past Limpley Stoke - a beautiful little station on the right - at 57. We left the short 1in245 at 54 and sped through Freshford just after the 'summit' at 59. The line speed is only 60, a speed held down through Avoncliff Halt. Up the short 1in85 climb through Bradford-on-Avon speed fell to 53. We dropped down into Trowbridge at 52, then climbed noisily up 3 miles at an average of 1in200 at a solid 52 and lost nothing up the mile of 1in120 until checked at Hawkeridge Jn. We ran through Westbury at 36 towards the highlight of the outward journey for enthusiasts, the climb of Upton Scudamore.

We approached the foot of the bank on the level at the regulation 40 mph. The railhead was damp, not ideal. The sound was superb 11 back as Steve attacked the first mile of 1in76 where our speed only fell to 39. The gradient steepened to half a mile of 1in75 through Dilton Marsh Halt, passed at 36; then to a 1/4 mile of 1:74 that we left at 33. This took us onto the serious part of the climb, a mile+ of 1:70 to the summit. Some serious noise and effort on the shovel here as the bank took its toll on our heavy train. The speeds over the four quarters were 31.6; 30.8; 28.7 with an excellent minimum of 27.7. Once over the summit we passed through Warminster at 37 and on mainly falling gradients got to a max of 62 at mp117 1/2. The remainder of the journey over undulating gradients to Milton Jn was mostly run in the high 50s/early 60s. We arrived at Salisbury 6 minutes early.

Last time we were in Salisbury we ate at The Mill. A couple of large PCSOs were still preventing access to the area so we dived into the Kings Head Inn, the large Wetherspoons, along with most visitors and locals by the crowd scene that greeted us. There were queues for beer and food. We were quoted 35 minutes but it took 55 minutes for the steaks to arrive. They were excellent. We would have liked some pancakes or any dessert but the time quoted at 1455 was an hour!!

So, back to the train. Our driver was Vince Henderson with Steve Rodenhurst as his fireman. Geoff Ewans remained as TI. Vince made an aggressive start up the mile of 1in182, topped at 16. The next mile was steeper, 1in99, but Tornado accelerated up to leave it at 32, a good start with a 'cold' fire. We dropped down to Wilton Jn, 40, after which it is an undulating route with no significant gradients all the way to Warminster, some 20 miles away. Apart from an occasional check our speed rose gradually to 55, 2 miles from Wilton. The short 1in93 up saw a drop to 42 before Tornado gradually picked up speed mile by mile to a max of 67 down a short bank after Wylie. Our speed fell to 61 up a mile of 1in183; then to 54 after a short 1in726 followed by 3/4 of a mile of 1in107. Tornado steadily accelerated to 61 down through Heytsbury. The climb to Warminster from the east is nothing like Upton Scudamore on the outward but nevertheless included a mile of 1in104 which we left at 53. We got to 59 before Vince braked hard to descend the 3miles of 1in70/74/75/76 towards Westbury.

The signal regulation at Westbury was interesting. We were non-stop to Bath yet as a Charter Train we were held for a Southampton-Cardiff train that was some 8 minutes late that was booked to stop at Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon on a line speed of 60. Worse, when it left we still had a red signal as the signalling centre ran a freight across us. Worse, it was too long where it stopped for the section behind the signal and blocked our path so had to draw forward. We left 15 down after a right time arrival. Fortunately it's 'down to Trowbridge' and has no challenging gradients all the way to Bath. We got to 54 but slowed to 39 through Trowbridge's curved platform. Almost on the level we passed through Bradford-on-Avon at 54; Avoncliffe Halt at 62; dipped to 53 on the gentle climb to Freshford; and had a green for Bathampton Jn, crossed at 41. We ran through /Sydney Gardens in the mid 40s and arrived at Bath Spa 12 minutes late.

There's an 'unofficial' challenge for crews of steam hauled trains to reach 75 on the 9 miles of 1in1320 down/level track between Bath and Bristol East. The load is rarely 13 so it was going to be a real challenge for Vince, and particularly Steve, our fireman. It was another noisy, rapid start despite the right hand curve and by Oldfield Park, a mile out, speed was already 45. Two miles out we dived into Twerton Short Tunnel at 54, shortly followed by Twerton Long Tunnel, left at 58. A mile further on speed was up to 64. We entered Saltford Tunnel, the mid-point of the run at 65. Tornado showed what the power of a Class 8 is all about as we blasted through Keynsham Station, almost 7 miles from Bath at 73. We had 2 miles before Foxes Wood Tunnel where we would have to brake for North Somerset Jn. Despite their best efforts up front, our max was 73.6 before the brakes came on just before the tunnel. For the 500 ton+ load it had been an excellent charge down Brunel's finest.

We were held at Bristol East for a couple of minutes and crossed North Somerset Jn at 10 before we drifted across Dr Days Jn at 8, just after the Hastings Unit passed on its return journey. We had to cross all the tracks to rejoin the mainline for the attack on Horfield Bank. We ran through Lawrence Hill at 11, then the noise from the front became ear shattering as we charged up the 1/2 mile of 1in200 to Stapleton Road, passed at 37. Vince used the little dip to attack the 2 1/4 mile climb at 1in75 at 41. Tornado really raised the echoes in the cutting and our speed was still 41 at Narroways Jn, 1/2 mile into the 1in75. Off the GPS, the quarter mile speeds to the summit were 39.2; 37.9; 36.2; 35.6; 35; 33; with a minimum of 32.1; a spectacular climb with 13 up.

We were only 4 down as we left our water stop at Bristol Parkway. Gareth Jones had relieved Geoff Ewans as TI. Vince made another excellent start away from Parkway up the 3 miles+ at 1in300 to Westerleigh Jn, with a max of 53 before we slowed to 34 for the long curve. Once clear of the curve speed rose quickly to 57 through Yate. Vince used the 3 miles of downgrades to dive into Wickwar Tunnel at 73. Speed remained in the low 70s down the 14 miles through Cam and Dursley, passed at 71. We passed Standish Jn, 6 miles further on at 69 and then Vince used the 1in300 down to just reach our maximum allowed speed of 75. We were slowed to 15 at Gloucester Yard Jn. The line climbs steadily for 5 miles at an average grade of 1in320 to Cheltenham Spa. Speed increased steadily to 56, 4 miles out, before we braked for our set down at Cheltenham Spa where Keith Murfin relieved Steve. The departure was noisy and rapid and we did reach 75 by Ashchurch. Speed only just fell below 70 up the mile of 1in301 to Bredon and rose rapidly back to 75 down the other side mile of 1in319, a speed held on the level through Eckington. Up the steady 5 mile climb in the 1in300s, speed fell back slowly to 65 before Tornado was eased for Abbotswood Jn.

We dropped down to Worcester Shrub Hill, our final set down, some 7 minutes late. We left 7 late and got to a max of 64 before we were slowed for Droitwich Spa. Nothing of note between there and Bromsgrove where our Class 66 banker was waiting to assist us up the Lickey Incline, 1 3/4 miles at 1in37. It was a bit of a surprise to hear that the Class 66 would not attach to the train but bank us 'loose-coupled' as steam bankers would have done in the 'old days'. Due to a late running Cross Country HST we left some 17 minutes late. Tornado was worked reasonably hard and with the Class 66 got the train to 30 at the foot of the incline.

Speed stayed between 32/3 up the incline and we felt the banker drop back just at the site of the old Blackwell station, the end of the 1in37. There's 3/4 mile of 1in251 after the incline and we came off this at 38. We ran down through Barnt Green at 50 and had a slowish run through Longbridge, 30, and Northfield 31, before we were stopped at signals on the approach to Kings Norton. Once we had the road we went the conventional way down into New Street and passed Bournville at 38; Selly Oak at 30; and University at 33. We slowed through Five Ways to 22 and arrived at New Street still 11 late. We were held there for a further 6 minutes and used the shorter route via Aston, passed at 35. Despite some decent running through Witton, 45; and Perry Bar 50; we arrived at Tame Bridge Parkway, journey's end, 18 minutes down.

As has become expected, it was a very good day out with Tornado. There was plenty of interest for enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike on the route, particularly for the latter in daylight hours. For the enthusiasts like us the climbs of Upton Scudamore and Horfield were well worth the ticket price alone, and there was plenty of good running on the flatlands. To almost get to 75 between Bath and St Anne's Tunnel was unexpected and shows that the engine is in fine fettle for the Ebor Flyer and hopefully some 90 mph running on the East Coast Mainline.

Many thanks to: the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for running the tour and turning out Tornado in such immaculate condition; John and UK Railtours Staff for facilitating the booking process, this train being a sell out as they usually are; DB Cargo for the excellence of their crews all day; and to Network Rail for pathing the train, despite some interesting signalling decisions on the day. Freight over a Class 1 Charter Train? Really?

 

Excellent report on what was a fantastic day. I was in the last coach on the outbound and, as you say, the right hand side view of Tornado going around Westerleigh Curve was sublime. I did try to take a sneaky photo of it through the open toplight but when reviewing the picture at home that evening discovered half of it was obscured by my thumb! I did debate the Wetherspoons for lunch but the queue put me off so I ended up going to a lovely little cafe on the cathedral grounds, just across the lawn from the cathedral itself. Judging by the talk coming from the other tables, I think every customer in there was a fellow passenger!

 

Yes thanks for that Shireman!

I attach my log of the outward run. The junctions in the Birmingham area are a bit confusing, AFAIA we joined the by-pass line at St Andrews Jn. Landor St Jn is the other end where it joins the New St-Derby line.

Anyway, I reckon the tare load was 475 tons and the gross say 511, plus the loco in working order of 166 tons gives 677 tons for the purposes of horsepower calcs.

On this basis, the 23 mph or thereabouts on the 1:85 up to Camp Hill was worth 1,210 edhp. The acceleration from 44 through Longbridge to 52 at Cofton Farm represented 1,723 edhp before the loco was eased well before Barnt Green.

We were booked to be overtaken by a voyager at Bromsgrove, but it was late so we used the main down platform 4 and kept ahead of it. Despite a very smart run to Worcester we lost a couple of minutes on the tight timings.

I certainly concur with Shireman's comments re 5043 between Worcester and Cheltenham, but I recall an earlier run with Taw Valley on a Past-Time Cotswold Trip which reached around 80 mph at Eckington from the 30 at Abbotswood Jn with 11 on...

From Gloucester onwards I have cut and pasted the templates I used for Tornado's run in 2016 from Worcester to Paddington via Bath, and Galatea's return from Gloucester to Basingstoke via Salisbury last March. Comparison with Galatea's run reveals that it reached the summit Rangeworthy from a Gloucester start quicker than Tornado did from the loop on the by-pass. OK Galatea only had eleven on compared with Tornado's 13, but in the handicap stakes was the winner in my book! In 2016 Tornado, also with 13 on, had the benefit of a clear run on the Gloucester avoider and the minmae on the climbs to Standish and Rangeworthy were 66 and 60 respectively. FWIW Taw Valley's minimum at Rangeworthy was 59 with 11 on.

Back to last Saturday, I made it only 948 edhp on the climb to Haresfield and 1,042 on the 5 1/2 miles to Rangeworthy, increasing to 1,415 for the last mile.

Upton Scudamore was impressive with the minimum a tad under 28 from 41 crossing the Westbury avoider, say 1,637 edhp. This compares with Galatea's minimum of just under 27 with 11 on - which shows just how good that run was.

Return log to follow.

 

As far as descriptions of rail-tours and steam performance on the main line go, these contributions from 1020 Shireman and Sean really do add up to an embarrassment of riches - pacy narrative on the one hand and forensic detail with a bit of perspective thrown in for good measure on the other. For non-participants, this really is as good as it can possibly get!! So many thanks to you both for these absorbing posts. (Incidentally, loved the "GWR" designation of the West Midlands under-bridge timing points - a nice nod to the pre-existence of this once-great main line artery).

 

Wherever you are Mazeppa, I second your comments - and thank you to both contributors. These notes have simply whetted my appetite for the Ebor dash.

 

Here's my log of the return.

The climb of the Wylye valley averages around 1:500 but there aren't many consistent sections to do meaningful power output calcs.

Yes the Bath - Bristol main line is a tempting stretch for a 75 max. Clan Line managed it with 12 on 20 August 2017 on the closing leg of the Torbay Express. But Tornado still had 100 miles to go, with the climb of Filton Bank just around the corner.

Trains coming off the 10 mph rhubarb curve are at a distinct disadvantage compared with trains starting from Temple Meads. Once that has been negotiated there is a 25 mph crossover before Lawrence Hill. Tornado was checked by a single yellow at Dr Days Jn and speed was only 15 mph at Lawrence Hill. The acceleration to 37 Stapleton Rd was phenomenal. I don't think there's actually a dip here, I understand there are about 10 chains of level to Stapleton Rd at best before increasing grades of 1:681, 117 then 82 before the 1:75 starts at MP2, just before Narroways Hill Jn.

So we hit the bottom of the 1:75 at 41 and fell to 32 at the former Horfield station. I reckon that was worth 1,953 edhp and probably my best climb with steam. I recall a minimum of 36 mph with 35005, but with only 10 on from a Temple Meads restart.

In all the excitement of the climb up to Filton I rather overlooked the restart from the Bristol Parkway water stop, but analysis of the data suggests Tornado also developed 1,921 edhp past Winterbourne. The climb to Standish produced 1,194 edhp and there was another strong acceleration after the Barnwood Jn signal check producing 1,732 edhp past Churchdown.

Finally the Lickey. Sometimes you do need a shove. It's two miles of 1:37.7. Load 13 is more than double the 230 tons limit in the 1961 WR load book. In the absence of jinties or panniers the banker would have to be a diesel, and this was made clear in the brochure before booking. On the day 3,300 hp diesel 66103 did the honours, dropping back at Balckwell.

I calculate that, including the weight of the 66, the climb of the Lickey produced an edhp of 4,252, with 4,337 on the upper part of the bank. So 2/5 attributed to Tornado and 3/5 to 66103?

So a bit more energy on the return. We do have to pinch ourselves to be witnessing steam hauled trains in an out of New Street. Long may it continue.