VT - The Cornishman - 28 April - Update

Just for home from a fantastic day behind 5043 a big thanks to vintages trains for organising a really brilliant tour 5043 performed fantastically and as for being thrashed I don't think you really no what your talking about I for sure will e rebooking a vintage trains tour throughly impressed through out

 

Great day out. In reality 5043 (a class 7) was never going to be anywhere near the records set by 71000, I am sure the Tyseley team knew that. However I believe one record was set and 5043 proved (again) that it is a very fine locomotive indeed. The most impressive thing was the safety valves lifting just over the top of Hemerdon.

A really good day out, I’m sure everybody on the train really enjoyed it.
Thanks to all at Vintage Trains.

 

not from what I seen and heard from on the train,[/FONT][/COLOR]
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Hmmm...

Lner4472...

You joined at 7.44pm tonight,
your first post 2 minutes later.
the trains only stop on the return was water at Exeter or a 7.46pm departure from Bristol... 2 minutes before you joined the forum with this particular userid.

This is based off your public facing profile... I could go further.

Are you really sure you were on the train today ?, your weren't "Watchet-ing" it perhaps ?

So if your not raising to the bait.. As you put it.. Your credibility is already being questioned...and motives.

 

Thrashed? Really? Let this chap think it if he wants, the rest of us know that Alastair and Bob Meanley would never 'thrash' their pride and joy. 5043 is too valuable to damage. I had a few friends on the train (2 ex-firemen who fired 5043 in BR days), they all agreed that the engine was driven responsibly and was well fired (36 over Dainton can't be bad?!)

The run was excellent and I caught up with it at 5 locations, Taunton, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot and at Exeter.

My video is here (no sign of any thrashing, that's for sure!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzNP_7mxFlE

Thanks for all the updates and thanks to VT for producing this epic tour. More like this please!

James at SVN

 

Here is my shot from Whiteball on the outward leg.



I joined Mr Oldham (for those who know him) yesterday. I think the highlight for me was filming the loco along the M5 between Exeter and Whiteball, hopefully I'll have a video up soon!

You just can't beat a Castle!!!

 

Please elaborate. Where? doing What?
What evidence do you have to back your claims up that the loco. was "thrashed"?

 

Aha, great minds etc. I was just thinking that it seems as though this "person" has got the hump for some reason with VT and WCRC. He/She/It hasn't given any facts, just had a rant about VT and WCRC.
Remember the saying, Don't feed the troll.

 

Having downloaded a free speedometer app for a smartphone, had a go at checking some speeds. Don't really know the line well, so definitely won't be as good as anything Notley et al produce but gives an idea.............

We got away well from Temple Meads and sprinted across the levels, reaching Cogload Junction 40 miles away in 38 minutes, but then braked approaching Taunton taking us down to about 30-40mph. After Taunton we were up to around 60mph by Norton Fitzwarren and 65ish at Wellington, dropping down to 57mph at Beam Bridge, entering the Whiteball tunnel at 50mph. Arrived 4 early at Tiverton, with Bristol to Tiverton taking 62 minutes.

We stopped longer in Tiverton loop than expected and left 25 late and also stopped briefly at Exeter. Omitted the Dawlish Warren stop though and ran through Newton Abbot at 60. 64 at Aller Junction before dropping steadily down with plenty of noise from 5043 even 9 coaches back to what the phone made 35mph as we ran into Dainton tunnel.

Totnes was passed at 59, then we dug into Rattery. 35mph as I saw "fireman's church" through the windows on the other side of the train (though bare in mind I was at the back), and then speed began to increase on the easier gradients to Marley tunnel, entered at 43mph and we passed Aish crossovers at 49mph.

Plently of smoke and steam pouring onto the platform at Plymouth was a good indication that some serious effort was to follow. Making a noisy getaway we were doing 56 at Lipson Junction, and something around 62mph (?) at the bottom of Hemerdon (I don't actually know where the bottom is exactly.........just goes to show how big the pinch of salt you need with these speeds is!) with a speed of 18mph over the summit. We were right behind the loco and the sound was fantastic and there was to be more of that as we continued to climb, but due to low phone battery no more speeds recorded until Dainton, where we entered the tunnel at 32mph after another noisy climb, with Totnes to the tunnel taking around 6/7 minutes. At Whiteball we ran through the old Tiverton at 67mph, up to 72 by Parkway, then entering the tunnel at 62. A long stop at Taunton meant that we could miss the Weston loop, but got stuck behind a Weston local so that was the end of the fast running. Finally arrived into Bristol 3 late, but without the local could have been early really.

Being GPS the signal wouldn't have been great in the cuttings etc along the line, and being in the 9th coach the outward speeds are probably all 1/2mph too low. I don't claim anything above to be exactly accurate or even useful. Any more serious analysts feel free to post your own findings if they contradict mine as these could well be wrong!

Otherwise thanks again to everyone at Vintage Trains and Tyseley for another fantastic trip, though many of them won't see this until later as they have the small matter of Sapperton with 12 coaches today. Good luck with that!

 

Really enjoyed that, thanks for sharing it.

Vintage Trains and 5043 are a class act. :thumb:

 

Thank you for your kind comment. The Tyseley boys have excelled themselves recently, and I look forward to seeing more tours from them soon!

James at SVN

 

Campainr,
Thanks for what I regard an as accurate appraisal of yesterdays tour.
The only change I would have made to yesterdays outing would be Ray Churchill who I understand was on the other one to Penzance.Thanks to everyone concerned including whoever held the service in the loop at Dawlish Warren letting us have a non stop run from Exeter to Plymouth.

 

Yes another great day out with 5043. This is one of the best steaming engines that I can remember, going back nearly 50 years. What makes it so is a combination of things I guess. Firstly its a Castle and secondly it is superbly looked after by the crew at Tyseley. I spoke briefly to Alastair Meanley at Exeter and he confirmed that the fireing was being shared and that would help a suppose but its more to do with excellent craftmanship and enginemanship of a standard that is getting rarer nowadays.

It was worked hard, yes, but not thrashed and in my view the best running of the day was the superb effort from Exeter up to Whiteball, 20 minutes of continuous hard steaming that is trademark of this wonderful engine. The dash down to Wellington was just great as well. Of course it ran across the Somerset Levels both ways with speed in the mid seventies with hardly a sound from the engine. The South Devon banks were taken well with the 9 coaches being right on the old GWR load limit of 315 tons.

I enjoyed Club Class but could have done with more tea refills.

Indeed Vintage Trains are a class act.

Don

 

A great day out thanks to Bob and his team and the VT train staff.

That guy who was going on about thrashing the engine is talking out of his a**e, running as campainr said was very consistent.

I think 5043 does great credit to Bob and his team and is simply a case of "doing the job right" runs like a sewing machine around the station.

Is she noisy? guilty as charged the first time I,ve been behind her in the first coach and I must admit I was a little surprised but pleasantly so.

Certainly one od the best steam runs I have ever had if not the best, Bob you are going to have to do something very special with 7029 to better 5043.

Campainr were you the gent sat opposite me with his son? if so it was nice to meet you.

Cheers Dave

 

Not quite Dave - I am the son! We certainly had a great day yesterday, and if you were wondering we got back into Tyseley at 23:46, so you certainly made a good choice with Bristol!

 

Oh please do, its been a depressing wet return for me from holiday and I could do with a cheer up!

However my day was brightened considerably by all the fantastic videos and photo's of one of Swindons finest doing what she was designed and built for! Messers Meanley and all at Tyseley you have my appreciation for everything you are doing to uphold the honour of Swindon.

Oh and talking of Swindon (and apologies for going off topic), but Swindon Town clinched the fourth division title yesterday - so perhaps not such a bad day after all!

 

315 tons up Dainton and Rattery. It won't go up there at 15% cut off and a touch of regulator you can't molly coddle these things when you're on the mainline with HST's hunting you down.

Awesome as always, a Castle doing what a Castle should be doing in exactly the right way. Great vids and clips everyone, much appreciated by us GW men who are trapped in the North of England. Well done Tyseley. It will be interesting to compare the Castles times to those of 6024.

 

Just a link to the address in post 63. 5043 - The Cornishman 28-04-12 - YouTube

 

Care to explain that comment PG? Unless I'm missing something it sounds very insulting towards the crew on the day who appear to have been responsible for a fantastic performance from what I have seen on the videos posted here?

 

Shef.
No

 

I've enjoyed many a memorable run with Ray Churchill and on this particular road he would be my preferred choice of driver, where as Wayne Thompson seems to know how to get the best out of 35028 and produce seemingly effortless performances. I suppose it is like supporting a football team, everyone has their favourites.