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VT - The Cornishman - 28 April - Update

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Ben Vintage-Trains, Feb 20, 2012.

  1. campainr

    campainr Well-Known Member

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    Oh dear! :tongue1:
     
  2. Stu in Torbay

    Stu in Torbay Part of the furniture

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    Absolutely, that's got to be the best 'car chase' footage I have ever seen. You kept the camera perfectly still. Magnificent seeing the motion at speed. Imagine all those forces in that! Well done chap!
     
  3. OVP STEAM

    OVP STEAM New Member

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    Quicksilver to be precise! ;-)
     
  4. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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  5. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    One query, was the camera hand held or on a clamp?
     
  6. Swiss Toni

    Swiss Toni Well-Known Member

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    Oh dear! Rover.jpg

    Brilliant video though. :thumb:
     
  7. Ben Jervis

    Ben Jervis Member

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    Hi Ralph, the camera was set up on a tripod on the back seat. The camera also features image stabliser.
     
  8. pjhliners

    pjhliners Member Friend

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    The Castle over the Devon Banks 28 April 2012

    The Tyseley team broke more new ground by taking their magnificent Castle 4-6-0 to Plymouth, hauling nine coaches solo over the Dainton, Rattery and Hemerdon banks. The train was diesel-hauled from Birmingham to Bristol Temple Meads, where No 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe took over at the head of the train.

    The Castle got away very smartly, reaching 71 mph by Nailsea and continuing close to maximum speed all the way to the outskirts of Taunton, passed 7 minutes early. We reached 65 by Wellington and lost speed only slowly on the climb to Whiteball, entering the tunnel at a minimum of 50 mph. Due to the late arrival of the water bowser we were 17 minutes late away from Tiverton loop, and suffered further delays through Exeter. A brisk run along the Dawlish sea wall saw us reach Aller Junction at 65, at the foot of the climb to Dainton. The gradient took its toll but we managed to enter the tunnel at 36. We ran through Totnes at 57 and the climb of Rattery took us down to 34 at Tigley. We recovered to enter Marley Tunnel at 44 and exited at 36 after cresting the summit. We rattled down into Plymouth, arriving only ten minutes late.

    Just before we began the return journey, the Castle had its blower full on and safety valves lifting as it prepared for the immediate climb to Hemerdon. The 1 in 42 took its toll, slowing us from 57 at Plympton to a minimum of 17 at Hemerdon. Then from Totnes at 57, the eastbound climb of Rattery brought us down to 30 at the tunnel entrance. The heavy climbing was over, and the Earl had acquitted itself well.

    A minumum of 61 on the climb to Whiteball was followed by a rollicking ride down to Taunton, where a pathing delay lost us all the time we had made up, and more. But a last burst across the Somerset levels got us into Bristol only a few minutes late, after another triumph for Tyseley's Castle flagship.

    15 photos are at Zenfolio | Peter Hewitt's Transport Pictures | The Castle over the Devon Banks 28 April 2012

    Peter, on a sunny Manchester morning
    Zenfolio | Peter Hewitt's Transport Pictures
     
  9. Jasonkerner

    Jasonkerner New Member

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    Stick a Go Pro camera on the footplate and perhaps one outside and you could make your own version of the Top Gear Tornado episode. Stick a GPS recorder in the cab too and then you can add map plots through-out the video

    Jason
     
  10. BillR

    BillR Well-Known Member

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    I swear that in my video along the wall at Teignmouth one of the footplate crew has a Video cam just outside the cab window.

    Nice pacing shot that Ben/Dave, I enjoyed that.

    Complete with boot prints up the rear window or have they been cleaned off now? :)
     
  11. Ben Vintage-Trains

    Ben Vintage-Trains Member

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    :whistle: Forth Bridge?
     
  12. leander

    leander Member

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    I am sure Bob can come up with something
     
  13. Argus

    Argus New Member

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    I don't think we should be too bothered about this bloke (on second thoughts it could be a woman). you will probably find that he is either deranged and thinks that he is a Gresley pacific, or he may have an embarrassing name which he is reluctant to reveal, such as Richard Head.
     
  14. Mike Wylie

    Mike Wylie New Member

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    Probably just not used to engines that 'CHUFF' as god intended :)
     
  15. bob.meanley

    bob.meanley Member

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    I know that best advice for dealing with malcontent invertebrate know-alls such as this idiot is to not feed them, I do however think that it is worth explaining a few facts to you all so that you know just how clueless he actually is.

    We never set out to show anyone that our loco is faster than theirs, for instance I neither know nor care how fast 71000 was over the banks, although I bet it used more water.

    The maximum permitted load for a Castle in the GWR's appendix to the service timetables was 315 tons Newton Abbot to Rattery or Brent, and Plymouth to Hemerdon, then 350 tons Hemerdon through to Netwon Abbot. That was what the GWR said in 1945, somewhat before the steaming capacity of the class was improved with the 4 row double chimney boilers. By a strange quirk of fate the load on Saturday was actually dead on 315 tons so the locomotive was not overloaded, and we have that on the authority of the Great Western Railway rather than a troll.

    My own experience tends to suggest that there are certain things that happen to locomotives that are thrashed, particularly that they tend to run short of steam and water, the boiler pressure usually ends up below the red line, and bearings tend to get hot. I can truthfully say that none of these occurred on Saturday, in fact we have a photo which one of the support crew took of the full water gauge and pressure gauge on the red line taken on the westbound exit of Dainton tunnel on Saturday, which I would suggest does tend to indicate a certain lack of over exertion.

    I sincerely doubt that this individual has ever had the privilege of sharing a footplate with any of the West Coast drivers but to suggest that the regulator was put straight to wide open is stupidity and frankly not the way to drive this particular locomotive. During Saturday there was no point where the reverser was extended beyond 45% even on the very heaviest gradients, and yet the boiler water levels were maintained with ease and as others have noted as soon as the reverser was eased at Hemerdon Siding the safety valves lifted.

    As a point of interest to those of a more sane disposition we had the privilege of the company of the Rundle brothers on Saturday (although our LNER friend won't have a clue who they are). The climb to Hemerdon was a topic of conversation during the Plymouth layover, and Bill Rundle said that they (at Laira) were never bothered about how fast they went over Hemerdon, all they were interested in was getting over the top with enough steam and water to ensure that they could immediately get going on the (slightly) easier road beyond, and that was very much what happened on Saturday afternoon. I had the delight to be able to give Bill Rundle a ride on 5043 between Plymouth and Exeter and he commented very favourably indeed on the driving and firing, which coming from one of Laira's best firemen is a massive compliment when compared to the ramblings from 4472. Regrettably you cannot get a double chimney Castle to go up hills like this without either stopping or making lots of noise, as they do not conform to the normal perceived notion that double chimney engines are quiter than singles and it is something that caught out several Western men of our acquaintance when they were new.

    There have been other comments on here (and thank you for your support chaps) about the age of locos and it is entirely correct to say that there are substantial parts of 5043 that are newer than 71000, the boiler for instance is 1955, various important frame stays were renewed in 1958 as were the inside cylinders, and that is without things like the dragbox which was renewed when we repaired it.

    The important thing is that if you are going to turn a loco out on the main line it has to be capable of running and maintaining the timings. Otherwise West Coast start getting hits for delay charges. I don't believe that we saw massive gains on schedule due to thrashing the loco on Saturday. All we did was work it to the schedule, and it basically kept time, a principle that I was brought up to believe is what railways are all about.

    When we set out to mend 5043 we determined to do the very best that we were able to achieve in order to produce a Castle that was able to demonstarte what the class was actually capable of, in view of the slightly tarnished reputation that GW engines in general and Castles in particular had in the 80's and 90's and I think that 5043 has admirably demonstrated what the class is capable of, and we have a view that it has repaid in spades the TLC that we put in to its repair.

    So there you are chaps, which do you believe, disgruntled troll or the facts?
     
  16. Polite Ashton Hall

    Polite Ashton Hall New Member

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    The major thing you seem to be missing matey is the ability to form sentences, punctuate and spell!

    When you went back to school this morning, what on earth did your poor English Master have to say? I do hope that your homework received a little more due care and attention than your posts on here. I give you an F for Fail…or Fool, etc etc etc.

    Sorry for the derogatory nature of this post. It doesn’t suit the username very well, does it?

    It’s obvious 5043 was flogged so hard on Saturday that it was too knackered for the run on Sunday….12 up Sapperton in the rain with 33.5 at the top is a sure sign of a run-down, poorly maintained and generally un-loved steam engine! Tyseley should be ashamed!

    There I go again; dripping with disdain and sarcasm!
     
  17. bob.meanley

    bob.meanley Member

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    This is a little bit unfair PG. Ray Churchill has become one of our greatest freinds over the last 14 years or so, but there again so have all of the other drivers from WCR whom we work with. As with people everywhere they are all different, but I can safely say that we enjoy the company of all. Whilst Ray has become very familiar with our GW locos and 5043 in particular through constant experience with them over a lengthy period, Bill Warriner who was with us on Saturday is more of a newcomer to steam at West Coast. Having said that he started with GW engines at Birkenhead, but fairly quickly graduated to Rugby where the engines were a little different. Bill is a great bloke to work with, and he did a great job for us on Saturday. That is not just my opinion, I heard it said by people who know far more about working Castles and Kings over the South Devon banks than any of us ever will.

    Regards
    Bob
     
  18. bob.meanley

    bob.meanley Member

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    Do you mind, I've had several Rovers, they went very well, and they humped numerous bits of 5043 and 4965 around Birmingham!

    Bob
     
  19. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Thanks very much for all that information Bob, it should lay to rest the troll once and for all, unless of course he knows better than you....:rolleyes1:

    I look forward to one of Swindons finest heading north again soon to show that they are almost on a par with the finest that came out of Crewe... :tongue1:
     
  20. Mike Wylie

    Mike Wylie New Member

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    Absolutely spot on. 5043 doing exactly what it was designed to do in the manner it should be done, on railway that in 2012 demands the highest levels of performance. Can we borrow it for our next Edinburgh-Southampton 'Boat Train'? suspect it would be better than our clapped out 'Duffs' :)
     

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