Midland Interlopers on 'The Christmas White Rose I' - LMS 44871 and 6233 - 16/12/21

The first of the Railway Touring Company 'Christmas White Rose' tours was run to York on 16th December. The route featured some variation between the legs of the journey; the outward run with Black Five 44871, started at Cambridge and then ran to Peterborough through Ely and March, both of which were passenger stops. In the interim, the train would pause at Whittlesea for water. From Peterborough, the Great Northern Great Eastern Joint line would take the train to the second water stop at Sleaford and onto Lincoln. After travelling through Gainsborough, the East Coast Mainline would be reached at Doncaster, the third pause for water would be had, from which the train would take the ECML to its destination. The return run would take the direct ECML route all the way to Peterborough, before retracing its steps back to Cambridge. Water would be taken at Newark and Ely.

I had planned a little bit of a chase for this one, unfortunately, it all started to go wrong from the beginning...

44871 left Cambridge 15 minutes late, which would only be compounded by a 40mph blanket speed restriction between Ely and Peterborough. By the time the train reached Peterborough, it was 39 minutes in arrears. Some good running and shortened stops saw the Five regain 17 minutes by Lincoln, and reaching Doncaster station 3 minutes ahead of schedule. The original plan would've enabled three shots of the 5MT to be captured, however, as a result of the late running into Peterborough, I couldn't get in front of 44871 before Doncaster. The shot from Doncaster station has not been included due to the rather lacklustre performance, as the loco was signal checked.

The same could not be said for the departure from Peterborough. Seen from the Mayors Walk overbridge north of the station, 44871 is seen arriving for a 6 minute break before restarting. Although the audio is rife with traffic noise, probably wasn't the best decision given the time of day, the Five's staccato exhaust can easily be heard. With 2 support coaches and another 11 carrying passengers, the load including 57316 was equivalent to a rake of 16 - 17 coaches! Unsurprisingly, 44871 creates quite a racket as she gets into her stride to chomp up the 39 minute delay.
The Duchess' departure from York was also captured, but a large crowd and insufficient lighting has meant these shots too have been omitted. Therefore, the only time 6233 is seen is at Grantham.

This was quite exciting for me as for a long time I have wanted to visit Grantham to see steam. The station is situated at the foot of the 5 mile 1-in-200 gradient to Stoke Summit, and would present the potential for a spirited performance as the locomotive would be preparing to climb the bank. After a friendly hoot from LNER Class 82 82205 in 'Flying Scotswoman' branding, a small gang of photographers are seen preparing for the imminent arrival of the Lady in Red. A long blast on her Stanier Hooter, courtesy of driver Jim Clarke - top man! - and the Duchess comes thundering around the curve with the regulator in the roof, creating an enormous rhythmic cacophony as she roars passed at 60.47mph. The 12 coach train is whisked south towards Stoke Tunnel and down to Peterborough. 57316 on the rear was quite happily enjoying the ride, providing only enough assistance to carry her own weight, allowing 'Duchess of Sutherland' to take the strain of the 12 coach rake.

Even though the final result was nothing like as much as the original chase plan promised, seeing two of Stanier's finest works demonstrating their capabilities to the full was not to be missed. Even if invading the territory of the former nemesis LNER!

Timestamps:

00:00 - Peterborough
03:51 - Grantham

Filmed on a Panasonic TZ70.

Enjoy.

Видео Midland Interlopers on 'The Christmas White Rose I' - LMS 44871 and 6233 - 16/12/21 канала Milepost 90¼