Steam through Taplow

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

What was the steam loco I heard at around 11:30 Westbound through Taplow this morning.

Couldn't see as was downstairs and the trees are in the way.

Was working quite hard sounded 3 cylinderish. So possibly not a native.

[inspector_blakey]

That would have been the best kettle on the planet, 60163 Tornado working 5Z61/5Z62 Hither Green - Eastleigh via Reading. I'm impressed you could tell it was a 3-cylinder! Full details on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) steam info website here.

Looks like she was running bang on time. You may hear her again going back as 5Z63 at about 1600. Not exactly sure of the purpose of the ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) move, but I'm guessing it's a test run as she has had some boiler repairs carried out at Hither Green recently.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

hopefully all fixed up now then... torbay express was class 67 last weekend !!

[inspector_blakey]

Looks like the A1 has been withdrawn from all Torbay Express workings for the remainder of this season (although having said that I don't know how many she was due to work from this point on), as reported by the A1 SLT here.

The Torbay Express website is oddly light on details about what's actually hauling the train on different dates, as well as being a bit of a nightmare to navigate as a result of some seriously heavy-handed work with Flash, but if you can face burrowing through all the glitz and glamour you might be able to find some info here.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

its been a bad year for steam this year to be honest, Bittern has failed a few times 34067 and 70000 have both had issues and im not sure where the king is at the moment i ain't seen it on the wsr in a while

[inspector_blakey]

Not been a good couple of weeks for the Torbay Express: cancelled outright on Sun 1 Aug (was booked for haulage by 6024, but not sure if the cancellation was due to loco failure or poor bookings), then diesel operated Sun 8 Aug in lieu of 71000, booked but unavailable. UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Steam info website currently has it booked for 6024 or 71000 for the next two weekends.

[eightf48544]

I'm impressed you could tell it was a 3-cylinder! here.

It was working quite hard. signal check? So it was 3 beats to the bar. A bit woofy not crisp like a well tuned GW^▸ (Great Western) loco.

It's a lot of practice, when I was a lad my grandmother's garden backed onto the line between Woolston and Sholing. I got to tell what was coming round from Bittern by the beat. Although by then it was mainly U's, Standard 4 moguls and WC^▸ (Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority))/BB. Previously we had T9s D15s and very early on L11s L12s etc. Then there were the odd Q and occasional Q1s on the goods. Although you never knew what would turn up it seemd to be any odd loco Eastleigh had spare at the time. As a very young lad I didn't like the Q1s they seemd sinister and not like a proper engine.

I also saw one of the last Brighton Atlantics on the Brighton Plymouth.

[inspector_blakey]

Good news: confirmation on the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust website that yesterday's test run was indeed a success, and that the loco is back in business!

[JayMac]

From This Is The Westcountry:

Tornado to appear at West Somerset Railway

The Tornado express steam train has been given the go ahead to appear at West Somerset Railway next month.

The train^s visit last month was cancelled due to boiler problems, which have now been fixed according to the engine^s owners, the A1 Locomotive Trust.

The Tornado is set to make its come back from September 13 to 17 and has now added the Late Summer Weekend on September 4 and 5 to its list of appearances.

West Somerset Railway general manager Paul Conibeare said: ^We were all naturally disappointed with the bad news concerning Tornado last month but the news about the repairs and the likelihood of its appearing for extra days in September has given us all a lift. We hope our visitors will support UK^▸ (United Kingdom) tourism this year and enjoy travelling through our glorious Somerset countryside behind this beautiful locomotive.^

The engine will appear alongside three other steam locomotives and three vintage diesels on a train service between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead at the Late Summer Weekend.

The Tornado will also run services during the Campaign for Real Ale Beer Festival at Minehead station on September 11 and 12.

Discounts on normal railway fares are available for bookings made by September 1 for the Late Summer Weekend.