Super Saturday- 24th of September 2022

[kevsmiththai]

Bit later than I planned I'll tell you the tale of 'Super Saturday. A rail bonanza unmatched in recent years on the U.K rail network,

 

I had already been tipped off weeks before about the return of the Class 55 Deltic 'Royal Scots Grey' to the main line . These cult locos with their twin Napier Deltic engines knocking out a very healthy3,300 hp (not bad for a loco built in 1961) are always a big draw for railfans. It was doing a Wolverhampton to Newcastle railtour and was slated to be the first of the big beasts attacking the climb up to Shap Summit on the West Coast main line

 

As it approached it was obvious it was only working on one engine and the Class 47 at the rear was adding its grunt to the train but was still awesome

 

 

My mate Dave, who was mainly responsible for getting it out there was in the support coach with every finger crossed!

 

Next up was the 'Tesco' train. An intermodal train assigned to one chain of supermarkets for their Scottish stores. At the time we were having real problems with our class 88 bi-modal locos so we had put two EMD Class 66s on instead. 66 303 'Rail Riders' headed 66 431 on the Daventry-Mossend service

 

 

Broklyn and I had just missed a light engine steam move when we arrived at Scout Green but the excusrion train soon arrived with preserved 86 259 on the front. The steamer was to take over at Carlisle. 86 259 has different nameplates on either side and is known as 'Peter Pan- Les Ross'

 

 

with 4040Hp it made light work of the climb to Shap. Brooklyn's picture

 

More soon (need another beer!)

 

Kev

 

 

 

[kevsmiththai]

So the last of the Northbounds was 'Tangmere', Currently Brooklyn's and mine favourite main line loco. One of Bulleids 'Battle of Britain' clas 4-6-2 built for the Southern railway in a class named after important World war 2 airfields, fighter aircraft and RAF personnel involved in the crucial air war where the Luftwaffe were repulsed and the Nazi invasion of Britain was foiled

 

 

With their unique streamlined casing they soon got the nickname 'Spam cans'!

 

I've modelled these locos in every scale from Z to gauge 1 over the years!

 

With a gap in proceedings we adjourned to the nearby Shap village for lunch. Shap is home to the Official 'Second best Fish and chip shop' in the U.K and before you ask I don't know where the first is. The lunchtime special at 'Shap Chippy' of Cod, chips and mushy peas hit the spot.

 

And then off exploring

 

Shap Abbey is shown on the maps as a set of ruins left by the disolution of the Catholic monasteries by Henry the 8th

 

We didn't quite know what we would find

 

 

The tower is still impressive

 

 

It really is in the middle of nowhere but would once have been the centre of a huge economic and social area

 

 

More soon including the last steam loco of the day

 

Kev

[kevsmiththai]

So we headed back to the west of the county to get the last steam loco of the day

LMS Black 5 4-6-0 44932 was the loco we had missed on the light engine earlier on but was now coming down the Cumbrian Coast with the other excursion train

 

The next two pictures Brooklyn took

 

Park South Signalbox

 

 

And Lindal in Furness on the climb to the summit

 

 

Kev