Return to Steam 50th Anniversary with 7029 Clun Castle

It was back in October 1971 that steam made a triumphant return to the mainline, after a three year ban imposed by British Rail. 6000 King George V was the one that started it all and steam has continued to run ever since then to this day.
7029 Clun Castle had the honor in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Return to Steam run. The Castle ran from Birmingham to Cardiff and returning via the original route 6000 took back in 1971.
Starting off at a foot crossing at Eckington the Castle is seen in full throttle passing the site of the station. On the return working the weather conditions had deteriorated with rain pouring, however I was never the less determined to get the rest of the run come rain or shine. The Castle is seen running by Westerleigh on the Western mainline via Badminton (Bristol Parkway to Swindon route) a line that has seen little steam running along it in recent years, with Great Western steam being a real rarity running on that very route!
After a two hour grueling pursuit, 7029 now running on the old London to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Mainline is seen passing by King's Sutton. With a 20 minute scheduled stop at Banbury meant I was able to get ahead of the train and get the last shot at Little Bourton. At this point the Class 47 diesel at the rear was giving 7029 some assistance all the way to Birmingham due to the rails being wet and greasy. Not ideal for a steamer hauling a heavy 11 coach train, risking slipping and losing time esp on a tight timing schedule.
#vintagetrains #tyseleylocomotiveworks #7029cluncastle #mainlinesteam

[@robertbate5790]

Great filming. Thanks for sharing. 🙂🙂

[@caerphillycastle]

Well done Ryan great coverage on a very wet Saturday. Your persistence paid off with some lovely footage. I was away for the w/e & missed it! Geraint

[@GreatWestern175]

Ohh I was quite determined to get it regardless of the weather, I admit I was crazy to do so but being a commemorative run I felt the importance to film it but cheers though

[@JoshHemingwayMetcalfe96]

Lovely video