Double Headed Castles at Full Speed! | 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe & 7029 Clun Castle | 4/3/23
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Today's video was very special indeed. Great Western Castles, as you may all know, are my top favourite steam locomotives. Not only are they built by my favourite company, the Great Western Railway, they're also absolutely brilliant locomotives. Today 2 of them (in fact both double chimneyed, a preservation first if I'm correct) double headed a special Comunity Benefit Society shareholders' only tour to Didcot from Birmingham Snow Hill; these were 7029 'Clun Castle' and 5043 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe', which was recently outshopped from overhaul. At the Didcot Railway Centre, for which I obtained entry, they met 5051 Drysllwyn Castle and 4079 Pendennis Castle!! On the outward, 1Z29, was piloted by 7029, however for the return, they alternated, so 5043 piloted the return, 1Z43.
We start off at Lapworth, where I was kindly dropped off by my parents. I heard the pair loud and clear leaving Dorridge in the distance and listened keenly as the sound got louder and louder. Shattering the morning piece, they thundered through at speed. Next was to get to Didcot - an unenviable task given that Bentley Heath Level Crossing had broken and my service south was stuck. After 45 minutes it became unstuck but I missed connections so I only arrived at Didcot a few minutes before 12. I met @LiamsLocos at Banbury, and I met Charlie at Kings Sutton.
Now it was for the Four Castles at Didcot event; it was pure steam bliss for a couple of hours - 4079, 5051, 7029 and 5043 lined up as well as 4144 running on the demonstration line and locomotives like 5900 Hinderton Hall, 6023 Kind Edward II and 3822 were stationed in the shed for us to observe. I also met @blackcountrysteamvideos8021, @adtrainvids9569, @SYKAROST, @themodster, @JakeBSteam and @Harry Morris inside the centre. I would highly recommend a visit to Didcot Railway Centre as it's very interactive and lets you get very close to live steam action.
Now it was onto the return. At Didcot Parkway I met @danielstrainsukofficial9133 and @WestCountrySteamVideos and we all clambered onto a service bound for Banbury at 14:06. Tom (Modster) and Daniel opted for Culham, Tom and Arlo opted for Radley and I continued on to Oxford with Luke and Liam. I decided on Oxford and let them continue to Hatton. Oxford was a gamble - where I was set up was a prime spot to be bowled by an incoming Vomiter, however that thankfully cleared in enough time as the pair of Castles were running a tad late. Having said that, they absolutely thrashed through the centre road at full whack. It was amazing! I then met @Sim0nTrains and @DAVID GRIFFIN for a Vomiter train to Banbury, where I saw the Castles again very briefly as they were held for my chiltern service to Warwick Parkway. I got off, and only a few minutes later, the pair came thrashing through again, gaining power for their assault on the steeply graded 1 in 100 Hatton Bank. After this I went home, meeting Liam, @FlatCapJack52 and Luke again on the way. A mate of mine also sent in a shot at Solihull, thank you mate!!
Today was plain awesome. The sounds I heard from those Castles is unparalleled to what I've heard before, and it was great to see 5043 in action, as well as visiting the Didcot Railway Centre for the first time. Thank you again to everyone I met, to Didcot, Vintage Trains, NR, GWR, XC, Chiltern, the crew and the mighty Castles themselves. Hope you enjoy as I very much did!!
Timestamps:
Outward (Lapworth) 00:00
Didcot Railway Centre scenes 00:50
Return (Oxford, Warwick Parkway, Solihull) 03:37
Oh that brings up the goose bumps and that line up at the shed, perfect. Thank you, I remember it well.
It certainly did for me, the noise was incredible, especially at Oxford! I'm glad you liked the lineup, I thought it was great too! Thank you very much! Regards, Dan
This video has more steam than the sauna at my gym. Well done mate, this was great. 😊
Hahahaha that's a funny way to say it and it absolutely was lol!! I'm very glad you enjoyed mate and thank you! Regards, Dan
Brilliant video well done , regards kevin
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed! Regards, Dan
wonderful coverage , a sight to behold on the GWR tracks , Daily M.
I'm glad you enjoyed and yes it's lovely to see such a sight on home metals as well. Regards, Dan
Amazing video, great captures! Thumbs Up 🚂🚂🚂😉
Thank you so much 😀!! I'm glad you enjoyed. Regards, Dan
the people who polish the bodywork need an award - the engines look wonderful
Absolutely! Tyseley always turn them out to a very high standard. Regards, Dan
Fame at last! At 2:05 that's me and hubby! Bottom of the frame in the middle. What a fabulous day it was.
Really lol?!! Well there you are, famous now haha! Brilliant day indeed, I hope you had a lovely time. Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 Dan, it was the best. I was like a kid on Christmas morning!
@@Dizzy19. Same here to be honest 🤣!! Regards, Dan
Great footage as always Dan. Kind regards, Jake.
Many thanks Jake, great to see you as well! Regards, Dan
They were certainly giving those engines some wellie today! I too was at Oxford, but on the other platform, so you might even be in my video. The footage from there and Banbury is now on YT, but the footage from Didcot will have to wait for another day.
They were indeed mate and it's the sort of stuff I haven't heard in years lol. I'll check out your video then! Regards, Dan
Fantastic video Dan what a day for you G.W.R.at it's best I can still smell the smoke lovely.
Thank you very much Richard, yes it's been an amazing day! The sound was unparalleled mate honestly lol, and the soot from Warwick Parkway is still in my hair, I'll have to wash it all out haha! Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 Forgot to mention the sound...Don't wash your hair mate 🤣🤣
@@richardswiderski4985 Must admit it was tempting 🤣🤣 and yes the sound was phenomenal lol 🤣
Beautiful! No pusher Diesel Loco for once. Proper job 😀 ♥️ 🚂
100% agree! There were rumours of a class 20 being on the rear but those were thankfully shelved. Thank you very much! Regards, Dan
Two Locos should always be sufficient, Steam or not. Two Steam Locomotives together is very special though indeed 😀 Very authentic as well.
Great Western heaven
It sure was!! Regards, Dan
Wonderful video😃⤴️⤴️
Thank you so much!! Regards, Dan
Very nice video Dan :)
Thank you very much! Regards, Dan
Outstanding in every respect, but with double headed Castles how could it not be ! Thrilling !
Thank you very much!! And yes, double headed Castles could never disappoint. Regards, Dan
Magnificent. I am from an age when I saw both those fine machines in high speed action back in my rail enthusiast schoolboy days of the 1950-60s. Along with all the others in the King and Castle Classes.
Only matched by Stanier's "Super Kings" the Coronation Class LMS Pacifics. Stanier learnt his designer skills at Swindon I believe and it shows.
Youngsters today will never really know what they missed.
That's amazing, must have been quite the times. And yes Stanier did indeed learn his trade there, I think the LMS would never have matched its greatness without the GWR in fairness. Castles are my favourites for a reason after all lol. As a youngster myself lol I know what I see these days will never compare but good days like that at least show me a little bit of it lol! Regards, Dan
Absolutely stunning coverage Dan, it must have been a cracking day for those both on & off the train! I ventured over to Hatton North Junction to see the 'Castle' duo climbing the 1 in 100 on the return; the sight & sound produced by both 5043 & 7029 was bloody spectacular, so as you can imagine, I'm very glad I took the opportunity whilst I had the chance!
All the best,
Adam 🙂
Thank you very much Adam, sorry for the late response as well, I've been ver busy lol! It really was an awesome day for everyone involved, I had a few friends on the train and chasing with me. Certainly a wise location as well, I saw your video, the noise was incredible! Regards, Dan
Another fantastic watch dan!
Been a pleasure being able to capture this special moment together mate.
Been epic man roll on the next one.
Liam
Yeah man great to see you too! So glad we could capture it and great to have your company. Double Headed Castles is legendary mate. Regards, Dan
Nice I came to the event too. Great day.
Yes it was! I think an amazing day was had by all involved. Thank you very much. Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 I have subbed some great content!
@@DamiensTrainsandTravels Thank you very much mate, it's very much appreciated! Regards, Dan
Dan, What a great day this was and well done for reaching all these locations and for providing a quality video. Regards, John
Thank you very much John! I'm very glad you enjoyed it and yes I did manage quite a lot in the end! Regards, Dan
I love Didcot line ups 👍👍, and the running was just spectacular 👍👍👍👍👍
It was my first visit actually so I was very pleased to see something so special lol! And yes the running was amazing! Regards, Dan
Really been a epic video and they sounded awesome! Also at 2:12 you can see me behind 4144 filming! Also great to meet you again Dan.
Thank you very much Simon, great day out mate and the sound was incredible lol. I didn't know I'd caught you in here lol! Great to see you too mate, Regards, Dan
Stunning sequence of captures with your superb panning technique which is always good to view.👍
Thank you very much for such kind words!! I'm glad you like my style of videography, I do try to make it as good as possible. Regards, Dan
They were certainly giving it some through Lapworth! Very nice shots you've taken of the Castles. Well done!
Thank you very much! And yes, I heard them leaving Dorridge over 2 miles away!! I'm glad you enjoyed. Regards, Dan
I was at your local station of dorridge station and it’s the first for me to see both of them on that tour
I hope you enjoyed that mate. Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 yeah
Fabulous filming, love it, well done.
Many thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Regards, Dan
Fantastic work Dan, great to catch you again, No doubt we will cross tracks again, Regards Daniel
Thank you very much Daniel and yes, I'm sure we will lol! Regards, Dan
Great video Dan! It's going to take a lot to top double heading Castles lol. Nice to see you again too!
Thank you very much mate! And topping that I'd say is impossible unless they double head a pair of Kings 🤣. Good to see you too mate! Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 Ooo now that would be good.
That run through Warwick Parkway around 4:50 is spectacular! Great footage.
Thank you very much, and yes they were absolutely thrashing it! Regards, Dan
1:11 look at that 4 castles side by side
Surprised I didn’t see you there mate.
@@LiamsLocos no I was down at dorridge seeing both castles On a charge
Yeah Scott it was lovely, would have been good to have you there with us as well, as @Liam's Locos says lol! Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 unfortunately I can’t go all the way to didcot it’s too far away so I’m staying to the stations near Birmingham or any other stations I like to go to
Loving the 'flypasts'!!
How 'flexible is this 75mph limit?
It seems some may be a touch on the 'higher end' of it than others I've seen!
Al.
Thank you very much! The 75mph limit is supposed to be fixed but I know of some runs that surpass it a little, it can be quite common. I've clocked a few tours at 80 when I've seen them, in theory they're not meant to but it can easily be argued that the speedo was inaccurate or only go over for a section where they aren't going to be caught doing it lol! Regards, Dan
How great would it be to see 7027 one day restored as well as 5043 and running on the mainline?
Maybe.. depends what plans the GWS have for 7027, as there was a bit of outrage recently when they planned to cut it up to make a Night Owl... suspect that's probably been quietly shelved, but it'll still take a while to restore! Regards, Dan
The Castles are beautiful and wonderful locos. I was a child in the 1950s when they were still working on the old GW lines, including through Taunton - not far from Minehead, where I used to live. Absolutely wonderful to see these two in full voice. I recall being on Reading General station waiting for a train to Swindon when an up double-header came through at full belt on the middle run-through line - thrilling!
The Castles are my favourites, this was an unmissable day for me lol. I'm so glad you got to experience them when still in service, must have been amazing!! And I can imagine the noise at Reading from the double header must have been unforgettable lol. Regards, Dan
Why are Kings not on the mainline, too big? Right coal not available? Too expensive to run? Lovely vid.
All of those are factors, yes they are very expensive, very big and coal is limited. However they do run, just not presently; 6023 is at the Didcot Railway Centre, 6000 is a display piece in the NRM; 6024 is being overhauled to mainline standard and may run in 2024. I hope so because I'd love to see a King mainline! Thank you very much also. Regards, Dan
Double Headed Dinadans
Not Dinadans mate but Castles ahah. Regards, Dan
Brilliant Dan, you got prime station spots too for this epic run. You actually benefitted at Warwick P/W from that Stratford service ahead as we literally crawled through Warwick to make sure it was out of the way at Hatton (which was passed at 62mph) so you got the 'full works' 😂!! Great to see you and 'your gang' at Didcot & a good day all round!! Regards,Brian.
Thank you very much Brian! I was very pleased with the spots actually lol, I was surprised to see them free when I got to them! 🤣 Indeed I got lucky at Parkway, I'd in fact just gotten off that service and was delighted when the signal turned green before they'd arrived 🤣! From what I can see you absolutely flew up Hatton, must have been amazing. Great to see you too mate and catch up again soon! Regards, Dan
@@crunchynutsteamfilms5043 Yes, they had several greens but deliberately & sensibly held back in order to put on that 'perfofmance'!!
We were beginning to worry that we wouldn't have time to finish our afternoon tea 😂.
@@SYKAROST Good on them for that, I did notice they were holding a little lol. And I can imagine 🤣 looks like you had a fab trip lol. Regards, Dan