Today’s video sees me chasing LMS ‘Black 5’ Class 4-6-0 44871 hauling RYTC’s “The Edinburgh Flyer” tour from York to Edinburgh and return up the East Coast Main Line (ECML) via Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Berwick Upon Tweed! The weather for the day was quite a mixed bag, sunshine and showers but with one common denominator of being very windy! This video includes the first steam filming I’ve ever done in Scotland.
I started out my day in Keighley after attending the KWVR gala yesterday, and headed first to Leeds and then to York where 44871 and stock hadn’t yet moved into the platform. Unfortunately, the tour left Holgate loop quite late and this meant I missed my planned train to Northallerton, but my assumption was the signallers would hold it for a TP service not long after. I tried to film at York, but upon departure I was smoked out and battered by wind so I didn’t include it. Continuing North, I hoped to film at Northallerton but Tyneside control were presumably throwing a party at that moment because a series of very odd decisions kept 44871 in front of my train and my train to be delayed by over 15 minutes by Newcastle. This meant I heard 44871’s departure whistle as I got off my train and thus the shot I got there was abandoned too. Having lost 3 shots already, I headed to Berwick, slightly irritated, and grabbed the 235 bus to Burnmouth on the coastal section of the ECML by the A1. This shot was very pretty and I was quite happy with my wind jamming efforts too as the wind was very strong.
After that I made my way on foot to Reston station for the evening shots. I wanted to try out a spot near Reston but looking at the clouds I didn’t want to be caught in the rain so wisely chose the station so I could shelter. Despite a very close call with an LNER IET, I think the Reston shot works well, especially as the regulator was opened just in front of the camera and it was good to try out the new station. After that I took at Transpennine train back down to Alnmouth, where I set up with the signal box in view. Again it was a very difficult call with a northbound IET but it thankfully cleared and 44871 came rocketing through. I then took a little Northern unit down to Newcastle, and in another questionable decision by Tyneside control which went in my favour, we overtook 44871 at Morpeth even though we weren’t scheduled to! The next shot therefore shows a loud but slippy departure from Platform 3 at Newcastle Central! After that I ran over to Platform 4 and grabbed an LNER IET bound for Doncaster back home.
Thank you for all who made today possible, to 44871 and her crew, to RYTC and WCR and to the trains and buses that got me around. I’m a bit ambivalent to Tyneside control after today as they both inconvenienced and helped me lol. I hope you enjoyed as I did!