Wet Feet

During the weekend of 24/25th July 2004 two steam hauled trains ran over the Settle to Carlisle line and, what's more, the weather forecast was good!

Saturday 24th dawned bright, warm and sunny but, by the time we arrived at Ais Gill summit in the late afternoon the weather had deteriorated to very cloudy, a hint of rain in the air and a strong wind!
In addition the conditions underfoot were none too dry and I quickly discovered that my boots were no longer waterproof!
In this recording ex LNER A4 Pacific 60009 'Union of South Africa' is heard climbing the 1 in 100 gradient towards the summit.
Judging by the clag coming from the A4's chimney all was not quite as it should be with the fire and the loco is making heavy weather of the 13 coach load on the climb as it passes.

After a night of heavy rain Sunday 25th dawned with more of the same and an even stronger wind blowing. So much for the good weather forecast!
Still, never mind, as ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 was working a charter from Keighley to Carlisle & back and a Black 5 is always worth getting wet for!
Our first attempt at a lineside recording was near Bell Busk where, soon after we arrived, the local clay pigeon shoot commenced!
However, running just about on time, 45407 is heard passing with 10 well filled coaches behind the tender not being worked particularly hard on the gradient towards Hellifield.

A water stop at Long Preston and a stop to pick up passengers at Settle meant that we had plenty of time to get to Selside where the weather was worse and the conditions underfoot even wetter!
The choice of this location was a good one as there was a handy dry stone wall to provide some shelter from the wind and even heavier rain.
In view of the strength of the wind I thought that we would only get a short recording here but sound was carrying well and we were able to hear 45407 approaching soon after it became visible through the falling rain above Horton-in-Ribblesdale.
Although not being worked all that hard the Black 5 makes a fine sound passing on the 1 in 100 gradient. Although not included in this clip, we were able to hear the loco almost all the way to Ribblehead. Well worth getting a soaking for!

While the Black 5 went on to Carlisle we had the chance to attempt to dry out. A change of socks was very welcome and I'm sure that I had a pint of water in each boot!
Our next recording was of 45407 during it's return from Carlisle and we set off for Ais Gill in much better conditions. The rain had stopped, the sky cleared with even a hint of sunshine and the the wind had dropped a little.
As you can hear in this recording the Black 5, once again just about on time, is being worked much harder on the 1 in 100 gradient towards the summit and sounds to be going well passing and reaching the summit.
I was told later by a passenger on the train that this had been the best bit for performance in the entire journey. A very easy schedule had meant that there had been no need to work the engine hard and he had described the performance during the day as dire! Despite which the train ran either on time or slightly early throughout the day.

Again, a stop at Settle and a pathing stop at Hellifield allowed us to get ahead of the train and try for a recording of 45407 on the gradient away from Hellifield.
As you can hear, once again the loco isn't being worked hard on the gradient but is noisy enough to scare the flock of sheep on the hillside opposite as it passes!

60009 can be found working trains on the Severn Valley Railway where it is based when not working trains on the main line. 45407 although based at Bury on the East Lancs Railway is rarely there. For this summer, when not working on the main line, the Black 5 should be working trains on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.