The Lickey Incline

Having spent many happy hours listening to Peter Handford's recordings, after steam returned to the main line back in the 70s, I often wondered if I would ever get a chance to record a steam hauled train climbing the Lickey Incline with it's 1 in 37¾ gradient.
For many years this seemed destined to remain no more than a dream but as other unlikely routes gradually became available to steam charters it seemed a certainty that the Lickey would follow.
Despite the fact that trains started using the route, as Yorkshire is a long way from the West Midlands and I don't drive, it was to be some years before I got my first chance to record.
My first recording was back in February 2005 when 6024 worked a train up the bank. I was quite impressed! I would have been more impressed if the diesel banker had been left behind but you can't have everything! You can hear the recording that I got on the steamsounds archive here - look for the April 2005 Update.
My next chance came almost exactly a year later.

Of course, the recording of 6201 that I really wanted was of it climbing the Lickey Bank on it's way back from Bristol.
Once again I went to a spot about half way up the bank between Pikes Pool Lane Bridge and Vigo. Recording conditions were almost perfect. I was able to find an eminently suitable position right at the top of the hill south east of the line and about 200 yards back. There was virtually no wind and only a little road noise to be heard. So far, so good!
With a 12 coach train there was no way that the loco was going to be permitted to climb the bank unassisted and a Class 66 diesel had been attached to the rear of the train at Gloucester.
I was fortunate in having a friend travelling (and recording) on board so I was able to get regular updates on progress by mobile 'phone. All this modern technology can be very useful at times!
The departure from Gloucester had been a little late and I got a further text message passing Cheltenham which suggested that we shouldn't expect the train to reach Bromsgrove until about 6.30 PM, perhaps 15 minutes late.
Since I changed from recording on tape to using mini-disk I have gotten into the habit of trying to start recording well before I expect the train to arrive and, at just after 10 minutes past six I was thinking that I could give it another 10 minutes before starting the recorder when I thought, 'What the heck, there's about 70 minutes left on the disk!', so I started the recorder checked that everything was Ok and settled down at the top of the hill to watch the light fading in the sky over the Malvern Hills away in the west and await events.
No sooner had I done this than I heard the sound of a train approaching from beyond Bromsgrove. As the sound grew in volume I suddenly realised that the roar was coming from Lizzie running just about on time with a driver who was determined to at least start the climb with as much speed as possible!
And what a sound. I can honestly say I have never heard anything like it!
Once through Bromsgrove and onto the 1 in 37¾ gradient speed begins to fall quickly and the horn of a DMU can be heard sounding a warning to lineside observers some of whom had set up floodlights near the track at Vigo - surely not a sensible thing to do.
As 6201 passes speed is still falling, though not as rapidly and by the time the train reaches Blackwell I am told that the speed was around 30 mph.
Obviously, to produce a performance like that, the Class 66 diesel must have been doing it's fair share of the work but, fortunately, is hardly audible in the recording and, aside from it's horn, neither is the descending DMU!
Those on the train felt that the diesel only started to work really hard on the last third of the climb while a lineside observer just above Pikes Pool Lane Bridge thought that it was going flat out when it passed him.
But who cares. Whatever the diesel was doing, it in no way detracts from this recording.
'Princess Elizabeth' was already one of my favourite locos having given me some impressive sound recordings, particularly on Shap in 2004, but the sound of it climbing the Lickey has to be the most impressive experience I have had at the lineside in over 25 years of sound recording!

Descending the Lickey during the outward journey.
The recording in the evening was made about a ½ mile further up the incline.
Photograph : Clive Hanley

Frames from a video taken at Vigo by John Snow

Steam hauled trains are sometimes just like buses. You wait for ages, then two come at once!
Well, perhaps not quite two at once but I didn't have to wait a year for my next chance at a recording on the Lickey.
The next steam hauled train was due to climb the incline on 25th March 2006. This was a train operated by Vintage trains and was booked to run from Tyseley to Bristol hauled by LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 5690 'Leander'.
Partly due to the need for a reversal at Washwood Heath and to provide a banker on the Lickey this train was also intended to employ one of the Tyseley Halls which should have worked the train out of Tyseley in the morning and then run light engine to Bromsgrove in the afternoon to bank the train up the Lickey and work the train back to Tyseley from Washwood Heath.
As we have seen all too often, railtour plans are forced to change, often at short notice and this train was no exception.
The first change was caused, presumably, by the same problem that Lizzie encountered when it was discovered that there were clearance problems on the route to Bristol and the train was re-routed to run to Cardiff.
We only discovered what the other change was when the train arrived on the Lickey.

The railtours were organised by Past-Time Rail and Vintage Trains.
A comprehensive list of forthcoming steam hauled trips on the main line will be found on David Randles' excellent web site.
The two recordings on this page of 6201 & 5690 on the Lickey are available complete in full CD quality, on an audio CD. See this page for details.