steamsounds - volume 3

This third volume of tracks are all recordings of steam hauled trains on the main line heard from the lineside not all of which have appeared on the web site.

I've always had a fascination with lineside sound recordings. I suppose part of the attraction is the challenge. For a start off, you have to be in the right place. Then, while a bit of atmosphere can add a great deal and make a picture in sound out of a fairly ordinary recording, you really need to be undisturbed, avoiding crowds of lineside photographers, getting away from road noise, that sort of thing. Weather is important too. Although a light breeze can carry sound niceley, wind noise must be avoided and rain falling on the microphone can sound just like bacon frying! But even when you get all that right, there are still many other things that can go wrong, aircraft flying over at the wrong time, hill walkers appearing out of nowhere, the unexpected motorcycle and I have even had my microphone kicked over by a startled sheep, startled by the steam loco I hasten to add!
However, sometimes everything works out just right and the 22 tracks, with a playing time of almost 80 minutes, featuring 15 different locomotives are some of the better recordings that it has been my good fortune to obtain over the past few years.

Complete with comprehensive notes.

Available at just £4.50 including UK postage. To obtain details of how to get a copy or for any further information please see this page.

Some of the tracks were originally featured on the web site and can be found on the steamsounds archive at www.steamsoundsarchive.com.

To hear some short, near CD quality samples of the tracks from this CD click the buttons in the track list.

Track List

Hear near CD quality samples of track 2 , track 3 , track 6 & track 22 .

1. Obviously, choosing the location for a lineside recording is of paramount importance and for equally obvious reason railway stations are usually far from ideal. However, when Hertfordshire Railtours began using the ex LNER V2 2-6-2 60800 'Green Arrow' on their highly successful programme of excursions to Scarborough I decided that a recording of the loco departing from York would be worth trying for.
   Recording on a railway station is fraught with difficulty. There are too many factors which cannot be controlled so getting a good recording is more a matter of luck than skill.
   After a number of attempts, the best of which proved to be a recording made from the adjacent car park but wasn't what I wanted as the loco in use that day wasn't the V2, I managed to get what I wanted on 24th April 2003.
   As the recording begins the train is just getting the 'right away' from platform staff while the station announcer makes a rather belated announcement concerning the train.
   A whistle from the loco is followed by a roar of steam as the regulator is opened.
   Once the cylinder cocks close the V2's exhaust echoes under the overall roof as it gets 12 coaches on the move out of the station on the way to Scarborough.
2. Another occasion when I had to resort to recording on a station was 7th September 2002 when the LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' worked a charter train from Liverpool to Carlisle over the Settle Carlisle line.
   This time my excuse was having insufficient time to reach somewhere better. In addition the heavy showers made the station seem like a good idea!
   As usual on these occasions there were plenty of other people about on the station but they weren't too distracting.
   6201 had been stopped by signals at Settle Jc. to wait for the preceding service train, which I had travelled on to Settle, to reach Blea Moor before being allowed to continue and, having restarted, the loco makes a fine sound accelerating it's heavy train on the 1 in 100 gradient.
   Hear a of track 2.
3. I had to include this next recording which, while far from technically perfect, is of a loco which only rarely worked on the main line and it was even rarer to find the loco working a train single handed.
   The loco was the Midland Railway 4-4-0 Compound 1000 which, on 28th September 1983 worked a private charter from York to Rochdale and back via the Calder Valley. If it had been a public train it could have been filled 10 times over!
   As I had no chance of travelling I went out to try to get a lineside recording of the engine passing Neville Hill on the climb out of Leeds as it passed on its way back to York in the evening.
   I wasn't sure what to expect in the way of noise since I had always been told that, once compounding, these locos were very quiet - still, it was probably going to be a once in a lifetime chance!
   After hanging around on the site of the old carriage shed for about an hour watching the wildlife and listening to the kids playing in the surrounding council estates the Compound put in an appearance.
   I can only guess that, with York driver Harry Wilson in charge, no compounding was going on and the loco was being worked simple. The roar from the chimney would have been audible all the way to Cross Gates had a Hull bound DMU and an aircraft not intervened! Nevertheless, I am certainly glad I took the trouble - I don't expect I will ever get the chance again.
   Hear a of track 3.
4. Over the Easter Weekend 2003 Riley & Sons (Railways) ran their first steam hauled charter trains. These ran on Easter Sunday & Monday from Manchester Victoria around the Oldham Loop 5 times each day using Black 5 45407 & Standard Class 4 76079.
   In the preceding weeks the weather had been very dry and, although there had not been any problems so far, the risk of line side fires was thought to be quite high so to minimise the risk the train was restricted to just 4 coaches although, on the second day, this was increased to 5.
   Finding suitable locations for line side recordings on this route proved to be rather difficult. In such a heavily built up area road noise is almost impossible to avoid and much of the route is quite simply inaccessible.
   The steepest sections on the route are the climb from Manchester Victoria to Miles Platting and the climb to Oldham Werneth.
   This recording was made about half way up Platting Bank almost above the entrance to Cheetham Hill Tunnel on the Metrolink route to Bury and, as the recording starts, a tram is heard coming up the gradient from Victoria and entering the tunnel.
   With the tram out of the way ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 can be heard accelerating it's short train on the 1 in 59 climb out of Victoria.
   The train passes under Rochdale Road and can then be heard continuing on the gradient which steepens to 1 in 47 almost all the way to the top while a DMU follows up the bank.
5. The next train round the Oldham Loop was hauled by the BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76079 and we decided to make another attempt at a recording on the steep climb up to Oldham Werneth.
   The first spot we looked at seemed likely to result in our being mugged and we decided that surviving the experience was more important than getting a good recording so we returned to the public park in Coalshaw Green near Hollinwood where we had attempted a recording earlier in the day.
   Our first attempt had been made at the bottom end of the park where the 1 in 52 gradient is just beginning so we decided to try the top end this time.
   In the morning the weather had been quite dull but by this time it was sunny and warm and, of course there were far more people about most of whom where understandably quite curious as to what we were doing. We suffered the attentions of children who wanted to know if we were train spotters and dogs who wanted to eat our microphones. We also had a visit from a local lady who, as you will hear, just wanted to reminisce!
   Still, we were lucky that none of these distractions managed to spoil this recording of 76079 beginning to climb the gradient.
6. On the morning of the following day, 21st April 2003, after having a ride round the loop behind 76079 we returned to the spot we had found the previous day half way up Platting Bank.
   Once again a Metrolink tram is heard entering Cheetham Hill tunnel before an eastbound DMU passes by on the gradient. As the sound of the DMU fades away 76079, running tender first, can be heard accelerating it's five coach load up the 1 in 59 gradient. The loco passes under Rochdale Road and can be heard continuing the climb, which steepens to 1 in 47 towards the top. As the train reaches Miles Platting and begins to accelerate on the easier gradients another DMU passes heading down the gradient towards Manchester Victoria.
   Hear a of track 6.
7. Occasionally, the most unlikely locations produce good lineside recordings.
   When a friend suggested going out to see the returning Shakespeare Express on it's way back from Stratford upon Avon on 14th September 2003 I was only too happy to agree but, if I had been asked to choose, Widney Manor station would not have been my first choice surrounded as it is by roads and quite close to the M42 motorway!
   However, being a Sunday, the large car park was empty and I was able to record relatively undisturbed.
   In this recording, despite the noise from the motorway, the GWR Hall 4-6-0 4965 'Rood Ashton Hall' makes a fine sound hurrying past on it's way back to Birmingham Snow Hill with 8 coaches behind the tender. Much better than expected!
8. That wasn't the first time I had been out making lineside recordings of trains running to and from Stratford.
   During the weekend of 7/8th June 1986 the Birmingham Railway Museum ran a series of trains between Tyseley and Stratford-upon-Avon which gave the opportunity to get to the lineside after having a ride.
   With the final train of the day on 8th June GWR Castle 4-6-0 7029 'Clun Castle' is heard not far from Wood End Tunnel making a very fine sound climbing the gradient towards the summit at Earlswood.
9. As with many other things in life, when making lineside sound recordings careful planning can often pay off but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.
   20th August 1994 was a good day for steam hauled trains on the Settle Carlisle line with two trains out that day.
   In addition to a Cumbrian Mountain Express with 46203 there was a charter train from Bradford to Carlisle and back with ex LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 45596 'Bahamas'.
   Having seen the Jubilee go north we then went to Ais Gill first for 46203 followed by 45596 heading south.
   As the Jubilee was booked a water stop at Garsdale the person I was with thought that we would have plenty of time to reach Ribblehead to see the train pass over the viaduct.
   We didn't hang about but as we came up the road under Dent Head Viaduct I glanced back towards Dent station and spied steam approaching!
   So, it was here or nothing. I just had time to get away from the road and set up my recorder on the off chance that 45596 would be making some noise.
   This recording of the Jubilee hurrying past into Blea Moor Tunnel just goes to show that it is always worth while taking a chance!
10. One of my favourite places for lineside recording on the Settle Carlisle line is on the northbound climb to Blea Moor so let's listen to a few steam hauled trains passing on the 1 in 100 gradient near Selside.
    It is just as well that Monday 2nd January 1995 was sunny and calm as it was also extremely cold. Without the sun to take a little of the chill off I doubt that we would have waited at Selside for the ex LMS Princess Royal Pacific 46203 'Princess Margaret Rose' running about 2 hours late with the northbound Cumbrian Mountain Express.
    The wait proved well worth while as you can hear in this recording of the loco passing going well with 12 coaches behind the tender.
11. In the later part of 1999 Twenty First Century Trains and the West Coast Railway Co. ran a series of special trains from Hellifield to Carlisle and back.
    Most of these trains were hauled by David Smith's 8F 48151 but, on 18th December, motive power was provided by GWR Hall 4-6-0 5972 'Oulton Hall'.
    This is how the loco sounded passing Selside well in control of the 9 coaches behind the tender.
12. This location at Selside is, in most respects, ideal from a lineside sound recording point of view. It is on a gradient where locomotives can be expected to be working hard, both sides of the line are accessible and there are dry stone walls to give shelter from the wind and, on occasion, rain. In addition it is not a particularly photogenic location so the sound recordist can usually count on remaining undisturbed by lineside photographers. One minor drawback however is the road which isn't all that far away. The road is usually very quiet but can be counted upon to become quite busy with the cars of photographers chasing steam trains and, in the last recording the sound of this increase in traffic could be heard after the Hall had passed. How much of a nuisance this traffic noise is depends to some extent on the speed that the steam hauled train is travelling at.
    The Hall in the last recording wasn't going all that fast so cars on the road would have had no difficulty keeping up but, on 23rd December 1995, motive power for the Cumbrian Mountain Express was the unique BR Standard Pacific 71000 'Duke of Gloucester'.
    Despite having 13 coaches behind the tender 71000 must have been doing around 50 mph passing Selside, sufficiently fast to ensure that the chasing photographers were left far behind!
13. Motive power for the Cumbrian Mountain Express on 6th February 1999 was the ex LNER V2 2-6-2 60800 'Green Arrow'.
    This loco must have been a popular choice with the passengers as the train was loaded to no less than 13 coaches.
    Despite the heavy load the V2 sounds to be going very well indeed passing Selside.
14. For sound recording, a firm favourite of mine is the LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' and this loco worked a northbound Cumbrian Mountain Express on 12th April 2003.
    'Lizzie' is heard in this recording passing Selside well in command of the 12 well filled coaches behind the tender.
15. Time for a change of location but not motive power.
    The weather forecast on 12th July 2003 promised plenty of sun and a light breeze so I decided to take my self off to Blea Moor for a chance of recording 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' working a northbound Cumbrian Mountain Express.
    The part about sun was right, there was plenty of that but the 'light' breeze was more like gale force! Still, I was able to find a fairly sheltered spot overlooking Blea Moor signal box and was delighted with the recording that I got of this fine loco at the head of 13 coaches recovering from the speed restriction over Ribblehead Viaduct and climbing the remaining 1 in 100 gradient into Blea Moor Tunnel.
16. The southbound climb to Ais Gill can also be counted on to produce good sound recordings, particularly the last part of the climb to the summit and, when the opportunity arises, the sight and sound of a steam hauled train climbing the last few miles is an experience not to be missed.
    Heard going particularly well climbing the gradient from Mallerstang in this recording is the ex LMS Princess Royal Pacific 46203 'Princess Margaret Rose' with the Cumbrian Mountain Express on 28th August 1993.
17. The climb to Ais Gill isn't the only steep climb that a southbound Cumbrian Mountain Express heading back to the West Coast Main Line has to surmount.
    At an almost constant gradient of 1 in 82 the 4½ miles from Whalley Viaduct to Wilpshire can be quite a daunting prospect with a heavy train.
    Heard near Langho making a fine sound climbing Whalley Bank in this recording is 46203 'Princess Margaret Rose' returning from Carlisle with a southbound Cumbrian Mountain Express on 30th March 1996.
18. During the 90's GWR motive power made a number of visits to the North of England to work trains over the Settle Carlisle line with varying degrees of success.
    The attempts I made to obtain recordings on the S&C itself weren't particularly successful and the only good recording I got was when I had the opportunity to record the GWR King 4-6-0 6024 'King Edward I' climbing Whalley Bank on 14th March 1998.
    We had had a rather mediocre run northbound over the S&C a week previously and I was rather dubious about whether it would be worthwhile going out for the southbound train however, it's always worth a try and I have to say that I was quite pleased with the recording that I got that day of 6024 running about 20 minutes late climbing the 1 in 82 gradient at Langho.
    I recall that, after the train had passed, I commented to my friend that the loco seemed to be going very well and that it was a shame that we hadn't had as good a run northbound a week before. What we didn't know was that the loco had stopped short of steam at Kirkby Stephen and that later, almost at journeys end, they stopped once more short of steam almost opposite the Heritage Centre at Crewe so, for once, we were in the right place!
19. On 27th September 2003 the LMS Princess Coronation Pacific 6233 'Duchess of Sutherland' was booked to work a tour to Glasgow, steam hauled from and back to Carnforth over both Shap and Beattock summits
    In view of the high mileage we expected the train to be quite early in the day on Shap but what we didn't anticipate was just how early it was going to be. The booked time passing Tebay proved to be 07.24!
    Despite requiring an incredibly early start we went to Shap Wells but the recording was not very satisfactory. It appears that they had been having injector problems all the way from Carnforth and this wasn't helped by the loco priming (carrying water over from the boiler through the cylinders) while climbing Shap.
    This meant that the loco had to be eased considerably on the climb and eventually had to be brought to a stand short of the summit as the water level in the boiler was giving cause for concern. Better that than a dropping a plug.
    Despite the fact that the recording was rubbish I have to say that the sight of the loco was unforgettable with steam hanging in the still air illuminated by the newly risen sun!
    In view of the disappointing sound recording on Shap my friend Mike suggested that, instead of returning for a late breakfast as we had originally intended we could continue north and try for a recording on Beattock.
    I had never been there before but was aware that for most of the way the line is paralleled by the busy A74(M) so finding a good spot was not going to be easy.
    After driving almost to the summit we eventually decided to have a look at a spot just below Harthope. This spot seemed to be the best that we could expect to find and, thinking we still had plenty of time began to have a look around for the best place to set up the microphones.
    We were still looking when, in the distance we heard the unmistakable sound of a Semi working hard and some quick work was required to get set up!
    The recording was much better, if shorter than the one obtained on Shap but it would have been nice to have had more time!
    The train had been booked a pathing stop at Quintinshill and this had been omitted hence the early arrival. I really wish that they wouldn't do that!
20. Sometimes when making lineside recordings, just when things seem hopeless, it all comes together!
    On 13th March 2004 the ex LNER B1 4-6-0 61264 worked a railtour from Doncaster to Scarborough and back, out via York, back via the coast and Goole - at least that was the plan.
    After seeing the B1 at Doncaster and again near Strensall we had plenty of time for a visit to Filey, where we attempted to do justice to the largest portions of Fish & Chips that it has ever been my pleasure to buy and have a short walk on Filey Brigg, before our next appointment with 61264 at Hunmanby between Filey and Bridlington.
    Here the line becomes single track after the double track section through Filey and begins to climb over the Wolds to reach Bridlington.
    Having already identified a potentially suitable location for our recording on a map we were more than a little disappointed to see that although the location was almost ideal, in a nearby field preparations were underway for grass track car racing on the following day. These preparation included the use of a tractor which wasn't too noisy but we seemed doomed not to be able to get a recording when they started testing the public address system and various warning sirens!
    However, shortly before the B1 appeared all became quiet and, aside from a farmer reducing the local rabbit population with his shot gun, we had an remarkably uninterrupted few minutes.
    This was just as well for it would have been a great pity if this recording had been spoilt by extraneous noises as the B1 makes a fine sound starting away from the station and climbing the gradient. Thanks to a light breeze the sound of the loco going away was carried back for quite a long time and can be heard almost all the way to the top of the climb near Speeton. An excellent recording.
    The humming sound heard as the back of the train passes isn't a diesel attached at the rear of the train but the generator coach there to provide electrical power for train heating. In view of what transpired later it would have been better had it been a diesel loco!
    Our next port of call was Goole but I have no recording. The loco failed just south of Bridlington with a burst boiler tube and had to be rescued by a diesel some hours later.
21. On 27th March 2004 Lancashire Railtours arranged a series of steam hauled trips using the ex LNER K1 62005.
    Starting at Carnforth in the morning the route was via Lancaster, Preston, Blackburn then through Clitheroe to Hellifield and back to Carnforth. After a break of a couple of hours the K1 then repeated the same route before finishing off the day with a run down the main line to Preston and back.
    Thanks to plenty of pick up points and sensible fares these trains did very well for passenger loadings.
    Plenty of stops meant plenty of opportunities for lineside recordings and after a recording on the climb between Bamber Bridge and Hoghton, as 62005 was booked to stop for water at Cherry Tree before stopping again to pick up passengers at Blackburn we had plenty of time to get to Clitheroe and find a suitable spot near Horrocksford Jc. where the short line to the nearby cement works, just audible away to the left, branches off.
    The train stopped to pick up more passengers at Clitheroe and can be heard departing as this recording begins. However, the signalman in Horrocksford Jc. signal box has a message for the driver and the K1 has to stop at the box.
    Once the signal man has passed on his message, Frank Santrian once a driver at Crewe, now working for the West Coast Railway Co. who provided the stock and train crew, soon has 62005 on the move again on the rising gradient. The K1 slips dramatically on the pointwork but this is quickly controlled and the train is soon accelerating towards it's next stop at Hellifield.
22. On some days lineside sound recording is memorable for perfect conditions. Those days with a light breeze from the right direction, no distractions and a steam engine working hard are unbeatable. Other days are memorable for quite different reasons.
    3rd April 2004 was a day in the later category when the LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' worked a train from Preston over Shap to Carlisle. It was one of those days that Shap often produces with a strong south westerly wind accompanied by almost horizontal rain.
    As this recording begins the wind roars in the overhead wires and batters against the dry stone wall behind which I was sheltering from the rain passing horizontally overhead.
    Carried on the wind the sound of a Stanier hooter can just be heard and, in due course, above the noise of the wind and rain the sound of 6201 working hard coming up the 1 in 75 gradient from Scout Green.
    Despite the conditions the sight and sound of 6201 passing with 13 coaches behind the tender was superb and well worth getting soaked to experience!
    As 6201 approaches the cutting leading to Shap Summit the sound fades away to be replaced by one of Virgin Trains Pendolinos descending the bank, a stark reminder that this is still 2004 rather than 1954.
    Hear a of track 22.