steam sounds

On 5th February 2005 ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 worked a railtour from Doncaster to Scarborough and back, outward via York, returning via Bridlington and Goole.
We expected that the best recording of the day would be of 45407 climbing away from Hunmanby and we weren't disappointed.
As the recording begins, despite the sound of cars passing on the nearby, but normally very quiet road (probably carrying lineside photographers rushing to their next location!) 45407 can be heard approaching Hunmanby station about a quarter of a mile away.
Pulling away from the station on to the single track section to Bridlington the Black 5 slips violently which causes the safety valves to lift but, with the sanders on the loco begins to make a sure footed climb of the 1 in 106 gradient away from the station.
A southerly wind was blowing and after the train has passed the sound carries back well and the loco is audible almost all the way to the top of the climb near Speeton 4 miles away.

On the way back to Doncaster 45407 stopped for water at Goole.
As this recording begins a DMU is heard approaching from Doncaster before the sound of the Black 5 restarting its train can be heard.
My book of gradient profiles indicates a gradient of 1 in 196 at this point where the line climbs away from Goole to reach the high bridge over the Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Navigation.
Seen from the ground the climb looks much steeper and the Black 5 makes a fine sound climbing to the bridge.
Once 45407 has rattled over the bridge the train accelerates rapidly on the falling gradient beyond on the last part of the journey back to Doncaster.

Aside from a visit to the Severn Valley Railway, the main reason for our visit to the West Midlands on 26th February 2005 was to try for a recording of the GWR King 4-6-0 6024 'King Edward I' climbing the Lickey with a railtour returning from Newport.
It was only a last minute decision to go out for this train as we had heard that it would be stopping at Bromsgrove to attach a diesel banker, Network Rail not being prepared to take the risk of something going wrong had the train been single headed on the steep climb.
I can't help but feel that this was totally unnecessary. The train was made up of just 8 coaches and given a clear run through Bromsgrove would surely have climbed the 2 mile bank without difficulty.
The spot we chose for our recording was between Pikes Pool Lane Bridge and Vigo at the top of the bank at the south side of the line from where we could see the train approaching Bromsgrove.
Our one hope was that the diesel banker would only assist if things started to go wrong but soon after 6024 had started away from Bromsgrove became it apparent from the speed that the train was travelling at that the diesel was pushing hard and, as the train passed us it must have been travelling at around 30 mph.
Still, even though the diesel, a Class 37, was obviously providing assistance, the King was being worked very hard too and making a fine sound on the 1 in 37 gradient and can be heard reaching Blackwell and accelerating rapidly on the easier gradients.
Under the circumstances not a bad result but next time, if we must have a banker can we have a steam loco please?
Hear a

of track 4.

On 22nd March 2005 His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales had a ride over the Settle - Carlisle line in the Royal Train which for only the second time since the 1960's was to be steam hauled.
The loco chosen was the LMS Coronation Pacific 6233 'Duchess of Sutherland', the same loco that had hauled the Royal Train conveying HM The Queen & The Duke of Edinburgh along the North Wales Coast in 2002.
6233 was waiting to haul the train from Hellifield after it had arrived from Carnforth diesel hauled having dropped the Prince off at Clapham where he visited the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and met local residents before travelling by road to Settle where he rejoined the Royal Train for the steam hauled run to Carlisle.
Our first recording of the train was made at Selside.
We were lucky in our choice of location as shortly before 6233 appeared a diesel hauled freight train passed heading down the gradient. Had it been a few minutes later our recordings would have been ruined!
Although the train was a relatively short one, 7 coaches forming the Royal Train plus the loco support coach with a Class 67 diesel, 67006 'Royal Sovereign', attached at the rear as 'insurance', 6233 sounds to have to work hard on the gradient. Fortunately, the diesel was not providing any assistance.

Potentially, 23rd April 2005 was a very interesting day for railway enthusiasts in the North of England, particularly around York as there were no fewer than 3 steam hauled charter trains running through, to or from that city that day and you can add to that a Deltic hauled train running on the East Coast Main Line just for good measure.
Indeed, at Doncaster in the morning it should have been possible to see, or even record, the Deltic hauled train followed by a charter hauled by the ex LNER B1 4-6-0 61264, both heading north within 2 minutes of each other. Unfortunately, any such plan would have been thwarted by the B1 running about half an hour late!
The other charter trains were one hauled by 71000 running to Newcastle from York and another with 4965 running from Birmingham to York which should have passed the B1 at Milford Jc. while it was taking water but, due to the late running, this didn't happen either.
It was a little frustrating to find that the timing of all these trains precluded getting recordings of them all so we decided to go for the B1 which ran from Doncaster, through York to Scarborough then, after turning, ran down through Bridlington and Goole back to Doncaster.
As the day went on the train became later and by the time watering was completed at Goole and 61264 departed it was running almost 90 minutes late.
This proved to be the best recording of the day, still not quite as good as the previous time with 45407 but, despite the humming sound coming from a nearby factory, the B1 sounds good on the steep climb to the bridge over the Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Navigation on its way back to Doncaster.

In the Birmingham area on 28th May 2005 there were two steam hauled charter trains running.
One was hauled by my favourite Black 5, which you will hear in the next track.
The other was a tour organised by Steamy Affairs with steam haulage by the unique BR Standard Class 8 Pacific 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' working the train from Bescot, through the Birmingham suburbs to Worcester and Hereford before heading down the Welsh Marches route to Newport and back to Worcester.
The route through the Birmingham suburbs would involve the train taking in the steep ascent from Landore St. Jc. to Camp Hill and we were able to find a recording spot on the canal bank not far from St. Andrews Junction on the 1 in 62 gradient from Landore Street Jc.
One of the drawbacks this location had was that it didn't have much of a view so we had no warning of the train's approach, the only clue being the aspect of the signal but as that could only be seen from some distance from the recording spot it wasn't much use. In addition the train was running half an hour late.
Fortunately the wait proved worth while and the Duke was going very well on the gradient with a massive 14 coach train behind the tender and the strong wind carried the sound back for a long time as it climbed the gradient to Camp Hill.

I am somewhat unsurprised to discover that, among my collection of recordings I find that I have over 170 separate tracks with a playing time of a little more than 15 hours of one particular locomotive. Of those 170 odd tracks only a handful have been made from the lineside and none of those lineside recordings are of the loco working on the main line.
The locomotive in question is LMS Black 5 4-6-0 5305 and the reason why I have no main line lineside recordings of it is quite simple; when it was out and about on the main line in the 80's and early 90's I could usually be found in the front coach recording it!
In the intervening years I have gotten out of the habit of travelling on as many main line steam trips as I used to, so when 5305, sorry, it now carries it's BR number, 45305 returned to the main line in May 2005 as much as anything I was looking forward to the opportunity to get a few main line lineside recordings of the loco.
My first opportunity came unexpectedly on 28th May 2005 when Vintage Trains ran a tour from Birmingham to Didcot and back.
This train was supposed to be the Jubilee 5690's first train after returning to main line use.
Unfortunately the Jubilee wasn't ready in time but, as far as I was concerned at any rate, 45305 was an excellent substitute.
My first attempt at a lineside recording of this loco, made at Acocks Green station, was not very successful but I had hopes of better things when the loco returned from Didcot later in the day.
This time we went to Hatton Bank in the hope of getting something better than the recording at Acocks Green.
Although much better, this recording proved less good than it might have been as the train had a pathing stop at Leamington Spa and, from there followed a stopping DMU!
In this recording 45305 with a featherweight load of just 6 coaches behind the tender can be heard recovering after nearly being brought to a stand the signal near Hatton Locks.
A violent slip is soon controlled and the loco sounds well climbing the gradient but the next signal up the bank is against the train and the regulator has to be closed.

On Sunday 12th June 2005 there was a steam hauled train running both ways over the Settle - Carlisle line with it's starting point as Leeds. In the last few years we were beginning to think that Leeds had been declared a no-go area for steam.
Although we get a good few steam hauled trains up here in the north all too often they have their starting points somewhere much further away so it was nice to see a series of trains promoted by Kingfisher appearing in the main line steam programme with starting and local pick-up points in the north.
Hopefully, like this one, these trains will be well supported and perhaps lead to something that the Settle - Carlisle line has been crying out for, a regular daily steam operation through the summer!
Motive power for this train was ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407.
After having a recording near Bell Busk spoiled by a combination of a circling light aircraft and clay pigeon shooters we had time to get to Selside for another recording while the loco took water at Hellifield.
Here we seemed doomed to be troubled by another light aircraft, perhaps the same one, but luckily as 45407 appeared in the distance it went away.
Recording conditions were very good and we were able to hear the Black 5 for some time continuing the climb to Ribblehead after it had passed.

29th August 2005 saw a southbound Cumbrian Mountain Express hauled by LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' working it's first train after being out of traffic for repairs to remedy the damage caused in April 2004 when the loco failed dramatically descending from Shap on it's way to Carlisle.
6201 is a firm favourite of mine and I was really pleased to have the opportunity to record it on the 1 in 82 gradient of Whalley Bank at Langho.
This loco looked and sounded superb working hard on the climb and is truly a credit to those who look after it. Welcome back!

An opportunity to visit the Esk Valley Line came my way on 1st September 2005. This was the last day of the programme of steam hauled trains to Whitby that the North Yorkshire Moors Railway had been running through the Summer months.
76079 had just returned to the North Yorkshire Moors having been away in Wales working trains along the Cambrian Coast and was back in service for a final day running trains to Whitby. On just 5 coaches, the loco was being driven a little more vigorously than it had been on a previous visit, on this occasion by West Coast Railways driver Bill Andrews.
We just made it to Sleights and were very happy with this recording of the loco, working tender first, making a fine sound departing for Whitby with the first train from Grosmont.
Hear a

of track 10.

After this, things took a turn for the worse when we returned to Grosmont intending to record the 10.45 departure on the NYMR to find that the booked loco, 45212, had failed and the train was being diesel hauled!
Still, this gave us more time to find a good spot for out next lineside recording of 76079.
We ended up about ¼ mile to the west of the first bridge over the River Esk encountered after departing from Grosmont.
As this recording begins 76079 is just audible departing from Grosmont. The bridge over the river is subject to a speed restriction and the driver closes the regulator before crossing the bridge but, once clear of the restriction, soon has it wide open again and the loco makes a very fine sound continuing on the 1 in 100 gradient towards Egton and Glaisdale.

On 5th November 2005 the ex LNER B1 4-6-0 61264 worked a train to Blackpool and back running over Copy Pit in each direction.
The weather forecast for Guy Fawkes Night was for a wet morning with a drier afternoon and evening. In view of the forecast we decided to give the outward run a miss and go out in the evening for a recording in the dark of the B1 climbing the gradient with the addition of the sound of fireworks to add to the atmosphere.
As usual the forecasters got it wrong and we had a dry, occasionally sunny morning and a wet and windy afternoon and evening!
As this recording begins a Blackpool bound DMU can be heard descending the 1 in 68 gradient not far from the sites of Cliviger signal box and Holme station.
The sound of the DMU fades away and a distant whistle can just be heard soon followed by the sound of the B1 working hard with 8 well filled coaches behind the tender.
Having passed the loco is eased for the restriction through Holme Tunnel but can then be heard continuing all the way to the summit at Copy Pit.
Well worth getting wet for!

Among my collection of recordings I have a good number of a certain Black 5 departing from York heading west. All of these recordings are on-train so it was nice to have the opportunity to get a lineside recording of 45305 when it visited York with a train from Tyseley on 10th December 2005.
York in the late afternoon of that day should have given the chance of recording two steam hauled trains departing within 11 minutes of each other as another charter train, hauled by 60009, had also been due to visit. Unfortunately, due to an incident while working the empty stock to it's starting point, the tour finished before it started.
Still, it was a recording of 45305 that I really wanted.
We went to a point opposite the site of Dringhouses Marshalling Yard about ½ mile west of York station.
At a little after 5 o'clock we hear the Black 5 once clear of Holgate Bridge accelerating it's train smartly westward.
Nice to hear my favourite Black 5 back on it's old Scarborough Spa Express stamping ground!

It was the end of summer 1967 when steam finished in the West Riding and although there may have been a railtour or two in the following year, that saw the end of steam in Bradford.
It has always been one of my regrets that I was unable for various (mainly financial) reasons to get any recordings of steam hauled trains on the steep climbs towards Leeds & Halifax before steam finished.
Back in the summer of 2000 I had thought that the chance was going to come my way when someone went to a lot of trouble to try to arrange unassisted steam haulage out of Bradford Interchange when Taw Valley was involved in working a private charter in connection with publicity for a newly released Harry Potter book. Or was it a film? Well, whatever the reason, despite the train being topped and tailed with a diesel everywhere it went, no diesel was to be attached leaving Bradford. Why it actually visited Bradford was a bit of a mystery in itself.
Anyway, all this came to naught when the Bullied Pacific proved itself incapable of keeping the train on the move up the gradient and ended up being pushed by the diesel.
On 28th January 2006 the attempt was to be made again, this time with ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 as motive power, with a charter train for Past-Time Rail.
The lines around Bradford were my stamping ground in 'real' steam days and I wouldn't care to count the number of times that I travelled behind steam up that steep hill out of Bradford Exchange behind Black 5s and Fairburn tanks both towards Leeds as well as the route that this train was going to take towards Halifax with it's continuous gradient of 1 in 50.
The load was 8 coaches which perhaps doesn't sound excessive until you consider that the start is very difficult with the gradient beginning some way down the platform, the engine and first coaches actually being on the gradient.
In steam days, if my memory serves, the maximum load for an unassisted Black 5 out of Bradford Exchange was 7 coaches and anything more than that would have a banker at least as far as Bowling Jc. at the top of the gradient. In addition, the start out of Exchange was a little easier with the gradient starting beyond the platform end and, usually, the loco that had brought in the empty stock would give the train a push to the end of the platform.
So, how would 45407 cope with it's load and the gradient?
We found a recording spot at the back of an industrial estate between Mill Lane Jc. and Ripley Street bridge which seemed suitable although it was quite near a go-cart track which chose half past 12 as the time to start operations, just 7 minutes before the train was due to depart!
As the recording begins a Leeds bound DMU can be heard rounding the curve at St. Dunstans as 45407 whistles, ready to start now that the road is clear.
The initial start out of the platform is good but as more and more of the train comes onto the 1 in 50 gradient speed falls alarmingly and I was beginning to think that the loco was in danger of stalling.
I should have had more faith in one of Stannier's Black 5s and the excellent judgement and enginemanship of driver Bob Morrison as, once clear of the junctions, 45407 begins to accelerate a little and, with the locomotive later reported to be in full forward gear with the regulator in the roof, continues to accelerate as it passes on the gradient towards Bowling Jc.
If you are wondering what the internal combustion engine noises heard as the last coach passes, it's the sound of the generator coach at the back of the train being started.
As the sound of the Black 5 fades away a DMU rattles down the gradient into Bradford.
What an excellent recording, one that I have been waiting a long time to make and the first steam hauled passenger train to leave this side of Bradford for 39 years!

On 18th February 2006 the LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' was booked to work a train from Derby to Bristol and back. At least, that was the original plan.
A few days before the train was due to run, Network Rail discovered that there was a possible problem with clearances on the down line at Yate. This meant that, for the outward run, steam haulage was curtailed with the loco being detached at Gloucester while the train continued to Bristol diesel hauled. 6201 reached Bristol via Severn Tunnel Jc. The return from Bristol was steam hauled throughout.
A further problem on the day was caused by the late running of the empty stock to it's first pick up point apparently caused by frozen points. Well, it was a bit cold!
During the outward journey I tried for a recording near St. Andrews Jc. on the steep climb from Landore St. Jc. to Camp Hill.
I had recorded here before quite successfully and, although in the middle of a heavily built up area, the location alongside a canal had been fairly quiet. This time things were a little more difficult.
The first problem was the sound of water flowing through one of the lock gates so I moved from the spot I had used on the previous occasion. The spot I choose instead had the drawback that it was close to a go-cart track but all was quiet. At least it would have been had the train been on time!
Shortly before the train was due the go-carts started up and the noise forced me to move again. I found yet another spot on the canal bank away from the go-carts and the water. This spot was next to a car park but it was too late to move again as I could hear 6201 beginning the climb so, fingers crossed!
I was lucky as it was only after 6201 had passed going well on the gradient with 12 coaches behind the tender that someone decided to start their car and drive off.

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 about 20 minutes 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, 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!
Hear a

of track 16.

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 before , all too often these days, railtour plans are forced to change, usually at very at short notice. 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.
'Leander's train wasn't the only one running that day. There was another running in South Wales with 6024 and one with 60009 running to York which we managed to see leaving Barrow Hill after a water stop.
The recording was sounding good until, soon after the start the loco began priming so all we heard as it passed was the sound of cylinder cocks!
Conditions at Barrow Hill had been pretty good. It was fairly mild, the wind wasn't too bad and there was plenty of sun but, by the time we arrived at Pikes Pool Lane bridge, it was very windy and was raining quite heavily.
In view of the conditions, the position I had recorded 6201 from wasn't a possibility as it was far too exposed so we moved down to a spot below the crest of the hill, nearer the line, and awaited events.
A little after the time that the train had been due through Bromsgrove, steam could be seen rising in the distance, just about in the right place to be at Stoke Works Jc. but it wasn't moving. Was it the train or was it a factory?
After a procession of trains had passed going up the incline the steam began to move but there only appeared to be one column of steam. What was the banker doing?
All became clear once the train was onto the gradient - there was no banker. Apparently there had been some kind of problem which had prevented the Hall from leaving Tyseley to go to Worcester that afternoon but it was felt that, as 'Leander' only had 6 coaches behind the tender, there would be little risk in allowing the ascent to be unassisted.
And, as you can hear in this recording, this proved correct. With the engine being worked as hard as this there was no risk of stalling on the 1 in 37¾ climb. While I would not claim to be a great fan of Jubilees, I will admit to enjoying the sound of one being thrashed and this one was - thoroughly!

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steamsounds - volume 7 The seventh volume continues with the lineside theme with more recordings from recent years. steamsounds Volume 7 contains 17 recordings of steam locomotives heard from the lineside working on the main line. With a playing time of approx 78 minutes this CD has my best recordings from 2005 and the first few months of 2006. Included are a recording that I had waited almost 40 years to make, 6233 hauling the Royal Train and no less than 3 recordings on the Lickey Incline. 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. Many 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.

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Track List Hear near CD quality samples of track 4, track 10 & track 16. On 5th February 2005 ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 worked a railtour from Doncaster to Scarborough and back, outward via York, returning via Bridlington and Goole. We expected that the best recording of the day would be of 45407 climbing away from Hunmanby and we weren't disappointed. As the recording begins, despite the sound of cars passing on the nearby, but normally very quiet road (probably carrying lineside photographers rushing to their next location!) 45407 can be heard approaching Hunmanby station about a quarter of a mile away. Pulling away from the station on to the single track section to Bridlington the Black 5 slips violently which causes the safety valves to lift but, with the sanders on the loco begins to make a sure footed climb of the 1 in 106 gradient away from the station. A southerly wind was blowing and after the train has passed the sound carries back well and the loco is audible almost all the way to the top of the climb near Speeton 4 miles away. On the way back to Doncaster 45407 stopped for water at Goole. As this recording begins a DMU is heard approaching from Doncaster before the sound of the Black 5 restarting its train can be heard. My book of gradient profiles indicates a gradient of 1 in 196 at this point where the line climbs away from Goole to reach the high bridge over the Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Navigation. Seen from the ground the climb looks much steeper and the Black 5 makes a fine sound climbing to the bridge. Once 45407 has rattled over the bridge the train accelerates rapidly on the falling gradient beyond on the last part of the journey back to Doncaster. Aside from a visit to the Severn Valley Railway, the main reason for our visit to the West Midlands on 26th February 2005 was to try for a recording of the GWR King 4-6-0 6024 'King Edward I' climbing the Lickey with a railtour returning from Newport. It was only a last minute decision to go out for this train as we had heard that it would be stopping at Bromsgrove to attach a diesel banker, Network Rail not being prepared to take the risk of something going wrong had the train been single headed on the steep climb. I can't help but feel that this was totally unnecessary. The train was made up of just 8 coaches and given a clear run through Bromsgrove would surely have climbed the 2 mile bank without difficulty. The spot we chose for our recording was between Pikes Pool Lane Bridge and Vigo at the top of the bank at the south side of the line from where we could see the train approaching Bromsgrove. Our one hope was that the diesel banker would only assist if things started to go wrong but soon after 6024 had started away from Bromsgrove became it apparent from the speed that the train was travelling at that the diesel was pushing hard and, as the train passed us it must have been travelling at around 30 mph. Still, even though the diesel, a Class 37, was obviously providing assistance, the King was being worked very hard too and making a fine sound on the 1 in 37 gradient and can be heard reaching Blackwell and accelerating rapidly on the easier gradients. Under the circumstances not a bad result but next time, if we must have a banker can we have a steam loco please? Hear a of track 4. On 22nd March 2005 His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales had a ride over the Settle - Carlisle line in the Royal Train which for only the second time since the 1960's was to be steam hauled. The loco chosen was the LMS Coronation Pacific 6233 'Duchess of Sutherland', the same loco that had hauled the Royal Train conveying HM The Queen & The Duke of Edinburgh along the North Wales Coast in 2002. 6233 was waiting to haul the train from Hellifield after it had arrived from Carnforth diesel hauled having dropped the Prince off at Clapham where he visited the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and met local residents before travelling by road to Settle where he rejoined the Royal Train for the steam hauled run to Carlisle. Our first recording of the train was made at Selside. We were lucky in our choice of location as shortly before 6233 appeared a diesel hauled freight train passed heading down the gradient. Had it been a few minutes later our recordings would have been ruined! Although the train was a relatively short one, 7 coaches forming the Royal Train plus the loco support coach with a Class 67 diesel, 67006 'Royal Sovereign', attached at the rear as 'insurance', 6233 sounds to have to work hard on the gradient. Fortunately, the diesel was not providing any assistance. Potentially, 23rd April 2005 was a very interesting day for railway enthusiasts in the North of England, particularly around York as there were no fewer than 3 steam hauled charter trains running through, to or from that city that day and you can add to that a Deltic hauled train running on the East Coast Main Line just for good measure. Indeed, at Doncaster in the morning it should have been possible to see, or even record, the Deltic hauled train followed by a charter hauled by the ex LNER B1 4-6-0 61264, both heading north within 2 minutes of each other. Unfortunately, any such plan would have been thwarted by the B1 running about half an hour late! The other charter trains were one hauled by 71000 running to Newcastle from York and another with 4965 running from Birmingham to York which should have passed the B1 at Milford Jc. while it was taking water but, due to the late running, this didn't happen either. It was a little frustrating to find that the timing of all these trains precluded getting recordings of them all so we decided to go for the B1 which ran from Doncaster, through York to Scarborough then, after turning, ran down through Bridlington and Goole back to Doncaster. As the day went on the train became later and by the time watering was completed at Goole and 61264 departed it was running almost 90 minutes late. This proved to be the best recording of the day, still not quite as good as the previous time with 45407 but, despite the humming sound coming from a nearby factory, the B1 sounds good on the steep climb to the bridge over the Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Navigation on its way back to Doncaster. In the Birmingham area on 28th May 2005 there were two steam hauled charter trains running. One was hauled by my favourite Black 5, which you will hear in the next track. The other was a tour organised by Steamy Affairs with steam haulage by the unique BR Standard Class 8 Pacific 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' working the train from Bescot, through the Birmingham suburbs to Worcester and Hereford before heading down the Welsh Marches route to Newport and back to Worcester. The route through the Birmingham suburbs would involve the train taking in the steep ascent from Landore St. Jc. to Camp Hill and we were able to find a recording spot on the canal bank not far from St. Andrews Junction on the 1 in 62 gradient from Landore Street Jc. One of the drawbacks this location had was that it didn't have much of a view so we had no warning of the train's approach, the only clue being the aspect of the signal but as that could only be seen from some distance from the recording spot it wasn't much use. In addition the train was running half an hour late. Fortunately the wait proved worth while and the Duke was going very well on the gradient with a massive 14 coach train behind the tender and the strong wind carried the sound back for a long time as it climbed the gradient to Camp Hill. I am somewhat unsurprised to discover that, among my collection of recordings I find that I have over 170 separate tracks with a playing time of a little more than 15 hours of one particular locomotive. Of those 170 odd tracks only a handful have been made from the lineside and none of those lineside recordings are of the loco working on the main line. The locomotive in question is LMS Black 5 4-6-0 5305 and the reason why I have no main line lineside recordings of it is quite simple; when it was out and about on the main line in the 80's and early 90's I could usually be found in the front coach recording it! In the intervening years I have gotten out of the habit of travelling on as many main line steam trips as I used to, so when 5305, sorry, it now carries it's BR number, 45305 returned to the main line in May 2005 as much as anything I was looking forward to the opportunity to get a few main line lineside recordings of the loco. My first opportunity came unexpectedly on 28th May 2005 when Vintage Trains ran a tour from Birmingham to Didcot and back. This train was supposed to be the Jubilee 5690's first train after returning to main line use. Unfortunately the Jubilee wasn't ready in time but, as far as I was concerned at any rate, 45305 was an excellent substitute. My first attempt at a lineside recording of this loco, made at Acocks Green station, was not very successful but I had hopes of better things when the loco returned from Didcot later in the day. This time we went to Hatton Bank in the hope of getting something better than the recording at Acocks Green. Although much better, this recording proved less good than it might have been as the train had a pathing stop at Leamington Spa and, from there followed a stopping DMU! In this recording 45305 with a featherweight load of just 6 coaches behind the tender can be heard recovering after nearly being brought to a stand the signal near Hatton Locks. A violent slip is soon controlled and the loco sounds well climbing the gradient but the next signal up the bank is against the train and the regulator has to be closed. On Sunday 12th June 2005 there was a steam hauled train running both ways over the Settle - Carlisle line with it's starting point as Leeds. In the last few years we were beginning to think that Leeds had been declared a no-go area for steam. Although we get a good few steam hauled trains up here in the north all too often they have their starting points somewhere much further away so it was nice to see a series of trains promoted by Kingfisher appearing in the main line steam programme with starting and local pick-up points in the north. Hopefully, like this one, these trains will be well supported and perhaps lead to something that the Settle - Carlisle line has been crying out for, a regular daily steam operation through the summer! Motive power for this train was ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407. After having a recording near Bell Busk spoiled by a combination of a circling light aircraft and clay pigeon shooters we had time to get to Selside for another recording while the loco took water at Hellifield. Here we seemed doomed to be troubled by another light aircraft, perhaps the same one, but luckily as 45407 appeared in the distance it went away. Recording conditions were very good and we were able to hear the Black 5 for some time continuing the climb to Ribblehead after it had passed. 29th August 2005 saw a southbound Cumbrian Mountain Express hauled by LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' working it's first train after being out of traffic for repairs to remedy the damage caused in April 2004 when the loco failed dramatically descending from Shap on it's way to Carlisle. 6201 is a firm favourite of mine and I was really pleased to have the opportunity to record it on the 1 in 82 gradient of Whalley Bank at Langho. This loco looked and sounded superb working hard on the climb and is truly a credit to those who look after it. Welcome back! An opportunity to visit the Esk Valley Line came my way on 1st September 2005. This was the last day of the programme of steam hauled trains to Whitby that the North Yorkshire Moors Railway had been running through the Summer months. 76079 had just returned to the North Yorkshire Moors having been away in Wales working trains along the Cambrian Coast and was back in service for a final day running trains to Whitby. On just 5 coaches, the loco was being driven a little more vigorously than it had been on a previous visit, on this occasion by West Coast Railways driver Bill Andrews. We just made it to Sleights and were very happy with this recording of the loco, working tender first, making a fine sound departing for Whitby with the first train from Grosmont. Hear a of track 10. After this, things took a turn for the worse when we returned to Grosmont intending to record the 10.45 departure on the NYMR to find that the booked loco, 45212, had failed and the train was being diesel hauled! Still, this gave us more time to find a good spot for out next lineside recording of 76079. We ended up about ¼ mile to the west of the first bridge over the River Esk encountered after departing from Grosmont. As this recording begins 76079 is just audible departing from Grosmont. The bridge over the river is subject to a speed restriction and the driver closes the regulator before crossing the bridge but, once clear of the restriction, soon has it wide open again and the loco makes a very fine sound continuing on the 1 in 100 gradient towards Egton and Glaisdale. On 5th November 2005 the ex LNER B1 4-6-0 61264 worked a train to Blackpool and back running over Copy Pit in each direction. The weather forecast for Guy Fawkes Night was for a wet morning with a drier afternoon and evening. In view of the forecast we decided to give the outward run a miss and go out in the evening for a recording in the dark of the B1 climbing the gradient with the addition of the sound of fireworks to add to the atmosphere. As usual the forecasters got it wrong and we had a dry, occasionally sunny morning and a wet and windy afternoon and evening! As this recording begins a Blackpool bound DMU can be heard descending the 1 in 68 gradient not far from the sites of Cliviger signal box and Holme station. The sound of the DMU fades away and a distant whistle can just be heard soon followed by the sound of the B1 working hard with 8 well filled coaches behind the tender. Having passed the loco is eased for the restriction through Holme Tunnel but can then be heard continuing all the way to the summit at Copy Pit. Well worth getting wet for! Among my collection of recordings I have a good number of a certain Black 5 departing from York heading west. All of these recordings are on-train so it was nice to have the opportunity to get a lineside recording of 45305 when it visited York with a train from Tyseley on 10th December 2005. York in the late afternoon of that day should have given the chance of recording two steam hauled trains departing within 11 minutes of each other as another charter train, hauled by 60009, had also been due to visit. Unfortunately, due to an incident while working the empty stock to it's starting point, the tour finished before it started. Still, it was a recording of 45305 that I really wanted. We went to a point opposite the site of Dringhouses Marshalling Yard about ½ mile west of York station. At a little after 5 o'clock we hear the Black 5 once clear of Holgate Bridge accelerating it's train smartly westward. Nice to hear my favourite Black 5 back on it's old Scarborough Spa Express stamping ground! It was the end of summer 1967 when steam finished in the West Riding and although there may have been a railtour or two in the following year, that saw the end of steam in Bradford. It has always been one of my regrets that I was unable for various (mainly financial) reasons to get any recordings of steam hauled trains on the steep climbs towards Leeds & Halifax before steam finished. Back in the summer of 2000 I had thought that the chance was going to come my way when someone went to a lot of trouble to try to arrange unassisted steam haulage out of Bradford Interchange when Taw Valley was involved in working a private charter in connection with publicity for a newly released Harry Potter book. Or was it a film? Well, whatever the reason, despite the train being topped and tailed with a diesel everywhere it went, no diesel was to be attached leaving Bradford. Why it actually visited Bradford was a bit of a mystery in itself. Anyway, all this came to naught when the Bullied Pacific proved itself incapable of keeping the train on the move up the gradient and ended up being pushed by the diesel. On 28th January 2006 the attempt was to be made again, this time with ex LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45407 as motive power, with a charter train for Past-Time Rail. The lines around Bradford were my stamping ground in 'real' steam days and I wouldn't care to count the number of times that I travelled behind steam up that steep hill out of Bradford Exchange behind Black 5s and Fairburn tanks both towards Leeds as well as the route that this train was going to take towards Halifax with it's continuous gradient of 1 in 50. The load was 8 coaches which perhaps doesn't sound excessive until you consider that the start is very difficult with the gradient beginning some way down the platform, the engine and first coaches actually being on the gradient. In steam days, if my memory serves, the maximum load for an unassisted Black 5 out of Bradford Exchange was 7 coaches and anything more than that would have a banker at least as far as Bowling Jc. at the top of the gradient. In addition, the start out of Exchange was a little easier with the gradient starting beyond the platform end and, usually, the loco that had brought in the empty stock would give the train a push to the end of the platform. So, how would 45407 cope with it's load and the gradient? We found a recording spot at the back of an industrial estate between Mill Lane Jc. and Ripley Street bridge which seemed suitable although it was quite near a go-cart track which chose half past 12 as the time to start operations, just 7 minutes before the train was due to depart! As the recording begins a Leeds bound DMU can be heard rounding the curve at St. Dunstans as 45407 whistles, ready to start now that the road is clear. The initial start out of the platform is good but as more and more of the train comes onto the 1 in 50 gradient speed falls alarmingly and I was beginning to think that the loco was in danger of stalling. I should have had more faith in one of Stannier's Black 5s and the excellent judgement and enginemanship of driver Bob Morrison as, once clear of the junctions, 45407 begins to accelerate a little and, with the locomotive later reported to be in full forward gear with the regulator in the roof, continues to accelerate as it passes on the gradient towards Bowling Jc. If you are wondering what the internal combustion engine noises heard as the last coach passes, it's the sound of the generator coach at the back of the train being started. As the sound of the Black 5 fades away a DMU rattles down the gradient into Bradford. What an excellent recording, one that I have been waiting a long time to make and the first steam hauled passenger train to leave this side of Bradford for 39 years! On 18th February 2006 the LMS Princess Royal Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' was booked to work a train from Derby to Bristol and back. At least, that was the original plan. A few days before the train was due to run, Network Rail discovered that there was a possible problem with clearances on the down line at Yate. This meant that, for the outward run, steam haulage was curtailed with the loco being detached at Gloucester while the train continued to Bristol diesel hauled. 6201 reached Bristol via Severn Tunnel Jc. The return from Bristol was steam hauled throughout. A further problem on the day was caused by the late running of the empty stock to it's first pick up point apparently caused by frozen points. Well, it was a bit cold! During the outward journey I tried for a recording near St. Andrews Jc. on the steep climb from Landore St. Jc. to Camp Hill. I had recorded here before quite successfully and, although in the middle of a heavily built up area, the location alongside a canal had been fairly quiet. This time things were a little more difficult. The first problem was the sound of water flowing through one of the lock gates so I moved from the spot I had used on the previous occasion. The spot I choose instead had the drawback that it was close to a go-cart track but all was quiet. At least it would have been had the train been on time! Shortly before the train was due the go-carts started up and the noise forced me to move again. I found yet another spot on the canal bank away from the go-carts and the water. This spot was next to a car park but it was too late to move again as I could hear 6201 beginning the climb so, fingers crossed! I was lucky as it was only after 6201 had passed going well on the gradient with 12 coaches behind the tender that someone decided to start their car and drive off. 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 about 20 minutes 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, 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! Hear a of track 16. 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 before , all too often these days, railtour plans are forced to change, usually at very at short notice. 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. 'Leander's train wasn't the only one running that day. There was another running in South Wales with 6024 and one with 60009 running to York which we managed to see leaving Barrow Hill after a water stop. The recording was sounding good until, soon after the start the loco began priming so all we heard as it passed was the sound of cylinder cocks! Conditions at Barrow Hill had been pretty good. It was fairly mild, the wind wasn't too bad and there was plenty of sun but, by the time we arrived at Pikes Pool Lane bridge, it was very windy and was raining quite heavily. In view of the conditions, the position I had recorded 6201 from wasn't a possibility as it was far too exposed so we moved down to a spot below the crest of the hill, nearer the line, and awaited events. A little after the time that the train had been due through Bromsgrove, steam could be seen rising in the distance, just about in the right place to be at Stoke Works Jc. but it wasn't moving. Was it the train or was it a factory? After a procession of trains had passed going up the incline the steam began to move but there only appeared to be one column of steam. What was the banker doing? All became clear once the train was onto the gradient - there was no banker. Apparently there had been some kind of problem which had prevented the Hall from leaving Tyseley to go to Worcester that afternoon but it was felt that, as 'Leander' only had 6 coaches behind the tender, there would be little risk in allowing the ascent to be unassisted. And, as you can hear in this recording, this proved correct. With the engine being worked as hard as this there was no risk of stalling on the 1 in 37¾ climb. While I would not claim to be a great fan of Jubilees, I will admit to enjoying the sound of one being thrashed and this one was - thoroughly!
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