Stanier duo to the West | Black Fives 44871 & 45407 on Day 1 of 'The Great Britain XVI' - 13.04.24

With the ongoing situation of WCRC no longer having an exemption in regards to CDL fitted stock, Railway Touring Companies Annual “The Great Britain” railtour would have a very different look this year as it began it’s journey out of London for a week of travelling across the UK.
With the CDL fitted Mark 2 stock requiring Air Braked locos, it would be down to Ian Riley’s duo of Black 5’s to cover the majority of the trip, with 34067 Tangmere being used on two legs of the holiday excursion in the north. Day 1 would head out of London Victoria with 44871 at the helm, and go on a Kent circular, travelling to Margate via Rochester & Faversham, before heading back towards the capital via Dover & Maidstone. The tour would then head to the GWML via Kensington Olympia to travel onto Southall where fellow classmate 45407 "The Lancashire Fusilier" would be waiting to attach to the train. The duo would then lead the tour to Cheltenham Spa to end the first day.
Starting out at Sittingbourne, 44871 gleams in the sunshine as it powers away from a pathing stop at Newington. Following its circuit round the coast, the train is next captured at Barming, where it was hoped the engine would perform well on the steep grade, but being on the hot end of a service train, was chasing yellows and therefore passed cautiously. The next shot comes from West Ealing as 44871 powers away from Acton Jn on the final bit of her solo journey to Southall. With the sorting of locomotives having taken longer than planned, the next shot comes from Didcot Parkway as the duo slow for a yellow signal. It was intended to film the pair at Goring, but the late running and need to get our train to the final location required us to be at Didcot. Finally, we headed to Kemble, as the pair charge through the station, both their whistles sounding, as they head for the westbound climb to Sapperton Tunnel.
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[@kevinheaton9213]

Thank you for such a brilliant video regards kevin😊

[@themodster]

Thanks for the feedback Kevin!

[@JakeBSteam]

Great video footage, thanks for sharing. Kind regards, Jake.

[@themodster]

Cheers Jake

[@joelightrailway2362]

Great video of the tour first phase of it nine day journey with 44871 & 45407 in action 👍👍 Never thought to see the first of this tour run around the southeast corner of England as it usually go down to places like Plymouth.

[@themodster]

Cheers Joe. Yes it was an interesting start to the tour compared to others.

[@ceanothus_bluemoon]

Lovely! Not enough double-headers on the mainline, so this is a treat.

[@themodster]

It was a treat to see them both paired up again.

[@crunchynutsteamfilms5043]

Great footage Thomas, a good performance at Kemble! I had plans to go to Cholsey but a signal failure meant I couldn't even leave my local so I didn't go lol. Regards, Dan

[@themodster]

Thanks Dan. I heard about the problems you faced, hard luck. We had either Cholsey or Goring planned but had to do Didcot to ensure getting the train to Kemble.

[@SimonTog]

Super video Thomas :)

[@themodster]

Thanks Simon

[@basictraincontent]

Great capture. I caught the double header at Twyford. What is the last station?

[@themodster]

Thanks. The last shot was taken at Kemble.

[@jameshardy4354]

Sadly dosent look like it going to have the different variety of stewm locomotives than previous years

[@themodster]

Ssadly not, but at least the tour can still go ahead even if it is mostly this pair that'll do it. Credit to the support crews concerned.