44871 + 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier On The Jacobite Trains 17th and 18th August 2016

On August 17th and 18th 2016 I visited the Fort William to Mallaig line to capture some of the West Coast Railway's "Jacobite" steam hauled services. The "Jacobite" train being so called after the 17th and 18th Century "Jacobite Political Movement" which incurred many fierce battles between the Scottish and English with the loss of many lives. The train has been recently referred to as "The Hogwarts Express" due to the Harry Potter movies being filmed along this stretch of beautiful railway, some say this 41 miles is the prettiest section of railway in the world. It certainly has some stunning scenery en route and magnificent pieces of engineering such as the famous 21 arched viaduct south of Glenfinnan and the swing bridge for the Caledonian Canal and railway at Banavie The line also boasts what a lot of people mistake Penzance for holding, but in fact the most westerly station in mainland Britain is Arisaig, shortly before the line turns North Easterly towards Mallaig. There are many photo opportunities along the line adjacent to the main A830 road from Fort William to Mallaig and even more off the main road. On the days I visited two "Black Five" Locomotives were in charge of the 10.15 departure from Fort William and the 14.40 departure from Fort William, however the day after the swing bridge at banavie suffered a fault shutting the Mallaig line for what was to be my third day but I had to abandon just before the line was reopened. Locomotives both LMS Class 5MT 4-6-0 numbers 45407 "The Lancashire Fusilier" and 44871 were in operation for both days. I witnessed both trains at several locations including the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct and in spectacular weather too, so I hope you enjoy the video I have put together and it inspires you to take a trip on this superb train.