34046 Braunton and Black Five 44871 blasts up Whiteball Bank in 2 days! 4th - 5th May 2024

The May Day Bank Holiday had two mainline steam locomotives heading to Devon in two consecutive days with 34046 Braunton hauling The First English Riviera Express this year to Paignton and Kingswear on Saturday and then on Sunday, Ian Riley's Black Five no. 44871 hauled the first Royal Duchy this year to Par. The two days which I was filming were completely different. For Braunton's run to Paignton and Kingswear, the weather was beautiful with clear blue skies bringing a potential good day in prospect. Whereas The Black Five's run with the Royal Duchy bought dull and occasional drizzle and poor lighting.
There is a reason why I only filmed two shots of the two engines from the same vantage point at Nynehead on Whiteball Bank. For Braunton, the potentially good day was ruined when in particular the return leg, Braunton was running insanely early. So early in that by the time Braunton returned to Taunton with her train, she was 50 minutes early. I also filmed her along the English Riviera, but they weren't good enough for the final cut. I got to Burlescombe just in time only for Braunton to do barely anything and the diesel was on max power which was really frustrating. The next day I filmed 44871 at Nynehead, the same location as I filmed Braunton, and made my way down towards Powderham near Starcross. However, the weather got incredibly dark and very dire indeed, with heavier rain and worse lighting. I was soaked and even though I filmed her passing through Powderham, I thought that the first shot was way better and decided against putting it up. As the saying goes ' You can't win every time'.
I hope you enjoyed the video. Feel free to leave a like, comment, and subscribe for more Steam action from Full Steam Ahead.

[@geraldineaherne9763]

Thank you for sharing. Great video.

[@oaktrainstoysreviews]

Has been a great weekend for steam. Managed to video both at Taunton

[@SimonTog]

Super video :)