The Practical Joker Railtour, Sat April 1st 2000
Organiser – Mercia (incl support from Traction Magazine)
Ching -£30
Timekeeping 10-30 Late North, 2h 40m Late Southbound
Stock 13 x Mk I, incl Gen van
The Tour Moves
58005 0615 Watford-Carlisle Railtour “Practical Joker” 1Z92 (via Cov, Nun) Watford Jn – Crewe
92017} 0615 Watford-Carlisle Railtour “Practical Joker” 1Z92 (via Shap) 56115}(d} Crewe – Carlisle
56115 1517 Carlisle-Watford Jn 1Z93 Railtour (2h 40m late ex Blackburn due h/lgt failure.) (via Settle/Clith) Carlisle – Crewe
58005 1517 Carlisle-Watford Jn 1Z93 Railtour (via Stechford, Northampton)
Crewe – Watford Jn (via BS, Aston, Cov)
A fast car courtesy of Tony Ewer took me and both my kids South from Leighton around 5am on a chill, frosty morning. A few minutes down required 58005 arrived with the tour and a good crowd piled on. Near Cheddington a big red rising sun emerged through the mists as our bone powered North.
58005 about to be removed from the tour, having worked from Watford. 56115 awaits alongside to be the translator for the 92
A slow loco change at Crewe perhaps in part due some rancid Kettle chuffing around to work the Buxton tour forward. Eventually 92017 and 56115 tucked inside coupled up and we were soon experiencing the awesome acceleration of a 92. A sad sight passing Wigan Springs Branch of classes 37, 47 and 56 awaiting stripping. We powered through the Lune Gorge in full Spring sun, a superb section of railway, overtaking a looped 92009 on MGR’s at Tebay . Obviously Shap was no problem to the 92. At Carlisle we had a booked 3 hour break, most of the train doing the nearby Chippie.!
The awesome power of 92017 rests at Carlisle after an exhilerating run, 56115 clags away inside at Carlisle
56115 brings the return tour into Carlisle,note the supervisor pointing at his watch, we were then 30 down, that was peanuts as we journeyed South to end up hours late!.
The Carlisle break was extended as a headlight problem with 56115 was “rectified” so we departed Carlisle via a sunlit S n C 30 mins late. From Clitheroe our grid was in totter mood due a total headlight failure as far as Blackburn where the farce began. We arrived Blackburn at 1902 (60m late) but didnt depart until 2051 (2h 44m late). Mercia advising 56094 was to rescue us drew cheers, but in the end an emergency headlamp came in a taxi from Warrington!
On departure from Blackburn Tour Organisers Mercia went into assisting people home mode, doing an excellent job of arranging taxis for many. The tour atmosphere was now obviously subdued by now, but we did enjoy storming down an empty WCML behind the bone apart from the totter via Northampton. We finally got back to Watford Jn at 0135 instead of the booked 2258! (2h 37m late)….
A fast car on a still busy A41 saw us home for 2am exhausted but content with our days with all 3 locos required with that awesome 92 the personal favourite.
Other gen from the day
86426 ECS for a Northampton-Buxton Kettlex
86610/86623- up liners
Rugby-47721, Cov 310112
90142 0725 Wolves-Euston
47361/47152-liners
37426 0634 Holyhead-Birmingham
CD 37219/86101
Warr-56041mgr, 56094,37883,37797
SP-47565,37154,37191,37251,37431,47304,37043,37153,47627,56080,56126,37026,
47363,
37158
Carn-37174 Lune G-92009-mgr
end
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