I arrived at Swanage just after 0800 on Sunday 2nd April for the last day of their 2017 Steam Gala and left many hours later. What a terrific day it was and allI can say is thank you to all of the staff who worked so hard to make it such a success.What can I say to see so many Bulleid Light Pacifics together and working was amazing. The list as follows:- GWR Castle No 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a rare but welcome visitor to Salisbury on a very warm and sunny Saturday 8th April 2017. Salisbury was very busy on Saturday 8th April with two railtours visiting in the afternoon. This video concentrates on the Andover Fist 13 coaches top and tailed by EWS class 66 no’s 66005 and 66165. The tour started from London Waterloo and ran to Southampton Eastern Docks, Fawley Esso, Salisbury, Andover, Ludgershall MOD and finally returning to Waterloo. One of Accucraft’s fine NG16 South African Garratts No143 is captured running on the Coombe Hill Railway in early June 2017. You can see the full-size example running on the Welsh Highland Railway in green livery. This is the latest adventure from the Jolly Boys, a Rail Ale Away Day to Kingswear & Dartmouth in May 2017.. There is also a video capturing a journey behind Standard Class 4 75104 Braveheart, this was of course shot on the same day. Accucraft Decauville 0-4-0T First Run Disaster On The Coombe Hill Railway, well almost. The new smaller gas tank seems to run down very quickly and the loco itself does not raise enough steam to keep the loco running for long. Compared to the Sea Lion in my previous video it is not a very good performer! Having said all that it’s a lovely looking 7/8th scale engine. This video captures BR Standard Class 4 75014 Braveheart On The Dartmouth Steam Railway in May 2017. I was on my Way to Bath and needed to catch the 08:30 Cardiff service from Salisbury. My train from Templecombe arrived a few minutes before the early running 5Z72 05:15 from Bishops Lydeard. I managed to capture Flying Scotsman passing through Platform 4 on it’s way to the stock for the 08:55 departure. My plan was to get back from Bath by 11:32 but it was not to be, it was more like 15:32, so I missed almost everything! After watching “Clan Line” depart Templecombe for Exeter, we go on a journey from there to Bath over the route of the Somerser & Dorset Joint Railway.Originally owned jointly by the Midland and the London & South Western Railways, after the ‘grouping’ of 1923 it remained jointly owned – by the London, Midland & Scottish and the Southern Railways. After nationalisation it was transferred to the Western Region of British Railways. Their predecessor, the GWR, had always regarded the S&DJR as something of an invader of its territory. The S&DJR formed part of a useful through route from the Midlands and the North to the Bournemouth area. After its closure in 1966 this through service had to be diverted via Oxford, Reading and Basingstoke. LNER A4 4-6-2 60009 Union Of South Africa Races Through Bruton with the West Somerset Steam Express On Saturday 19th August 2017. Class 158/159 DMU’s filmed on the South Western Mainline at Sherborne during 2017. The Coombe Hill Railway August Bank Holiday Steam Up for 2017 was one of the best to date. Fine weather on the Sunday a good crowd and plenty of running on both the the 32mm and 45mm lines made the day a success. I do believe at one time there may have been five engines running, The roster included two Accucraft Baguley shunters, several Roundhouse steam locomotives, Accucraft Black 5, a B4 shunter, 7/8 Hunslet and more…. English Electric Class 50 diesel no50035 Ark Royal at work on the Severn Valley Railway in September 2017 between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster. Ark Royal erupts with the 13:10 departure from Bridgnorth sending a large cloud of clag over the station. Salisbury was treated to two steam hauled trains on Saturday 23rd September. First up was Bulleid Pacific 35028 Clan Line on it’s way to Exeter from London Victoria, arriving 71/2 minutes early and that was after a late start from London.Second up was LMS Coronation Class 46233 Duchess Of Sutherland another pacific with 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay to see the locomotives departure Salisbury. 35028 Clan Line is captured at speed and running early with the Atlantic Coast Express passing under Black Smock Overbridge on the Somerset Levels. A booked stop at Taunton was not taken for a crew change so the ACE was running eleven minutes ahead of schedule. Class 37 No 37025 Inverness TMD is captured at Templecombe with the 20:53 Test Train from Exeter Riverside to Salisbury on Thursday 25th January 2018. Prior to this the 21:20 Waterloo to Yeovil Junction arrives and departs on time. SR Merchant Navy Pacific 35028 Clan Line heads the Quantock Intruder through Bruton on Saturday 26th May 2018. The train was steam hauled from London Paddington to Minehead returning to Bishops Lydeard where a Class 67 diesel would take over for the return to London.The Video was filmed using a Sony RX10Mk4 Camera and an Iphone 8 plus both in 4k and edited using iMovie. If you are planning to visit North Wales this year there are no end of attractions to see and enjoy. The Corris Railway should definitely be on your list, Situated in the beautiful Dulas valley the line runs from the village of Corris down to Maespoeth where you will be invited to take a guided tour around the 140 year old engine shed and workshops.The return trip takes about 50 minutes then you can wander around the museum at Corris. On operating days trains normally depart on the hour between 1100-1600. At present there is one steam locomotive running on the 2″ 3″ gauge line, built in 2005 and is a 0-4-2ST. It’s that time again and the Coombe Hill Railway through it’s doors open again to a crowd of 16mm garden railway enthusiasts. Around twenty five of them descended on Templecombe bringing their locomotives both steam and diesel to run on the CHR. Locomotives can be seen running from such manufacturers as Roundhouse and Accucraft, also some home built as well. The weather was warm and a bit overcast to start but ended on a brighter note. Thanks again to the CHR for another very enjoyable day. I followed a Marshall General Purpose Traction Engine Reg BF7865 up the hill out of Horsington. Passed the TE at top of hill then rushed home to get camera, then waited by the railway bridge for about an hour. I then decided to walk up Slades Hill and as I got over the other side I could hear the engine coming. The sound towards the end of the video gets a bit distorted, not sure why this happened! The Sherborne Christmas Carol at Gillingham and Templecombe hauled by LMS 4-6-0 44871 on Tuesday 11/12/18. Black Five 44871 Blasts Through Templecombe With The Cathedrals Express On Monday 17th December 2018 It’s Sunday 27th January 2019 and the Coombe Hill Railway is open for a mid winter Running Day. The wind is blowing and the sky is a patch work of clouds moving fast from the north. My train has already come off the track, engine and rolling stock complete!. Then along comes not one but two home brew mega radio controlled diesels, just listen to them!!!!! SR rebuilt Merchant Navy 35028 Clan Line is captured passing Templecombe with the 12 coach Sherborne Christmas Carols on Thursday 20th December 2018. The train started from London Victoria at 08:46 travelling via Staines, Woking and Salisbury to arrive Sherborne at 13:16 Departure form Sherborne at 17:02 and back to London via the same route to arrive right time at 21:12. Delays on route were caused by broken down SWR units and wrong routing at Basingstoke. Clan Line as usual performed very well and of course did not require assistance form a diesel! It’s that time of year again and snow is possible so the Coombe Hill Railway is testing there rather nice snow plough. A bit of snow did fall on Templecombe a few days before it melted very quickly. The plough is propelled by an Accucraft 2-4-2 L&B Baldwin tank loco “Lyn” The Gartell Railway 14th Annual Model Railway Exhibition was held on Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th February 2019. This video was taken from the Saturday and includes the following layouts:- Seven Ash, Little Bridge, Shillingsford, Bunbury Junction, Bunbury Quay, I’Ad That, Newton Heath Works, R&M Hunt, Shedington The East Somerset Railway was open for business this weekend 23rd/24th March for its Steam Gala 2019. Four locomotive were in use the Ivatt 2-6-0 No46477, GWR 0-6-2T No5637, Barclay 0-4-0ST No1719 and a Sentinel diesel. Passenger and freight trains ran as well as the popular Driver for a Tenner. This video was taken entirely on the Sunday, the better of the two days for weather. 35028 Clan Line travelled west from London Waterloo with the Atlantic Coast Express on Saturday 10th August 2019. The weather was far from good with a westerly gale blowing as can be seen by the foliage shaking and swaying as the train passed through Templecombe. Even with that Clan Line was a minute or two early passing through, she was very much appreciated by the gathered audience waiting on the platform and footbridge. Raif and I enjoyed a great afternoon at Steve Jacksons 45mm line on Sunday 15th September 2019. It is an annual event held over a weekend in September and is primarily aimed at coal fired locomotives. Locos attending on the Sunday came form both Accucraft and Roundhouse modified for coal firing. A typical example is the Accucraft Edrig which Paul Bailey of DJB Engineering has turned into a fine runner. Tag Gorton was showing off his new loco with a novel steam powered water pump as well as a two tone whistle! Raif brought along his No19/20 Donegal railcars, they really looked the part. Thanks Steve for your hospitality and also to the supplier of the rather yummy lemon cake. Running a few minutes late and with the light going down Union Of South Africa 60009 roars through Bruton on its way back to Bristol TM. The A4 even with the 12 coach load seems not to be bothered as it climbs up from Castle Cary and on to Westbury. 6233 Duchess Of Sutherland heads through Templecombe with the Steam Dreams London Victoria to Yeovil Junction Excursion on Tuesday 17th December 2019. The Pacific was on top form and accelerated through the station and away towards Sherborne, fantastic……. The Network Rail New Measurement Train, is an HST based track infrastructure recording set. It is the prime test train used by NR and covers all main lines on a timetabled basis, having the ability to travel up to 125 mph. While doing this it can gather hundreds of channels of data. There are three Class 43 power cars allocated to the train, they are based at Derby. They all carry the Network Rail yellow livery with “Improving Your Railway” branding. This video was captured on Thursday 7th May 2020 and you will see 43062 ‘John Armitt’ leading the NMT up the 1 in 80 out of the Blackmore Vale. Then passing through Templecombe station it heads on towards Sherborne and eventually Exeter St Davids. The Class 43 NMT is also known as the Flying Banana. While staying in North Wales during early May this year I made paid a visit to the Talyllyn Railway at Tywyn. What a terrific day it was, the weather could not have been better, warm and sunny with a little cloud cover. All the way along the line to Abergynolwyn the line side was covered with bluebells. Dolgoch was in charge of the 14:00 departure and she sounded fine climbing up the line. Rail-users delight in the first live dance performance on the Blackmore Vale Line.
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