Tour No. 47 : The East Lancs Champion
(Class Forty Preservation Society)
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th May 2010
1Z40 05.20 Crewe-Penzance
Birmingham International-Swindon-Bath-Bristol-Plymouth
This tour had been billed as the ‘Tour of the Year’ so there was lot riding on the backs of 40145 and D1015. We shouldn’t have worried as two of the premier preserved diesel locomotives came together for the first time and combined to give us all a weekend to remember. Once again the "DTG Nameplate Offer" was used and the loco was sponsored as D1012 "Western Firebrand".
40145 had set off at 05.20 from Crewe and it wasn’t until Birmingham International that D1015, running as D1009 and D1012, joined the train for the 09.43 departure. The pair set off in fine form and never let up for the entire weekend. The outward route was via Coventry, Banbury, Oxford, Foxhall Curve, Swindon, Bath and Bristol. A short break at Bristol was followed by an impressive run over the Somerset Levels, Whiteball and along the Sea Wall before taking the South Devon Banks with little trouble. At Plymouth D1015 ran round to the rear of the train and this was to be the formation for the whole of the Cornish section of the trip. Arrival in Penzance was to time and the tour participants set off to their various hotels and B&B’s.
1Z45 19.40 Penzance-Falmouth-Penzance
Penzance-Truro/Falmouth-Truro
The fun was not over with the arrival in Penzance, this tour had an evening Special, a trip to the much sort after Falmouth branch. D1015 took the train out of Penzance to Truro and then the train reversed so that the 40 led down the branch. A Mid May tour meant that although the evening was well advanced by the time we approached Falmouth it was still daylight, this far outpost was new track for a 40 and had not seen a Thousand on a passenger train since the 04th December 1976. The tour stayed at Falmouth just long enough for everyone to take their photographs before retracing our steps to Penzance. Day One had gone perfectly and the contented tour participants trooped off to either get a good nights sleep or burn the candle at both ends in the nightspots of Penzance.
1Z45 08.50 Penzance-Crewe
Penzance-St Ives/Penzance-Par/Newquay-Bristol-Hullavington-Oxford
In contrast to day one, where for most part the sun had shone, the Sunday morning at Penzance had some light drizzle, although this did little to dampen spirits as we set off for St Ives with D1015 leading. The St Ives branch is one of the most beautiful on the network and St Ives tends to have its own micro climate and as if to prove the point the sun came out as we turned off the main line at St Erth. A leisurely trip down the branch was followed by a few minutes for photographs at the short St Ives platform, the tour then returned to Penzance to collect those that had opted for a Sunday lie in and leisurely breakfast.
D1015 led out of Penzance again, this time to take the tour to Par. At Par the train drew forward and then reversed onto the Newquay branch with 40145 leading up Luxulyan. It would have been a tough ask for 40145 to take 11 coaches and a 52 up the bank but a sharp shower put pay to any hope of that and after a few yards of climbing Western Champion was given the nod and gave the consist a substantial push to the summit. The climb to Luxulyan is the highlight of the branch and much of the rest is a steady totter resulting in the 20 miles taking around an hour. After more photographs D1015 returned the train to Plymouth where the 40 ran round and D1015 was taken off and dropped on the front.
The run from Plymouth to Bristol was another highlight of the tour with the two drivers combining well to produce an exhilarating run over the banks and along the Sea Wall. Oxford was eventually reached 15 early and a change of plan saw D1015 taken off in the platform before heading back Light Diesel to Eastleigh, a tough job very well done. The tour eventually arrived in Crewe late at night and only a few minutes down. A tour which 12 months earlier had seemed a mad pipe dream had happened, all objectives had been achieved and the locomotives had performed admirably. The ‘tour of the year’ certainly turned out to be just that and will certainly take some beating.
The DTG would like to thank John Stephens, Chairman of the CFPS and DTG Shareholder, for all the hard work and dedication that he put in to make this tour happen. Take a bow John it was an absolute cracker!
Below : D1015 Western Champion, masquerading as D1012 "Western Firebrand" and 40145 emerging from Parsons Tunnel, Teignmouth in patchy sun on Saturday 15th May.Photo : Steve King.
Below : Emerging from Mutley Tunnel D1015 masquerading as D1009 / D1012 arriving at Plymouth on Saturday 15th May.
Below : Western Champion opens up and is about to pass Long Rock with the 1940 Penzance to Falmouth. Photo : Stuart Warr.
Below : Seen waiting to depart Falmouth Docks for Truro "Western Champion" makes History yet again by becoming the first Class 52 to visit Falmouth since the "Western China Clay" Railtour in December 1976.
Below : Another shot waiting to depart Falmouth Docks for Truro on Saturday May 15th 2010.
Below : 40145 has arrived at Penzance from Long Rock on Sunday Morning with the stock for the move to St Ives . Photo: Paul Winter.
