| While in Yorkshire over Christmas we made sure that we caught up with the Deltic Preservation Society's railtour with 55019 'Royal Highland Fusilier'.
The train ran from Derby to York and reversed before heading across the Diggle route to Lancashire. We had intended to see the first leg at Hillam Gates, but as we drove up noticed that the photographers there were looking north, and then we saw a large blue locomotive creeping away north - a Deltic, a bad start!!! Anyway what's the point of having 120hp under the bonnet if you can't scare the living daylights out of the distant relatives living in those parts, so we shot off to Sherburn station, and found ourselves waiting for quite some time, perhaps not all of those 3300 horses under the Deltic's bonnet were being used. 'Royal Highland Fusilier' crept through Sherburn at little more than walking pace, and certainly didn't bring back any memories of Deltics on full bore... :-( Off up the road to Church Fenton for the second leg. An amusing moment was when everyone's phones / Blackberries / PDAs all chirped a the same time as the message that 55019 had just left York reached the waiting masses. Then some plonker arrived with a tripod and parked himself halfway down the platform, he really ought to see his doctor about that hearing problem... This time there was no mistaking it, a gentle rumble in the distance grew to a wonderful crescendo as 'Royal Highland Fusilier' hammered through Church Fenton and leaned into the Leeds line curve, THAT's what they used to sound like! |
55019 runs slowly through Sherburn on one engine with the DPS Fusilier Farewell railtour. 1000x665 2005_12_024.jpg |
An unidentified class 220 Voyager south through Church Fenton on the Milford line. 1000x665 2005_12_027.jpg |
158 805 runs south through the middle road at Church Fenton. 1000x665 2005_12_030.jpg |
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An unidentified class 220 Voyager passes through the middle at Church Fenton. 1000x665 2005_12_031.jpg |
158 781 with a covering on snow on the gangway passes south at Church Fenton. 1000x665 2005_12_033.jpg |
158 903 catches the sun as it departs from Church Fenton for York. 1000x665 2005_12_034.jpg |
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55019 approaches on the Leeds line with the DPS Fusilier Farewell special. 1000x792 2005_12_037.jpg |
55019 approaches on the Leeds line with the DPS Fusilier Farewell special. 1000x665 2005_12_038.jpg |
It doesn't get any better than this... 1000x665 2005_12_040.jpg |
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55019 brings back memories storming south through Church Fenton in the snow. 1000x665 2005_12_041.jpg |
An unidentified class 220 Voyager heads for York on the down Leeds line. 1000x665 2005_12_042.jpg |
