WITH FULL REGULATOR LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW
IT SEEMS that it will still be a while before we see a return to main line steam operation. Therefore, this time I am looking back at some of the great main line steam performances which the recently retired VintageTrains driver Ray Churchill delighted us with in recent years, plus a rare chance to see the performance of the GWR Steam Railmotor No. 93.
First however, as promised in my last column, table one shows the completion of the‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’run from Carlisle on Saturday, October 10, 2020; the section from Hellifield to Preston. Once again I am grateful to Sandy Smeaton for the very full details shown in the table. After a good effort down from Appleby with the 12 coach load driven by Mick Rawling and with Craig Todd firing, the train left Hellifield on time.
Sandy describes the progress: “After ambling down to Clitheroe, passed six minutes early, Mick Rawling made sure he had a clear road through Whalley and accelerated to 47½mph through the station. At Langho speed had fallen to 24½mph and then 17mph entering WilpshireTunnel. However, coming out of the damp, leafy south end the engine slipped and speed fell to 9½mph, with a
