DARKNESS fell on the face of the earth as an intense thunderstorm enveloped the battling pair of Great Western Railway Collett ‘Castle’ 4-6-0s heading into the eye of the deluge. But the rain was too little too late. Three weeks of hot, dry weather had resulted in the last-minute addition of a ‘fire risk’ two-tone green Class 47 No. 47773 (D1755) to the rear of the train. Whereas diesels acting as insurance against breakdowns usually do as little as possible, fire risk minimisation permits no laxity on the uphill stretches. On the level, approaching Ashchurch, pace suddenly slackened, accompanied by an announcement that Network Rail had instituted a post-Carmont precautionary 40mph temporary speed restriction as far as Stoke Works Junction, some 2.2 miles before reaching the 1-in-37¾ uphill gradient of the Lickey Incline.
This Vintage Trains ‘Castle Centenarian’ railtour had been re-routed to avoid the now-fixed Nuneham Viaduct repair at Oxford, and taken the date vacated by the cancelled ‘Morning and Afternoon Lickey’ runs. On Saturday, June 10, 2023, the ‘Centenarian’ was still booked to run from Birmingham to Shrewsbury, then via the Welsh Marches, but to miss out the originally planned route through the Severn Tunnel, Oxford and up Hatton bank – instead, following the River Severn through Chepstow and onwards to the final challenge of Lickey.
Wet fields (and drenched photographers) signalled the opportunity for Nos. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and 7029 Clun Castle to be allowed their head and take their ‘11-coach+Class 47’ load of around 522 tonnes up the famous incline unaided. If the weight of the two ‘Castles’ is included, the cavalcade probably grossed out at around 775 tonnes.
Perhaps the diesel helped accelerate the train from the 40mph adverse weather restriction to almost 60mph by the new Bromsgrove station (although No. 7029 by itself managed a similar performance with ‘load 6’ on the morning Lickey special in 2021), but the remainder of the duo’s steep climb was certainly down to steam power. In terms of pure speed, the locos were losing about 5mph per quarter-mile and were down to 18mph before easing of the gradient facilitated the rear of the train to
