A week off for the loco but not for the support crew as it's into the usual tasks of disposal, cleaning and routine tweaking ready for next weekend's back to back runs. It's a good job we have a large pool of support crew to choose from as it will be a very busy weekend for all concerned.
A cold & icy 7am departure from Minehead meant an early start for all concerned. A very tight 60 minute allowance to traverse the West Somerset Railway was always going to be tight, but the conditions coupled with some troublesome sanders meant a lot of slipping on Washford bank and the climb to Crowcombe leaving the train 30 minutes to the bad by the time we got to the junction with the mainline at Norton Fiztwarren. Thankfully we were met with a green signal and crossed over both running lines to get into Taunton's platform 2. Once away from Taunton, the style of the day's running was firmly set, accelerating quickly on the down grades to Cogload Junction, sweeping to the right and onto the "Berks & Hants". The climb from Curry Rivell through Somerton tunnel making hardly a dent in our progress the loco tore up the miles to our final passenger stop at Castle Cary. This robbed us of impetus for the climb through Bruton, but both loco & crew were up to the task and with a roar from the front end we stormed the 7 miles to the summit at Brewham. With the water stop at Frome completed, we were still roughly 30 minutes down and with 50+ miles to the next stop at Theale, including 17 miles of climbing to Savernake pathing was a concern. This wasn't to be the case though as given the avoiding line around Westbury running was kept to the maximum permissible, demolishing Lavington bank. Slowed for a platform restriction at Pewsey, the loco was soon accelerating again on the final few miles to the summit at Savernake before heading downhill to the final water stop at Theale (not before giving the people on Newbury station a sight to behold). Quick servicing at Theale put us back on schedule for the final leg into Paddington but no sooner into our stride we were brought to a halt on the curve at Reading West. When the signal finally came off after about 10 minutes we found ourselves heading for the up main as opposed to the booked up relief (and all its associated restrictions). Turning into Reading station we took the opportunity with both hands and with the regulator opened wide combined with an "enthusiastic" cut-off, people on the platforms were left in no doubt of a monarch meaning business. Soon at our permitted maximum, green light after green light encouraged our progress, Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, Iver to name but a few were a blurred whistling rush as we stormed on into the capital. We were surely now the train of its name, "The Capital Express". Fittingly, the booked arrival at Paddington's platform 9 was changed and we majestically arrived alongside Brunel's statue at platform 1, nearly 20 minutes early, having covered the 37 miles in even time. The stuff of (modern day steam operation) legend
Previously announced in September, the 6024 Preservation Society's new book has now been published. Entitled "A Monarch at Work", the book provides a pictoral history of the loco on the mainline since it's restoration and return to the running in 1990. A hard-back publication of roughly 176 pages, in A4 landscape format, it is largely a photographic collection of about 200 high quality colour and black + white pictures of the locomotive by a host of top photographers, many of whom are well-known and who regularly publish, as well as some less well-known but up-and-coming. Full details including price and ordering arrangements can be found in the attached pdf.
Click here to open and save (5Mb).. Monarch.
Since returning for Cornwall the loco is based at Bishops Lydeard until the run on the 18th November with Past Time Rail's Capital Express to London. There's been a few odd jobs to attend to but nothing of any major note to report.
