Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Arguably the highlight of the 2021 mainline calendar would see 60163 Tornado & 60103 Scotsman haul four days of special trains over the Settle & Carlisle Railway, this video covers day two. Tickets for event sold quickly and within a few weeks all the seats had been snapped up. The first two days saw mixed fortunes for passengers and photographers. The first day was marred by bad weather and assistance from rear due to poor rail head conditions. We decided to not bother and focus our time on the filming of Tangmere on her loaded test run, the video is now available to watch.
The Autumn period offers plenty but is always fraught with danger due to leaf fall and the need for potential assistance from the rear gunners. The use of diesels this year is slightly up on last year, well for us anyway and usually from early October to the end of November its common practice, still as long as they stay quiet, the majority of enthusiasts will tolerate them. Day two saw near blue sky's, a complete turnaround in the weather conditions and day two was potentially shaping up to be a memorable one.
Four shots were planned, two locations for both locos. We first capture Tornado at Jack Green on the Climb to Hoghton Summit on route to Blackburn, glorious blue sky's though a tricky North Westerly wind could play havoc, thankfully all went well, with Tornado sounding crisp and looking superb in the late morning sunshine. Now onto the main shot, we decided to opt out of the usual shot on the long drag and headed for Lunds just after Garsdale Head which is a spectacular valley which defines the south eastern edge of the Howgill Fells, on the western slopes of the Pennines. Two relatively short shots but we think quality over quantity is sometimes the best practice, especially as the views are stunning and even better with a steam engine running through the middle ! Bang on time the A1 Class makes a majestic sweeping pass through some of the best rugged English landscape on offer. A successful morning of filming, now what would Flying Scotsman serve up.
So, the return leg over the S&C with Flying Scotsman would promise plenty but in the end the failure of a critical safety system on board reported as an AWS fault meant the A3 class was due to come off the front at Hellifield. Bad coal had also been cited in the build up to the event and might of played a part in the final three shots as she was just limping along. Scotsman was replaced by the diesel at Hellifield and was put on the inside until Preston. The first scene shows Scotsman running 20 minutes late on approach to Langwathby, then its seen passing through the village station and then finally steaming through the glorious Eden Valley with the diesel now in help mode ! Not the ending we hoped for but spare a thought the passengers, some who didn't get home until 1am !
Apologies for the long write up and thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the sights of the English Countryside and the sounds of steam.
Arguably the highlight of the 2021 mainline calendar would see 60163 Tornado & 60103 Scotsman haul four days of special trains over the Settle & Carlisle Railway, this video covers day two. Tickets for event sold quickly and within a few weeks all the seats had been snapped up. The first two days saw mixed fortunes for passengers and photographers. The first day was marred by bad weather and assistance from rear due to poor rail head conditions. We decided to not bother and focus our time on the filming of Tangmere on her loaded test run, the video is now available to watch.
The Autumn period offers plenty but is always fraught with danger due to leaf fall and the need for potential assistance from the rear gunners. The use of diesels this year is slightly up on last year, well for us anyway and usually from early October to the end of November its common practice, still as long as they stay quiet, the majority of enthusiasts will tolerate them. Day two saw near blue sky's, a complete turnaround in the weather conditions and day two was potentially shaping up to be a memorable one.
Four shots were planned, two locations for both locos. We first capture Tornado at Jack Green on the Climb to Hoghton Summit on route to Blackburn, glorious blue sky's though a tricky North Westerly wind could play havoc, thankfully all went well, with Tornado sounding crisp and looking superb in the late morning sunshine. Now onto the main shot, we decided to opt out of the usual shot on the long drag and headed for Lunds just after Garsdale Head which is a spectacular valley which defines the south eastern edge of the Howgill Fells, on the western slopes of the Pennines. Two relatively short shots but we think quality over quantity is sometimes the best practice, especially as the views are stunning and even better with a steam engine running through the middle ! Bang on time the A1 Class makes a majestic sweeping pass through some of the best rugged English landscape on offer. A successful morning of filming, now what would Flying Scotsman serve up.
So, the return leg over the S&C with Flying Scotsman would promise plenty but in the end the failure of a critical safety system on board reported as an AWS fault meant the A3 class was due to come off the front at Hellifield. Bad coal had also been cited in the build up to the event and might of played a part in the final three shots as she was just limping along. Scotsman was replaced by the diesel at Hellifield and was put on the inside until Preston. The first scene shows Scotsman running 20 minutes late on approach to Langwathby, then its seen passing through the village station and then finally steaming through the glorious Eden Valley with the diesel now in help mode ! Not the ending we hoped for but spare a thought the passengers, some who didn't get home until 1am !
Apologies for the long write up and thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the sights of the English Countryside and the sounds of steam.
