Double-headed 'Black Fives' storm up the Lickey with 'The Great Britain XVI' Day Two - 14/04/24. All footage filmed on Sunday 14th April 2024, released the same day.

Every year, the mainlines of Britain play host to a spectacle of steam - 'The Great Britain' which is a rail holiday that tours the British Isles over a total of nine days. Now into it's 16th iteration, the anticipation for the tour was somewhat different to previous years. Following on from the news about CDL (Central Door Locking), many people doubted wether the tour would even run this year due to that lack of coaching stock and the locomotives associated. But fortunately, the tour was able to run, albeit in a different form than usual. This resulted in the locomotive roster being fairly limited as all locomotives running the tour had to be compatible with the air-braked Mk2s that the tour would utilise. This meant only three locomotives fitted the criteria: 'Black Fives' Nos. 44871 & 45407 "The Lancashire Fusilier" and No. 34067 "Tangmere", a far cry of the nine locomotives used in 2014's 'The Great Britian VII'.

Day two saw both 44871 & 45407 double-heading from Cheltenham Spa, where the encountered the formidable 1-in-37 Lickey Incline, just north of Bromsgrove, before skirting round the Birmingham suburbs to Stafford. Here the tour would join the West Coast Main Line for some spirited running to Lancaster - the day's destination, but not before a lengthy water stop at Crewe.

We pick up the tour at the famous 1-in-37 Lickey Incline where the pair of 'Black Fives' put on a memorable display even with the expected diesel assistance. We then move on to Dunston, just north of Penkridge where the 'fives' where allowed to get up to a high speed. Then with some time to kill, we decided to head over to the Churnet Valley Railway to catch visiting No. 75014 "Braveheart". We first see "Braveheart" running round it's train and then departing at Kingsley & Froghall Station before a quick dash to Bradnop on the 1-in-45 climb to Ipstones.

Timestamps:
-00:00, 44871 + 45407 + (47812), Vigo Bridge
-01:59, 44871 + 45407 + (47812), Dunston
-03:17, 75014, Kingsley & Froghall Station
-07:41, 75014, Bradnop

Locomotives:
-Ex-LMS Class 'Black 5' No. 44871
-Ex-LMS Class 'Black 5' No. 45407 "THE LANCASHIRE FUSILIER"
-WCR Class 47 No. 47812
-BR Class 4MT No. 75014 "BRAVEHEART"

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