PLEASE EXCUSE POOR SOUND CAUSED BY BROKEN MICROPHONE LEAD.
Saturday 13th April 2024 offered an event that I believe has not happened since the 1960s.
Within a few minutes over one hour, three steam locomotives passed over the famous Shap Summit on the West Coast Mainline. Shap represents the highest point of the WCML within England and has always been a struggle for steam drivers with its 1 in 75 gradient. Most trains required a banking engine in regular steam days.
On this weekend we were treated to a pair of steam charters and a stock movement for The Jacobite service in Scotland.
Locomotives 70000 Britannia, 34067 Tangmere and Black 5 number 45212 all passed by our location at Shap Wells within around 65 minutes of each other - with Tangmere already in sight before Britannia had disappeared from view.
We had planned to see the return workings at Hellifield but, due to the failure of Britannia, had to settle for just one steam loco making the southbound journey.
Recorded on 13th April 2024.