Hemerdon - The Best Attempts of 2023

[@fmcdove]

Excellent to watch and compare. (BLS support crew member)

[@johnprice7137]

.

[@DerekWalsh-l4i]

My impression of that last clip was that "Bahamas" had reached a "balancing speed" on that gradient, and if it had continued for another 2 miles the engine would not have gone any slower. A fine effort from a Class 6 engine.

[@bobwood856]

The 47 was making more smoke than Sir Nigel. For a very brief moment I imagined a steam banker.

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

Now that’s going back a few years

[@chriselliott1261]

A 57xx doesn't make dirty smoke like that

[@MyMustang72]

probaly because it is doing all the hard work,a4s useless on banks,except on stoke bank going downhill.

[@22pcirish]

An operational nightmare for any trains following. Everyone on overtime!😂

[@22pcirish]

@@MyMustang72it’s a very long grade to be fair.

[@thomasrowe7499]

Amazing video !

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

Thanks, It’s a-shame you didn’t come to any of them! Maybe next year…

[@davestrains6816]

Wonderful video and thanks for sharing. Dave

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

Glad you enjoyed it, Hemerdon always puts on a show

[@andysnashall6140]

Hate the rumbling cupboard on the back of the A4😢

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

Inevitable given the load.

[@paulnash7630]

With 12 carriages it's not surprising Sir Nigel needed a push after Al he's not a spring chicken anymore 😂

[@MyMustang72]

if the rumbling cupboard was not there the a4 would not have made the climb single handed,stick a king on the front!

[@AndrewTeale-cy3dw]

​@@MyMustang72 Kings are too ugly to go on the front, stick em in the back................ of the shed. The A1 has tacken twelve bogies over Hemerdon unaided, no GWR locomotive has ever done that.

[@squeaksvids5886]

The Class 47 was smoking more than Sir Nigel on the second clip.

[@damonrobus-clarke533]

Thought it was a steamer at first! 😂

[@nigelduckworth4419]

Perfect videos. Bahamas did much better than Galatea with 9 on. The LNER engines are not climbers and so I expected to see Gresley with a diesel since it had 11 on and not the 9 ( Bahamas 2 excepted) of the others. Scots Guardsman, supposedly an improvement on the Kings, did no better than Bahamas despite the power difference. but was solid. No opinion on Scotsman because it was filmed from a different vantage point, but going well. So the winner must be Bahamas, the least powerful loco, bar 44932 which was in any event helped by the 47. I have some experience of both Jubilees and Royal Scots in steam days and multiple Black 5s, or Mickeys as we called them. A Jubilee on the PInes Express from Bath to Birmingham and a Scot on The Mancunian, Manchester to London. Excellent locos both. I was pulled (and pushed!) up Hemerdon about 4 years ago by Flying Scotsman and a Black 5, the number of which I forget, with a Class 47 at the rear. I swear we were dong 40+ mph all the way up. Not surprising with about 100,000 lbs of tractive effort. My question is for GWR buffs, which I am not. Were the principal trains banked up Hemerdon in steam days?

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

I believe GWR locos were banked, but it depended on the load. The passing loop for banking panniers is still there. On a different note, the Flying Scotsman was the most impressive climb of the year. Like Bahamas, Galatea, and Scots Guardsman, it had 9 coaches unassisted. The different vantage point was due to how busy it was, I couldn’t get a spot on the bridge and had to go somewhere else.

[@edmundbrain456]

Passenger trains were piloted freights were banked as far as I know . A Royal Scot is a Class 7 a King Class 8 so not a fair comparison . Cheers

[@Rosie6857]

@@edmundbrain456 You are right about pilots and banking. It's really only tractive effort that counts on a bank like this provided the boiler and firing are good enough to maintain pressure. The tractive effort of a King is easily the highest of any British 4-6-0, ridiculously high some would say, and 20% higher than a rebuilt Royal Scot. A King routinely used to take 11 unassisted up Hemerdon whereas a Scot would probably stall. At speed on easy gradients the difference between the classes is much less - they are both good.

[@christopherwilson3442]

​@@edmundbrain456The Scots were supposed to be an 'Improved Castle' not my words.

[@christopherwilson3442]

​@@steamtothewest-trecanrailBest run over that bit of railway was by 6010 King Charles 1. August 1957 for log ,Trains Illustrated. Plymouth to Newton A. time 37-18 distance 31-9 miles, load 300 tons.

[@dukeofdevon5608]

How steep is Hemerdon?

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

1 in 42 for 2.5 miles, making it the 3rd steepest mainline gradient on the mainland.

[@freespeechforever]

Hardly impressive from Gresly, The diesel was going hard at it!

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

I know, it’s unfortunate but with 14 Gresley would never have handled it.

[@toast_ee]

god Galatea sounds biblical!

[@philipblick8887]

Way too much background wind racket 🙁

[@chriselliott1261]

A whole year on the Devon banks, Jubilee, Royal Scot, A3, A4, Black five... Nothing Great Western at all. No complaints on the cinematography (for which thank you so much) but us Western boys seem to be not pulling our weight.

[@bobwood856]

Agreed. Need to get Clun down there on a tour. See how a GW design copes with a GW bank.

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

I agree with you. We’ve had some variety, but nothing GWR or Southern. Fortunately 7029 Clun Castle will visit Plymouth in May 24, and 6024 King Edward I is expected to return in the next 2 years.

[@edmundbrain456]

GW. Llocos just not available at present Chris ,Could be different next year with 7029

[@steamtothewest-trecanrail]

@@edmundbrain456 Clun Castles available.

[@Rosie6857]

No GW? No point. They just find it too easy.