Saturday 6th September 2025 saw steam reign supreme in the south west, with two steam hauled railtours chasing each other down into the West Country to Plymouth and Kingswear, mere minutes behind one and other, in some places. The first of these was 'The Mayflower', operated by Vintage Trains and running diesel hauled from Birmingham to Bristol, with double headed steam taking over for the run over the South Devon Banks to Plymouth and back, while the second was the last of Saphos Train's 'English Riviera Express' trips for the 2025 season, working from diesel hauled from High Wycombe to Taunton, with steam taking over to Kingswear and back. Motive power for the steam leg of 'The Mayflower' would be BR(W) Castle Class 4-6-0 No.7029 'Clun Castle' and LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No.45596 'Bahamas', the respective flagships of the Tyseley Steam Trust and the Bahamas Locomotive Society. Having returned to the main line in 2019, this tour would be Bahamas' last before the expiry of her boiler ticket later this year. An always popular and reliable performer, the Jubilee is due to see out the remaining time on her ticket at the Great Central Railway, before being withdrawn for overhaul. From one loco soon to bow out of service, we move onto a recent returnee, as GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 No.5029 'Nunney Castle' took on the steam leg from Taunton. Withdrawn for overhaul in early 2015, the Castle made its long awaited return to steam and the main line earlier this year, being sent down to Bishops Lydeard as the main loco for the summer season of Locomotive Services Limited run tours in the south west.
Starting off the video, then, we see consecutive runs up the 1 in 80 section of Wellington Bank into Whiteball Tunnel. First up is Clun and Bahamas, where the pair of double chimney fitted locos make light work of the climb with their 11 coach load. 42 minutes later, Nunney makes her appearance with some single chimney Castle thunder, making good progress up the climb with some light assistance by Class 57 No.57311 'The Institution of Mechanical Engineers' on the rear of the 12 coach load. With two lengthy stops in Tiverton Loop and at Totnes Station, there was ample time to get ahead of 'The Mayflower' for a shot of the pair tackling the climb up Rattery, which begins almost immediately after leaving Totnes. Signalling issues in the area saw them sent straight through the down platform at Totnes without stopping, so it's just as well I arrived and set up up rather promptly, in the slightly paranoid feeling that this particular stop would be cut out for whatever reason. Having done with hard work up past Tigley, we catch the pair working up the lesser gradients up towards Marley Tunnel, running a good 25 minutes early. I'd say this shot went a bit more smoothly than may attempt to catch last year's iteration of this tour with the double Castles, where I was getting battered about by the winds and flew a little too close to the sun on the zoom in.
The wind had been steadily getting worse throughout the day, but it reached its peak during the return run of 'The Mayflower' up Hemerdon Bank. Perched on top of Sparkwell Bridge, we catch the pair reaching the end of the 2 miles of 1 in 42, with a celebratory whistle from both locos. Surprisingly, this is actually the first time I've ever filmed from this side of the bridge, in the all the years I've been filming stuff up Hemerdon. Following a suggestion from a friend, the final location of the day would be a new one, for me, in the field just off the canal near Burlescombe, on the eastbound climb towards Whiteball. The order of events should have been Clun & Bahamas, followed by Nunney about 15 or so minutes later. Some late running saw Nunney sent through Exeter ahead of the pair while they were stopped for water, departing soon after. What transpired was a the very rare occurrence of one steam tour was chasing another, getting signal checked and having to ease off a various points so as not to catch up. This is exactly what happened at Burlescombe, as Nunney comes galloping along in fine form, with the pair appearing a mere four minutes later, shutting off approaching us a coming to a halt a little further up the line. I had thought about including the shot of the pair, but I figured it best to end off on a high note with Nunney sailing off and having the last laugh.
Filmed on a Panasonic HC-X1500 with an Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone.
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00:00 7029 & 45596, Marlands
01:17 5029, Marlands
02:36 7029 & 45596, Rattery
04:43 7029 & 45596, Hemerdon
06:13 5029, Burlescombe
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