A trip up to the Midlands for a bit of Sunday main line and heritage line steam. The main subject of the day was one of Vintage Trains' popular 'Shakespeare Express' trains to Stratford-Upon-Avon, worked by either of Tyseley's two GWR/BR(W) Castles. This was one of the extended editions, starting from Worcester Shrub Hill, having been dragged down from Birmingham by the accompanying diesel loco - Class 37 No.37240, in this case - with steam on the rear. The train runs from Worcester to S.U.A. via the steep climb through Old Hill and along the Chiltern Main Line, turning on the triangle at Hatton before the drop down into S.U.A. The second run of the day is a return trip to Birmingham via the North Warwickshire Line, running back tender first, before a final run back to Worcester, once again via the North Warwickshire Line. After all is said and done, the consist it dragged from Worcester back to Birmingham by the diesel, which gets its own crack of the climb up Old Hill.
Kicking things off, then, we start with the classic shot up Old Hill Bank from the eastern end of Old Hill Station. This is one I'd never done before, as it's always a bit inconvenient, necessitating a lot of extra mileage for the types of tours that usually head up there. The Worcester 'Shakeys' being more of a self-contained set of runs make it nice and manageable, with the climb taking place on the morning run to Stratford-Upon-Avon. There was a nice novelty in not knowing which flavour of Castle I was going to get here. Would it be 5043 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe'? Built by the Great Western Railway. Or 7029 'Clun Castle'? A post-nationalisation example built by the Western Region of British Railways. Appearing around the bend was the distinctive shiny nose of The Earl, putting in a roaring soundtrack up the 1 in 51 gradient through the station and up to the tunnel, just around the corner, with 37240 also getting a good innings and looking very smart in its Transrail grey livery, reminiscent of an old Lima model we've had since I was little.
Skipping out on a potential second shot of this leg and the return trip to Birmingham, we take a detour up to the Severn Valley Railway for an obligatory record shot of the "World's Most Famous Steam Locomotive", LNER A3 No.60103 'Flying Scotsman'. The Gresley Pacific was on its third of a four day visit to the line, working three sell-out round trips a day, paired the line's LNER teak coaches and a GWR observation saloon. On the Friday, Scotsman officially reopened the section of the SVR between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth, taking the first passenger train over the reconstructed bridge and embankment over the Mor Brook, near Hay Bridge at the foot of Eardington Bank, following the devastating landslip which severed the line, earlier this year. Massive shout out to all those involved in the repair and to everyone who donated in support, it's an amazing feat to have the line back open to traffic again so relatively quickly.
Set up in the main fields at Eardington, where the results of the continued hot and dry weather are on full display, we catch a brief playful scuffle between two of the local neddys before Scotsman comes sauntering along to greet its adoring public. Note the fire crews in attendance, who were called out to deal with a lineside fire which turned out to be a controlled burn by the SVR p-way gang. The chief didn't seem best pleased at this revelation!
After a short stop off at Eardington Halt for coffee and cake - sadly, none of my favourite coffee and walnut cake - it's back to the main line for another couple of shots of The Earl, working back to Worcester. The first shot is taken at Danzey Station, on the North Warwickshire Line, which still retains a few characteristic features of a typical GWR country station in the Chilterns, such as the fencing, nameboards, a milepost and the tall pine trees that dominate the sky. After a satisfyingly noisy, but low speed pass, it was off to Ladywood Bridge for the final shot. With the Malvern Hills behind us, we see the Earl getting a good stride on, following a short stop at Droitwich, with only 3.5 miles to go before its final destination.
Having not had much main line steam action, this year, with the constant dry weather necessitating diesel assistance or a total steam ban, it was worth taking a chance on this as it turned out to be a cracking day!
Filmed on Sunday 27th July 2025, using a Panasonic HC-X1500 with an Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone.
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00:00 5043, Old Hill
01:12 Neddy Battle!
02:12 60103, Eardington
03:53 5043, Danzey
05:49 5043, Ladywood Bridge
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