Drama On The Devon Banks - 1Z48- 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ - The Great Western Railway - 11/05/24 - 4K

I’d like to dedicate this video to my late grandad, who was a GWR man through & through but sadly passed away before we got chance to see a castle tackle the devon banks together, R.I.P Grandad


It was a memorable time of the year for enthusiasts of steam with vintages trains hosting their biggest rail tour of the year featuring 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ taking over the devon banks & the southwest. Starting from Birmingham (Friday 10th may) and finishing over in London Paddington on the second day (Saturday 11th may)

This 2 day tour was to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ian Allen’s 1Z48 plymouth - bristol rail-tour in 1964, 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ completed the fastest ever recorded non-stop between the two cities reaching a top speed of 96mph. In 2014 this was beaten by 3 minutes by 84E’s sister locomotive 5043 ‘Earl Of Mount Edgcumbe’ back on the 10th of may 2014. The right locomotive for the right route was necessary!

I set out to chase her on both days starting in birmingham with the BR (w) The Castle proving to be performing superbly! The weather was absolutely fantastic for both of these days which is always welcome!

Once I’d got the bristol area out the way it was a mission for the Devon banks, Rattery, Daignton & finally Hemerdon 7029 going fantastically as she tackled each incline unassisted with load 9.

The finale of the climbs was set to be hemerdon, unfortunately for clun she’d come to a halt almost at the top of the 1 in 42.. resulting in the record attempt to be completely blown out the window bringing her 30 minutes behind schedule…. The 47 was to attach on the rear and give the train a shove to get things moving again.

The final part of my 2 day chase was to get the Double Chimney’d Castle somewhere along the Great Western Mainline, I’d settled for swindon as Clun was built here back in 1950 under the BR (W) swindon works.

I’d wanted some speed before I was To finish off the day, I’d chosen swindon as she’d be at speed here and being her birthplace I’d go for it. Whistling her way past the swindon works and coming on the middle road it turned out somewhat ok.

To end on a high note it was a beautifully placed shot of her pulling into London Paddington, a site the castles would of frequented visited back in the Steam days… this would of been the first time 7029 had gone back to london paddington since 1965.


It was also a pleasure to catch up with ‪@blackcountrysteamvideos8021‬ ‪@GreatBritishRailways1‬ ‪@crunchynutsteamfilms5043‬ ‪@WestCountrySteamVideos‬
‪@FullSteamAhead‬ ‪@TheSouthernerYTChannel‬
‪@adtrainvids9569‬ ‪@danielstrainsukofficial9133‬



Time Stamps:
00:00 -01:00 - Rookwood Rd
01:00-02:10 - Stapleton Rd
02:10 - 04:23 - Daignton Bank
04:23 - 06:15 - Rattery Bank
06:15 - 15:00 - Hemerdon Bank
15:00 - 16:00 Swindon
16:00 - 17:50 - London Paddington


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