WITH FULL REGULATOR
IT’S a quiet time on the main line just now so I am going to catch up with some more from ‘The Border Raider’ in September 2017, plus a run behind BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75069 and a couple of previously unreported runs with Tangmere plus, finally, a superb over speeding run with a Hastings diesel unit from 1984.
Table One shows the detail of yet another solid heavy load performance by A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado working the ‘Border Raider’ north from Preston on September 16, 2017. I am grateful for the details from Alan Rawlings, whose commentary follows: ‘’The challenge of Shap stands out as one of the top steam routes in the country, much as it did when steam was everywhere on the network. Enough runs have been timed on the line for there to now exist an established set of load-related expectations for locomotives whether they are a Class 8, 7 or 5XP.
However, things do not always go according to plan on Shap, as weather, railhead conditions and even steaming issues can scupper best-laid plans. On the whole, though, Tornado seldom fails to please and the Border Raider last autumn was no exception. On this occasion, while the climb to the top was carried out with customary panache, it was the unexpected close to even time run and the power output on the lower slopes that caught the eye.
The tour ran an extended circuit from Birmingham up the West Coast Main
