Steam Dreams, a rail tour company now in its 20th year of operating steam excursions, kick start there programme with a rail tour from Clapham Junction to Bath via Guildford and Newbury outward and back via Swindon. In charge of the first tour of the year was LMS Black Five no. 45212 in place of LNER B1 no. 61306 Mayflower who wasn't quite ready for the trip. Also, this was my first steam train outing with my new car as my previous car had packed in. So, unfortunately, the Flying Scotsman video that was planned during her visit to the Mid Hants Railway didn't happen. Sorry about that. The weather promised a mixture of sun, showers and even hail. But luckily, the shots I filmed from I was very fortunate in not getting involved in the hail and rain. The morning was supposed to be trouble-free, However, there was a landslip between Guildford and Ash which had an effect of trains last night. Luckily, the line reopened just as the engine reached the section. The engine started the day half an hour late and didn't really make up time during her journey.
My first shot was at Hungerford Road on the approach to Hungerford Station to see the engine thundering along the Berks and Hants Line in the beautiful spring sunshine. With no diesel on the back either, this was an added bonus. The engine was running half an hour late at this point but sounded amazing. My next spot was at one of my favourite spots at Newton St Loe, however, I arrived with literally minutes to spare. The engine made up time from being half an hour late to arriving and departing Bath bang on time. However, I managed to get prepared just in time to see the Black Five accelerate away from the Roman City of Bath with her ECS to Bristol for turning and servicing.
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