Sussex Steam Spectacular | 61306+71000 & 34028 head from Sussex - Bath | 12~13/12/25

An historic weekend would grace Sussex Steam enthusiasts as not one, but two steam hauled tours would start and finish in our beloved county meaning that we would have two days of steam on the mainline here, something that hasn’t been seen since the end of Southern Steam. The main event would inevitably be the return of the Spahos Tour which would see an incredibly rare double header combo grace the Brighton Mainline, something which hasn’t been seen since 2013 also serving as the first LSL double header in the county. The tour would also serve as 61306 & 71000’s Brighton Mainline debuts.

Starting our busy weekend off, our adventure starts at Purley Oaks where we capture 61306 ‘Mayflower’ lead the ECS movement to start the tour at Three Bridges. Overtaking the B1, we venture to Hassocks where we capture the B1 absolutely laying down the power through the small Sussex town. 61306 would take on some passengers at various Sussex seaside towns allowing us to overtake once more to capture the B1 running through Fareham Tunnel. Our next shot would come at Bapton where she’d finish her inbound journey, passing the small foot crossing. Now the main event, the double header. 71000 would unfortunately fail on her previous tour meaning she’d be based at Bristol East Depot for a week, in an effort to get her back to Southall: LSL decided on this rare double header opportunity. Positioning ourselves at Keynsham, we’d use the last of the ambient light to get the combo race through the station. A long race would then ensure back to Sussex where we’d witness the combo tear it through Southwick station, a very impressive performance to say the least. Using the water stop at Preston Park, we’d once again beat the tour to Balcombe where the combo looked pretty whilst traversing through the Sussex village. Once the tour finished at Three Bridges, we quickly used the opportunity to gain one more shot at Merstham.

The over night period would see cloud clear, allowing for temperatures to drop giving a nice frosty, but also sunny morning. The conditions would be perfect for bags of exhaust as Eddystone would show through Hassocks, narrowly avoiding being bowled from Southerns cheeky 377 fleet. Eddy would take on water at Preston Park so the opportunity to catch her with the Brighton back drop would be an option not to take as her exhaust would cover the Brighton skyline. A quick race to Burnham Bank would follow where the exhaust would show off once more as Eddy tackled the steep 1:229 climb out of Ford. Different conditions would be met however just outside the Sussex border where the valleys would be obscured by thick fog, this presented the opportunity for Eddy to pelt it through the fog of which, she definitely did. Retracing our steps from the previous tour, we once again capture the tour through Bapton then a cracking glint at Newton St Abbot. Night time would fall and Eddy would head for Sailsbury, here she’d come off and head to back to her former base railway at the Swanage Railway but before, we capture her at Keynsham before beasting the 1:70 gradient at Dilton Marsh.

Many thanks to ‪@TheSouthernerYTChannel‬ for all the help and support during the 34028 tour.

Locomotives Featured:

BR(E) B1 61306 ‘Mayflower’
BR Standard 8 No 71000 ‘Duke of Gloucester’
SR Rebuilt West Country No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’

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Timestamps:

0:00 61306 - Purely Oaks
1:07 61306 - Hassocks
2:34 61306 - Fareham Tunnel
3:57 61306 - Bapton
5:08 61306 & 71000 - Keynsham
6:14 61306 & 71000 - Southwick
7:20 61306 & 71000 - Balcombe
8:28 61306 & 71000 - Merstham
9:32 34028 - Hassocks
11:08 34028 - Brighton
13:17 34028 - Ford
14:59 34028 - Mottisfont & Dunbridge
15:52 34028 - Bapton
17:00 34028 - Newton St Abbot
18:36 34028 - Keynsham
19:32 34028 - Dilton Marsh