44932 on 'The Royal Duchy' - Epic slogs up Dainton and Hemerdon! - 16/06/13

With a shortage of available locomotives, either due to failures, prior commitments or no time for gauging checks, LMS Black 5 4-6-0 no.44932 was roped in to take charge of June 16th's 'Royal Duchy'. Because of this the normal load of 9 (8+Support Coach) would have to be reduced as Black 5s are limited to 7 over the notorious South Devon Banks. RTC must have been feeling confident though as the load had been reduced to 8, one coach over the Black 5s limit! This would provide a serious challenge for the crew over Dainton, Rattery and Hemerdon. The weather would also play a part in how well she would do, as in a contrast to last week's sunshine and warmth we had cloud and rain.

Our first port of call for the day would be at the little car park on the final approach to Whiteball Tunnel as 44932 climbs up Wellington Bank, it would've been the field just before this but the farmer had his cows in there! The 5 is seen going very well as she storms through the rain and enters Whiteball Tunnel. Our next shot brings us to the top of Dainton Tunnel, this is where things start to get interesting. Even more so as she would have a standing start from Newton Abbot after being held by a late running Voyager. It was touch and go at the top but Ray Churchill's excellent driving shines through and she makes it over the summit in glorious style.

Our next location would be on the 1 in 78 climb out of St Germans, although a combination of a late get away from Dainton and 44932 having a shortened stop at Plymouth meant we got there with less than two minutes to spare. Although we didn't get as far as my planned location which was into the next field seen through the trees. I didn't even have time to setup properly so just had to lean my tripod against the nearest fence post and hope for the best. At least I got a shot though, right?

The obvious choice for the first return shot was on the bridge at the top of Hemerdon Bank. There didn't seem to be many people there for it, that is until ten minutes before she was due when every man and his dog showed up! 44932 is seen giving an almighty bark as she slogs up the final stretch of the 2.5 mile long 1 in 42 climb, it was truly amazing considering the load was over her limit! The final shot of the day saw us just outside of Stoke Cannon, the last time I was here was back in March for 60163 'Tornado', and it was a hell of a lot darker then! 44932 is seen cruising along nicely, catching the last of what little light there was poking through the clouds. A nice shot to end what had been a lovely day's filming.

Filmed on a Panasonic HDC-HS900 with Pro Sound L92AA and Panasonic VW-VM2SE (St Germans shot only).

Enjoy.