I received a phone call from my Grandad at around 10.30am informing me that he'd seen a plume of Smoke pass him by whilst at work near to Tyne Yard, Gateshead on the ECML.
I began searching 'Steam Tours' on Google to see which loco had gone under my radar, when another call came in to say that it was No.71000 'Duke of Gloucester' hauling 'The Lothian Tornado' Railtour on route to Edinburgh. After a little more research I found out that it would be coming back via Tyne Yard later on in the day. Brilliant!
No. 60163 'Tornado' was in York having work done to her, so 'The Duke' had stepped up to the plate. This was the same Railtour that was featured in a race between Steam Train, Motorbike and Car on BBC's Top Gear in 2009.
I'd just seen 'The Duke' a few weeks previously at the NYMR's 175th Anniversary Steam Gala, but I didn't want to miss out on catching No.71000 on mainline duties. So off I headed to Tyne Yard and got there for 8.30pm, armed with camera and fellow enthusiast Jim Harker. Jim had previously found a great spot to get close to where the loco would halt, close to the main office building but without actually trespassing onto railway property, Perfect! (Thanks Jim!)
We waited at our newly found vantage point, with dusk fast approaching and the bitter cold north easterly wind biting hard. And waited.....and waited! We were slightly warmed by the arrival of a CrossCountry Voyager Class 220 passing close by as it came onto the Yard at the end of it's shift to be cleaned to be stabled overnight as the class has done since Virgin days. Time was getting on, darkness setting in and temperatures dropping, we began to fear the worst....a no-show!
We braved it until 9.30pm and with still no sign of anything coming into view, we admitted defeat and headed back to the car. As we drove back over the road bridge that leans across the north entrance to the yard I stopped to speak to other visiting enthusiasts to see if they could shed any light on 'The Duke's' whereabouts.
One of the guys had just been told that the rail tour was running an hour late due to 'technical difficulties' at Edinburgh Waverley. Downtrodden we headed back towards home and into our local pub to drown our sorrows.
The following day, we were told that 71000 had been struck by watering issue's at Edinburgh which has caused the delay. 'The Duke' didn't roll into Tyne Yard until 11.10pm! Luckily on this occasion we had given up hope which in hindsight, we'd have still been there now, frozen to the spot!
So here’s what I did see whilst there……
Although a bit disappointed not to see what I'd come for, I did manage to find this great video over on Steam Tube. Here's the link, enjoy
http://steamtube.ning.com/video/71000-duke-of-gloucester-3
Until next time....
Craig
