45699 "Galatea" flattens the Peak District on 'The Buxton Spa Express'. Filmed Sunday 29th October 2023, released same day.
45699 "Galatea" (or should I say "Galberta Leone") would be the motive power for the Railway Touring Company's 'The Buxton Spa Express', which traversed the Peak District on it's way to it's destination, the Spa town of Buxton. The tour also provided the chance to see steam on the rarely visited Hindlow freight line, usually limited to freight trains.
The tour originated later than originally planned at Preston with 45699 "Galatea" at the helm. Upon departure the tour headed down the West Coast Main Line towards Wigan North Western, where the tour headed eastwards to Manchester Victoria. Immediately after departure from Manchester Victoria, "Galatea" was faced with the formidable 1-in-59/1-in-47 Miles Platting Bank. After demolishing the Bank the tour headed towards Stockport and took the steeply graded London & North Western Railway's route through Whaley Bridge before arriving at Buxton. Upon arrival, passengers were given the choice to stay on the train or have an afternoon trip down the Hindlow freight line. Having returned to Buxton with 47802 leading, "Galatea" started the return trip to Preston via the Peak Forest line, passing the vast Tunstead Limestone Quarry. The tour then joined the Hope Valley line at Chinley before retracing it's route from Stockport via the Hazel Grove chord.
We first pick up the railtour at Dove Holes where "Galatea" slogged up the challenging 1-in-60 gradient towards the station itself, creating the captivating sound of the mighty 3-cylinder stanier beat at work. Unfortunately diesel assistance was required as a miscalculation with the amount of water "Galatea" would need at Denton meant the crew found themselves a little short of water! We then made our way to the impressive 13-arch Dukes Drive Viaduct on the Hindlow freight line to see "Galatea" once again. This time at a more leisurely pace "Galatea" crossed the Viaduct in a patch of brilliant sun. Finally we waited for 47802 to lead the train back over the Viaduct missing the sun, after which we decided to call it a day as the light was fading and any further shots would be under the cover of darkness. I had originally planned to get a shot at Miles Platting Bank in the morning, but I completely misjudged the height of the walls making it impossible to find any form of shot.
Locations featured, with timestamps & locomotives:
-00:11 45699 + 47802, Dove Holes
-01:27 156401 + 150135, Dove Holes
-02:17 45699 + 47802, Dukes Drive Viaduct
-03:20 47802 + 45699, Dukes Drive Viaduct
Locomotives:
-Ex-LMS Class 6P (Formerly 5XP) 'Jubilee' No. 45699 "GALATEA" (Masquerading as both No. 45562 "ALBERTA" & No. 45627 "SIERRA LEONE")
-WCR Class 47 No. 47802
-NT Class 150 No. 150135
-NT Class 156 No. 156401
Locomotives UK