34067 Tangmere flies to the north on The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express - 10.02.24

Following the withdrawal of WCRC's Central Door Locking exemption, preventing them from using non-CDL coaching stock, Railway Touring Companies 2024 season was looking in doubt. However, with a set of air braked Mark 2's, fitted with CDL, and using air braked loco No. 34067 Tangmere, the trips were able to go ahead as planned.

The second of the year, would be one of the regular Winter Cumbrian Mountain Expresses. This one would start at Manchester Piccadilly, travelling via Eccles to Wigan North Western, before heading up the WCML to Carlisle. Following a break in the border city, the tour would travel back to Preston via the S&C, before following a reverse of the outward route back to Manchester. Tangmere would only take the train as far as Preston before returning to Carnforth, however as events occured she was instead removed at Hellifield in a bid to make up time. This particular CME would allow for more shots of the steam than a London starting one, with 34067 being on the train before it would get to Carnforth, where the steam usually takes over a London starting CME.

Marking my farthest outing along the WCML, the video starts out at Lancaster, where in brilliant winter sun, 34067 flies through at speed, smoking out the station in the process. A waterstop at Carnforth allowed an overtake to Oxenholme, however the water stop ended up overrunning by 50 minutes due to a slow pump. After a long wait, 34067 comes through once again at speed as she heads for the climb to Shap summit. The late running prevented me getting another passing shot, as cancelled Avanti services meant I had little options of getting back to London, so instead the final shot comes from Carlisle itself, where Tangmere departs, still around 50 minutes down, heading for the S&C.

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