Shropshire main line steam
The Duchess and the Castle
© Geoff’s Rail Diaries 2019
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
27 & 29 April 2019
Near the end of April, there were two
steam-hauled specials on local lines -
but our luck was out… On Saturday 27th,
7029 Clun Castle hauled the return leg
of a Dorridge - Chester train through
Wellington - at the tail end of storm
Hannah. Cold, windy, dull - and trying to rain. The steam
would have looked good in the cold air - except that,
unusually, the Castle shut off and drifted through the station,
opening up once more as it cleared the platforms…
The weather on Monday 29th is much
more encouraging - but unusually for
this spot near Craven Arms, the Duchess
is drifting. The sun’s gone behind the
clouds too. Once again, we heard the
exhaust as the driver opened the
regulator, one the train was out of sight,
and when a couple of service trains passed soon after, the sun
was shining. It was shining at Hopton Heath too, on the
nearby Central Wales line. Not the most successful of outings.
