On the 29th of January 2022, LMS 45690 Leander & SR 34067 Tangmere was at the helm of the 2nd Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express railtour of 2022, this tour ran from London Euston to Carnforth with Class 86 86259, Les Ross, before the two steam engines would take over to Carlisle. The return tour would see the 'odd pairing' venture the Settle and Carlisle line as they head to Preston before 86529 would take over again for the return to London. Tangmere was given a glorious chance to stretch her wheels before her Northern Belle duties begin in late February.
Please note that we had Storm Malik occurring during today's filming so any wind noise, I apologize for but nothing could be done about it on a day like this one!
Our first shot is at Lancaster Castle, where we see Les Ross approach the station, bound for Carnforth. We also film a local passenger service from Lancaster to Morecambe, why do we film it? I liked the Battle of Britain livery it had and since we were seeing a Battle of Britain Class in Tangmere, it would have been a shame to not film it.
Next, we head to Oxenholme Lake District to see Leander and Tangmere battle through the stormy conditions, and did they ever make such a noise! Tangmere wouldn't stop whistling its way through the station! Due to the heavy winds, trains were heavily delayed so it took me an age to head over to Settle to see the return.
Originally, either Kirkby Stephen or Ais Gill were ideas for the return but due to the storm, I chickened out and played it safe by heading to Settle to see the duo fly through the station and Hellifield. Our final shot is Hellifield as we briefly film the duo as they take on water before we see them depart for Preston. Note that the platform was very full so apologies for the number of people in front of the camera, it couldn't be avoided.
Leander and Tangmere were fantastic today, a magnificent start to 2022, along with Sierra Leone's run the week prior and the Electric Scot a few days after. Here's hoping 2022 can continue in such good form for Steam and Diesel tours!
