Deltic 9 On The Road Today (25/07/12)

[StevieG]

I was riding in a fast southbound FCC (GN) EMU on the Up Fast line this morning, 'all non-chalen, sir' (thank you Corporal Jones), between Skimpans bridge (south of Marshmoor) and Brookmans, when suddenly a momentary whiny engine noise shot by on the Down Fast, followed by numerous carriages, with no loco sound at the rear, after which our carriage was pervaded by a certain rare (these days) noxious engine exhaust aroma for a couple of minutes (our windows were open owing to the warm temperature of the day).

Thinks.... - 'Deltic'! (I tend not to keep up with advance notices of when preserved locos are working on the network, you understand, so this encounter was unexpected).

Sure enough, I now learn that 9009 is working a 1Z55, 0650 KX - Edinburgh today (Wed.), understood to have left Peterboro' at 0836, 32 mins. behind schedule.

[Mickey]

It came across the north London line about 5:30am with it's train heading around the 'Harringay curve' and then back into Kings X.

[StevieG]

Apologies Richard.
I think I should've started this topic in 'LNER News', not in this forum.

[R. pike]

I saw it from the A1(M) near Stevenage this morning with an oil collector drum fire in full progress. It seems they did the right thing and simply opened her up judging by the pictures i've seen of it further north.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steam60163 ... otostream/

[Rlangham]

Nice - beats the Thomas the Tank Engine Jinty I saw going north on the A34 today!

[60526]

It was on the 06:50 KX "Elizabethan" to Edinburgh with Tornado on the return. Alycidon was running approx 50 minutes late at times but managed to get it back to a 12 minute loss at Waverley. I was in the last coach and when it was on fire it looked certainly looked entertaining, before that we couldn't work out if we had a diesel or steam engine on the front, but the noise gave it away, sounded like a pair of Napier in good form. Part of the problem seems to have been standing in KX for sometime before departure with the engines on, also it didn't help having to stop in Gasworks tunnel. But after stopping for the fire on the down main it rev'd on full power for between 5 and 10 minutes and as you said, cleared it out. Quite a few people on board had GPS and it went over the ton a couple of times, sounded in good fettle. Well done to the DPS, it was good run, I hadn't been behind a Deltic on the mainline since the 1970's, it was a good experience.