45627 (45699) roars up to Buxton; the Buxton Spa Express 29/10/2023

It's been nearly 12 years since a steam locomotive last tackled the wicked gradients on the former LNWR line to Buxton and the weather for the run from Preston couldn't have been much better with bright autumn sunshine all the way. It was a late start for the tour, only being booked to leave Preston at 1035 and much to our surprise, we were the only ones on the footbridge at Euxton Churchyard. Running exactly on time, 45699, still running as 45627 looked and sounded excellent as it roared past doing around 55-60mph with the 47 on the rear taking its own weight and nothing more.
From Euxton there was 3 hours to drive into Derbyshire for a shot I've wanted to do for a long time, on the hillside overlooking Combs reservoir where the line climbs at a constant 1 in 58 towards Chapel en le Frith. Again the Jubilee looked and sounded fantastic as it dug into the climb with the 47 again taking its own weight and not really providing any other assistance up the long 6 3/4 mile long ascent from Whaley Bridge to Dove Holes. We were quite lucky with the light here as no sooner had the train disappeared behind the trees than the sun went in...
The tour wasn't just stopping in Buxton though. Also included was a run up the freight only line to Hindlow, the stub of the former LNWR line to Ashbourne which also provided access to the Cromford and High Peak railway. The train was booked to reverse from Buxton station into the sidings then take on water before resuming the climb up gradients as steep as 1 in 60 but unknown to us they hadn't bothered with the water stop and left Buxton sidings half an hour early so by the time we reached the bridge we planned to use just outside Harpur Hill it was less than 1/4 of a mile away...From the car, which fortunately we'd parked right next to the bridge the was just about time to take the camera off the tripod, turn it on and start recording handheld with all the settings unchanged from the Combs shot. The exhaust was whited out a bit but again the Jubilee was looking excellent as it dug into the climb, and with railtours of any kind being pretty rare along this route this smash and grab was well worth including.