Steam Railmotor 93 on the Looe Branch Shuttles 11-11-12
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ย. 2012
- Having been based at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway for the past few weeks, Steam Railmotor 93 was moved to Liskeard, to haul 5 trips along the picturesque Looe Branch Line. This was the first time that a Railmotor had been seen on the main line for 77 years. Because of this, I decided to make a visit down to Cornwall to capture this unique sight.
Considering the engine has no TPWS, AWS or OTMR (and has a wooden frame), I was pleased to capture this 'never-to-be-repeated' series of excursions. Unfortunately, because of the odd design of the Railmotor, the engine frequently stopped due to low pressure in the boiler - the issues being that the boiler pivots on the motor axle and that as soon as the firebox doors were opened, cold air came into the firebox and affected the pressure in the boiler. This, however, meant we could frequently leap frog the Railmotor, and capture more than one shot per run.
The shots featured in this film are taken at:
Liskeard (I combined the 10:30 and 12:30 departures to create a full departure shot)
Looe
St Keyne Wishing Well Halt
Lodge Barton (x2)
Coombe Junction Ground Frame
Causeland
West North Cottage
Sandplace (pacing sequence of sorts - the trees and twisty road meant I couldn't capture a full sequence. This, combined with the fact that the 15:20 from Looe departed nearly 15 minutes early(!), meant that I couldn't go to Terras Crossing, a location that I wanted to go to but sadly couldn't). *
The Meet, near Causeland
*I have uploaded a second film from this day, an extended pacing shot around Sandplace. Starting at Terras Crossing, we follow the Railmotor as far as Sandplace. The link is here: • Steam Railmotor 93 on ...
Because the 5th run was in the dark, I didn't bother to stay in Cornwall, and instead went home.
Thanks to everyone involved in the running of this tour - it was a great day out and I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Cornwall. I will be back...
www.steamvideos.net
It great to see this
The effect of this is tremendous! I was seeing the steam, hearing puffs, but when the car rolled by - there was no engine. :D
I guess that would've been called SMU in present days. Also, wonder, if the trucks have anything common with saddletank.
Jay Swarrow More a Steam Railcar, as it's a single vehicle.
It is powered by a vertical boiler in a compartment just behind one of the two driver's cabs.
Now this is amazing a Steam Railmotor in real life works wow :0
Lovely video showing the Railmotor and the Looe Valley Line in all its autumn glory - thanks for taking the time, it must have been quite an effort.
An excellent video capturing the events of this historic day really well. Thanks for making the trip to Cornwall
Indeed a nightmare location for pacing but I really enjoyed your results - they gave a proper sense of racing along the Cornish roads in pursuit with the glimpses and longer moments of 93 steaming along! I look forward to your future videos...
Outstanding footage of a unique and historic event, with brilliant sound coming from No. 93. Well Done
Many thanks for this video James - I had been extremely curious to find out what 93 looked like on the mainline but Cornwall is well out of my reach at the moment hence I'm really pleased you got there and shared this! And my verdict - looking great, and you've done a super job of bringing it into the living rooms of those who weren't lucky enough to be there. My favourite - the pacing shot. That has got to be a unique bit of video, surely! Very nicely done indeed. Thanks again, Tim
What a strange and wonderful craft! Beautifully shot and well edited video - thanks so much for sharing!
Lovely little vid. I particularly liked the part where the car was pacing the rail motor
Great vid, loved the way the railmotor perfectly suits the Looe branch, and good on you for trying a pacing shot! It's a lot harder than many of us guess!
Tim
Wonderfull stuff. Many thanks for taking the time to film the Steam Railmotor.
A wonderful bit of history well captured with your trusty camera work. A wonderful film. Barry
Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Extracts from the book about this survivor inform us she came very close to being scrapped yet Providence continually kept an eye on her whereabouts, even when said vehicle was being used as a departmental office at various locations such as Ashford and Birmingham.
The Lottery grant helped and I am dead chuffed to be able to report that the new boiler was made in the UK.Long live steam!Alistair
Thoroughly enjoyed that James, excellent footage from such a rare event. Really looking forward to seeing her this Sunday now :) It's an amazing achievement to not only re-build an Auto-Coach into a working Railmotor, but to get it on the mainline as well! And she sounds just lovely. Cracking set of locations, will have to look for them on Google Earth as well as on a little scouting mission we're planning to do on Saturday.
Thank you.
Brilliant
Great video, very nicely done.
Excellent videography - I felt as though I was 'looking over your shoulder'! I couldn't be there but very much enjoyed your video. Thank you for sharing it! Incidentally, my ancestral home - Minions - is just up the road! Regards Rob Mannion
Thanks Andrew.
Great video.
Thanks mate.
Thank you. Indeed it does have a good bark, especially when it was climbing into Liskeard from Coombe Jc. As for the cold air 'theory', the issue does appear to be because of the vertical boiler, as, like you say, most main line tours would stop every mile or so if the firebox doors needed to be opened!
Thank you Tim. I think it suits the line perfectly, even if the locomotive struggled to get up the bank to Liskeard. As for the pacing shot, it is indeed very tricky - in fact I was tempted to leave it out of the film. It departed Looe almost 10 minutes early, and passed me as I was arriving at Terras Crossing. Instead, I turned around and attempted a pacing shot... I might try it again in the future, although will need some practise! James at SVN
It's so confusing really. You hear a steam engine comming round the bend. You think it'll look like steam engine. OH MY GOD IT'S A COACH! Very unique, if not confusing.
excellent video of a historic event :)
Nice video!
Brilliant!
What I think of Steam Railmotors? Dope
Thanks Kris, look forward to seeing your footage from next Sunday. It was a wonderful sight, and the sound she produced was great! Please do have a look out for these locations - as I've mentioned before, just give me a shout if you want to know about any location (and car parking!). The pacing shot was a 'grab' shot, as the RM departed Looe almost 15 minutes early. We passed it just as it was about to go over Terras Crossing, quickly turned around and I hit record as we approached.
Thank you very much Austin. Your comment is appreciated.
Thanks Barry, sorry it's taken so long to get back to you.
Thank you. Indeed it is a pity, especially the chap in the grey coat, who was extremely close to being hit by the Railmotor.
Thanks Andrei. Indeed it does, and yes I would! It would take forever though, due to the cold air rushing into the firebox when the firebox doors were opened - the pressure would drop rapidly and the RM would 'stall' on the bank.
Thanks a lot Rob, I really appreciate your comment.
NGL would be nice if they did stuff like this more, putting DMUs on branches and stuff
brillant
Thank you very much. Indeed, he was extremely close to being hit by the Railmotor. The low angle of the camera doesn't represent it all that well, but I could see him clearly take a couple of steps back as the foot-step passes him.
Thanks for commenting. Indeed, it is an unusual combination, but still a very attractive one.
Thank you for commenting and for your subscription. It was a super day, and was pleased that I captured the amount of footage that I did, considering I missed the first and last run. We were very lucky with car parking, as more often than not, we would arrive and there would be one space left. As far as I know, you are correct about the fire and cold air, I have been reading up about this this evening.
Thank you for your comment. It was quite an effort, but was pleased to capture this unique event.
What a very delightful well made film. There is a model coming out soon. Would you mind me linking to this video in my review? Also I'd be very grateful if i could lift a bit of the audio to go with it?
Excellent shots. It was a great day wasn't it? I am particularly impressed at your presence at so many locations during the day. You obviously had some good fortune parking! One observation: their use on 'local' type traffic meant stops could be used to add coal. The GWS are, I understand, reluctant to fire when it is under power since the cold air not only inhibits steaming, it stresses an expensive boiler.
it said in heritage railway that network rail allowed the railmotor up to 35mph,she is due to do a few runs between southall and brentford in september.
Thank you very much for commenting. I'm afraid I do not know, although I can give one reason why they were not successful. Although they were good steamers, the fireman would have a tough time, largely down to the boiler sitting on the motor axle. This lead to the firebox continually moving. Today, in particular, the crew struggled to steam the RM uphill, as when they opened the firebox doors, cold air would affect the pressure in the firebox (the cab doors were open all day - a requirement).
Tim, thank you once again for your appreciated comments. Indeed, I was delighted to see 93 on the main line, and thought it looked just right! The pacing shot was tricky - the poor road quality (mostly muddy tracks) and twisty road and railway meant little in the way of shots focusing on the valve gear - still, there's always next time (although a little practise will probably be needed!).
Its like having a class 153 but steam powered. Its like an SMU Steam Multiple Unit haha!
Also forgot to mention, I particularly enjoyed the pacing shot :)
Great record of an almost unique event. I've riding on (in?) her at Didcot but this was something else! Great bark for such a small loco. Not sure about the cold air theory, don't all loco's drag cold air through the firehole doors? Maybe a vertical boiler problem though.
Hi Tim, in case you were interested, I have uploaded a second video from yesterday - an extended version of the pacing sequence. The link is in the description.
In the late 70's I recall the GWS had a selection of rolling stock, including an old Auto coach (converted steam railmotor), on what was once Taunton West Carriage sidings. I believe it was the last loose coupled stock movement out of Taunton when the 'collection' was moved to Didcot. I assume No.93 is that same Taunton based Auto Coach?
Great old engine and train. I wonder where the tender is.
well done,brill...….
Three reasons that I can think of, off the top of my head. 1) People stood directly behind the camera/There were objects in the shot if I panned. 2) It adds variety. 3) Maybe the cameraman in charge of that camera was taking still photographs instead of operating the video camera? If you look through the rest of my videos (in particular my most recent video - 34067 and the Capitals Christmas Express), you would see a panning shot in most, if not all of my videos. Thanks for commenting.
It's got a nice sharp bark, hasn't it. Wouldn't you like to see it on Dainton and Hemerdon?
Super)
'applecountry - Their down side was because the whole unit was out of use each time the engine required any servicing, theycould also be underpowered on hills. Hopefully her trailer unit No 92 (our old mess 'pit' at Didcot) will be finished and ready for use. BP12
Excellent video footage, thank you. One disappointment for me at 5mins51s the usual stupidity of linesiders - the chap in the brown coat for one - why do they do it?
請問這蒸氣火車是燒柴油的嗎？
Is the power truck rigidly mounted or does it pivot on the bolster?
Dan Fitzgerald The power truck is ridged to the vertical boiler and both pivot to the railmotor body
Could this railmotor run in both directions? and if so did it need a crew front and back, perhaps a diesel driven carriage had an advantage in this regard?
It has a cab at both ends and was operated like the GWR auto trains with bell codes between driver and fireman when in different cabs to do things like the reverse or release the brakes.
chouette autorail à vapeur ....on en a eu très peu en belgique
Was Ray Churchill driving?
Just a question....... why does it seem to always be popping off or blowing down ??
Most likely your referring to the cylinder cocks to expel condensated steam/water from the cylinders to prevent damage. Especially when moving after standing for periods and the cylinders cool down.
Its taken a while for the steam railmotor to come now all we have to do is get it to different places e.g churnet valley railway (if they want it)
While it may appear that the Railmotor was moving fairly quickly when entering Liskeard on camera, in real life it was not going all that fast.
🇮🇳💐🍁🌹♥️🥰🥰👌🍁💐🇮🇳
Why don't people pan shots anymore? Me and my dad would never have dreamt of using fixed shots back in the 80s.
Did he orginal steam railmotor 'motor' quite so quickly? Makes one wonder why they were not s successful.
'Cos he's old and grey, probably deaf and looking throught the wrong edge of his bi-focals.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Hi Tim, in case you were interested, I have uploaded a second video from yesterday - an extended version of the pacing sequence. The link is in the description.
Thank you very much.