Steam on the Overground
A steam train ran along the Gospel Oak to Barking branch of the London Overground today June 16th pulling vintage passenger coaches. I’m trying to find out more about it, as I’ve seen or heard this before. The sighting was near Woodgrange Park station heading West so it may have destined to switch tracks onto the mainline towards Stratford, something to do with the Olympics opening ceremony perhaps? There was certainly a steam hauled train crossing one of the main bridges over the Thames in central London for the Queen’s Jubilee River Pageant last bank holiday weekend so it may have been the same one, or maybe the Orient Express making its way around London avoiding the main terminus stations.
A Steam Engine, Not on the Overground
Thanks to Jim Easterbrook who alerted me to http://www.uksteam.info/ I now know that the steam engine I heard and saw on the Barking to Gospel Oak line must have been the BR Cass 8P 4-6-2 no 71000 Duke of Gloucester pulling the THE CATHEDRALS EXPRESS on the Steam hauled: Southend-Gloucester-Southend run. How about that then! And given the timetable information, It should be possible to catch the return passage at about twenty to nine this evening, weather permitting.
Yes, isn’t the internet clever sometimes.
Here’s a picture of the said Duke of Gloucester steaming through Woodgrange Park station only about 5 minutes late at 8.49 pm tonight.
Duke of Gloucester
1Zxx | ||||
0.0 | Southend Central | d 09:34 | 71000 | |
Pitsea | 09:50 | |||
d 09:46 | ||||
Upminster | a 10:04 | |||
d 10:06 | ||||
Barking | 10:18 | |||
d 10:22 | ||||
Leyton Midland Rd | 10:35 | |||
South Tottenham | 10:45 | |||
Harringay Park Jc | 10:50 | |||
Gospel Oak | 10:57 | |||
Willesden Jc HL | 11:11 | |||
Acton ML | 11:25 | |||
Southall | 11:36 | |||
Heathrow Airport Jc | 11:39 | |||
Slough | 11:49 | |||
Maidenhead | 11:59 | |||
Reading | 12:16 | |||
Didcot Parkway | 12:33 | |||
Challow | a 12:45 | water | ||
d 13:08 | ||||
Swindon | 13:23 | |||
Kemble | 13:47 | |||
St Marys Crossing | 13:57 | |||
Standish Jc | 14:09 | |||
Gloucester | a 14:20 | |||
1Z83 | ||||
0.0 | Gloucester | d 16:58 | 71000 | |
Standish Jc | 17:10 | |||
St Marys Crossing | 17:19 | |||
Kemble | 17:32 | |||
Swindon | 17:49 | |||
Challow | 18:02 | |||
Wantage Road | a 18:07 | water | ||
d 18:43 | ||||
Didcot Parkway | 18:55 | |||
Reading | 19:15 | |||
Maidenhead | 19:29 | |||
Slough | 19:36 | |||
Heathrow Airport Jc | 19:46 | |||
Southall | 19:48 | |||
Acton Main Line | 19:55 | |||
Willesden Jc HL | 20:01 | |||
Gospel Oak | 20:15 | |||
Harringay Park Jc | 20:20 | |||
South Tottenham | 20:25 | |||
Leyton Midland Rd | 20:35 | |||
Barking | 20:46 | |||
Upminster | a 21:08 | |||
d 21:10 | ||||
Pitsea | 21:25 | |||
Southend Central | a 21:42 |