Sighting of The Tornado – Wednesday 11 May

Local photographer and train enthusiast Tony Bartlett reports on his sighting of LNER Pacific no. 60163 Tornado with the British Pullman on a London Victoria to Bristol dining train:

“Progress reports indicated that the train had arrive a few minutes early for its water-stop at Newbury Racecourse, but there it stayed well beyond its due time of departure and long enough to be overtaken by the hourly HST to Penzance whereas it should have reached Westbury before the express. As a first guess the watering was affected by the closure of the M4 eastbound which must have caused heavy traffic and congestion in the Newbury area, perhaps delaying the arrival of the water bowser which is needed now that water cranes are no longer available at the platform-end. So nearly a half hour late departure provided the incentive for a lively run through Hungerford which was some consolation for all concerned given the poor weather and seemingly interminable rain of the past few days.

Tornado May 16

 

 

“The evening return was a more leisurely affair with the train running well on time and having to keep its distance behind a DMU service. Unexpectedly the sun made an appearance as the early rain cleared away, giving another opportunity to experiment with shooting into the sun:

Tornado 2 May 16

 

“For both shots the graduated neutral filter has been used to balance up the bright sky and the darker railway subject”.

 

 

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Covering: Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford, Marlborough, Wantage, Lambourn, Compton, Swindon & Theale