"Collett Weekend Part 1 :The Elgar Explorer"
Date : 24th August, 2002
Location : Oxford & Worcester Shrub Hill Stations
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"The Elgar Explorer" with Ex-GWR "Castle" Class locomotive no. 5029 "Nunney Castle" approaches Oxford
I had always wanted a steam tour over my "local" line, preferably behind a Great Western "Castle" class locomotive, and on the 24th August, 2002, I finally got to do it on the "Elgar Explorer". I had planned to do the tour in June, but that tour was cancelled due to the failure of the locomotive, and for various reasons, the next available "Castle"-hauled tour was the August one.
The day started out somewhat badly; a problem in Ledbury tunnel had led to the re-routing of the HST I had planned to take to Oxford, where I would join the tour. The result of this was catching the next service to Oxford; a two-car DMU which was effectively covering its own service and the HST's, resulting in a packed train (the Reading music festival was the same weekend, which didn't help either). I arrived at Oxford later than planned, but with half-an-hour still to spare.
5029 "Nunney Castle" stands at Worcester Shrub Hill, having arrived with the down "Elgar Explorer"
Having shot a few photographs of the train approaching Oxford, I boarded my carriage, where I was somewhat surprised to find it half-empty. The tour moved out of Oxford and pulled up for a watering stop, but rumours were flying round the carriage that there was a serious problem; the run from Paddington had been slow and 5029 was about to be failed. Discussions turned to just how long would it take for Didcot to warm up 5051 "Earl Bathurst" to take over!
Fortunately, the rumours of failure turned out to be false. The official explanation by the tour company was that the poor running was down to signalling problems out of Paddington and the tour had found itself behind a late-running local service. If there had been a technical problem, it had been rectified at the watering stop. Anyone alighting at Oxford thinking the tour was about be curtailed missed the best part.
Departing, the watering stop, the tour suffered a further signal check just after Wolvercote Junction, but once this had been cleared, progress began to pick up, with 5029 putting in an excellent performance between Wolvercote and Moreton. At Moreton, the tour was halted again to allow the local service in front to clear the single line section to Evesham. Once clearance had been obtained, the tour made good time to Evesham and Worcester.
5029 "Nunney Castle" is serviced at Worcester Shrub Hill