UK: Royal Train at Thornhill Junction, 24 January 2012

[Steve Appleton]

The photographer David Rodgers writes:

Hi,
After quite a good day weather-wise yesterday today's forecast was for constant rain and snow showers! On departure from home at 9.00am it was so dark that there was little to distinguish between night and day!

The occasion was the Royal Train conveying Prince Charles from Preston to Wakefield Kirkgate for visits (by car) in the Barnsley area. We decided to choose a location as near to Wakefield as possible to gain maximum daylight and settled on Thornhill LNW Jct where the Leeds and Wakefield lines diverge east of Mirfield. The train was headed by newly-repainted Britannia pacific No. 70000 Britannia. Even at 9.50am the dire lighting conditions forced the use of 1000ASA!
Dave

Photo: Copyright (c) 2012 David Rodgers.

IMG_0971em.jpg (322.91 KiB) Viewed 5077 times

[John Ashworth]

Am I mistaken or should that loco be sporting four headlamps for a royal train? I can only see three.

[John Ashworth]

Prince Charles steams in for a visit to Wakefield

Yorkshire Evening Post
Published on Tuesday 24 January 2012 11:42

The Prince of Wales stepped off a carriage pulled by a 1950s steam engine on to a railway platform packed with well-wishers today.

Charles was unveiling the renamed Britannia steam locomotive, which has been restored from an engine originally built in 1951.

As he stepped off the train on to a cold and wet platform at Wakefield Kirkgate station he was serenaded by a brass band playing Singing In The Rain and Beatles classic Ticket To Ride.

Swathed in steam, he met schoolchildren waving Union flags.

Pop producer and train enthusiast Pete Waterman introduced him to young people who had worked on restoring the train.

After unveiling its new name plaque, the Prince smiled, patted the locomotive and said: “Jolly good engine.”

Waterman, who persuaded Charles to get involved at a Prince’s Trust event, said: “He (Charles) loves steam engines, he’s as much of an enthusiast as I am.”

The Class 7 Locomotive No 70000 Britannia was built in 1951 in Crewe. After it was retired in 1966, it was bought by a group of enthusiasts and is now owned by Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust.

It has been overhauled again to meet Network Rail requirements and it returned to the main line last March.

Later, on his first visit to Barnsley, the Prince will meet cricket umpiring veteran Dickie Bird, visit the Barnsley Chronicle newspaper and Huddersfield University’s campus in the town before touring nearby Wentworth Castle.

[Steve Appleton]

Apparently UK "headcodes" were abandoned as obsolete in 1976, so I guess the arrangement of discs is purely arbitrary now.

[John Ashworth]

Yes, that's true, but heritage trains usually sport heritage headlamp codes.

[Ian Roberts]

If I remember correctly, the traditional four headlamp code is only used when the monarch is on the train, other members of the royal family using the royal train got the standard express two head lamp code.

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Ian. So I wonder what the three-in-a-row headlamps signify? According to this list, it's a "through goods or mineral"!

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

A "gem" in other words!

[John Ashworth]

That's certainly a more charitable description of Prince Charles than much of the press manages!

[John Ashworth]

I've just received my March 2012 issue of Railway Magazine. On p8 it has a similar picture of Britannia hauling the Royal Train, this one taken at Normanton, and the caption includes:

Note that three lamps are being carried rather than the customary four.

[Ian Roberts]

The three lamps are a combination of traditional and modern:

The two outside lamps are the traditional Class "A" Express passenger train

The center light is the modern high intensity lamp which is a requirement.