5043 Uffington 17 April 2010

The low evening sun glints off the boiler of Castle Class 4-6-0 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe as it passes Uffington with the Vintage Trains 1Z24 17:02 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington 'Bristolian' railtour on 17 April 2010. This was the return working of the first steam hauled non-stop working along the route since the 1960s. The former GUV van number 96175 which can be seen directly behind the tender has been fitted out internally with water tanks, which enabled this record breaking run to take place. The loco is obviously in fine condition, as it is running 12 minutes early at this point. That was just the beginning, as it managed to knock a whopping 45 minutes of the schedule, reaching Paddington in 109 minutes!