60009 'Union of South Africa' in the Golden Valley

After picking Helena up from the fete at the school where she works, I drove eastwards up the Golden Valley for about a mile from our house. I knew this steam engine was coming up the valley on its return from Worcester to London Paddington on a day long excursion called 'The Cathedrals Express'.

The type of engine is one of my favourites being an A4 Pacific, a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Only 35 were ever built. These engines pulled the fastest express trains on the eastern regions of England and Scotland from the 1930s onwards. One of its class named 'Mallard' set the world speed record for steam engines at 126 mph (203 km/h) on 3rd July 1938. 

As a little boy, probably aged about ten, I went on my own to Kings Cross and was allowed into the driver's cab of 'Mallard' as it stood waiting to take an express train north to Scotland. The driver even allowed me to walk through the tiny and narrow corridor of the tender, which allowed replacement drivers and firemen to take over the duties while the train was running non-stop between London and the north!

Today they are limited to a speed of about sixty miles per hour on the national network but it was still a delight to see it working hard as it picked up speed after running through Stroud Station. This particular railway line is famous for not only its beauty but also for its steepness as the tracks climb up and over the Cotswold hills. They have to ascend the steep Sapperton incline before heading into a long tunnel under the summit of the hills, the whole line having been designed and built by Isambard Kingdon Brunel.

I parked near the site of the old Hope Mill, crossed the old bridge over the canal, walked through a pedestrian tunnel under the railway and climbed up a grassy bank to get the picture. It was delightful to be there.