Rushing across from Small Heath after seeing the A4 we were in plenty of time to see the Black 5s arrive from Carnforth with  the railtour to Carmarthen. The train was about 20 minutes late arriving and was away in less than 5 minutes, so there were only seconds to spare after a mad dash up to the castle wall to see the train departing. Thanks to the person from the museum, who allowed us a couple of minutes to see the train depart – as it was locking-up time!

Link to photos

It’s a great view from the castle wall:-

The William Shakespeare, hauled by 4492, ran from York to Stratford-upon-Avon & return. As far as I know, this is the only appearance of the loco in the West Midlands this year, but at least I managed plenty of photos of it. 60019/4492 now looks very smart in garter blue livery, with full streamling, and was running with the second tender.

Link to photos

Sun & smoke, can’t be bad!!