Six Bells Junction

Locos	Route
31291 + 31327	Sheffield - Edinburgh (via York & Newcastle)
26001 + 26006	Edinburgh - Mossend (via Suburban lines, Thornton W, Burntisland, Dalmeny, Falkirk Grahamston)
20149 + 20202	Mossend - Carlisle (via Paisley, Troon, Ayr, Annbank Jn, Dumfries)
25051 + 25239	Carlisle - Newcastle
31291 + 31327	Newcastle - Sheffield (via York)

Tour review :
This tour was to start at a late hour from Sheffield on a Friday so me and a mate departed on the Thursday night using an East Midlands Ranger. A Cravens DMU from Hitchin got us to Huntingdon where 37052 was on the 1708 King's X-Peterborough commuter. An East coast overnight, then 31247 on the 0555 Doncaster-Lincoln, with 08879 on the Sheffield shunt and 31183 on the 1635 Leeds-Sheffield providing the daytime highlights.

Steaming goyles 31327/31291 soon had us on the move from Sheffield at 2357 exactly but our sleep was interupted at York where a defective BK had to be removed due to an alleged screwing the brakes down incident. A new BK was soon shunted on but we had lost 40 minutes or so. Much of the lost time was made up by a storming run from the Goyles. I awoke somewhere in the Berwick area with myself and all around in a state, the stock was rocking wildly, we were flying. Staggering goyles, not this pair.

A short break saw fodder raked in before departing from Edinburgh round various slow speed MGR haunts our 26's were familiar with before the whole train ritualistically bellowed as we thrashed through Burntisland. This alarmed an elderly lady on the up platform. Polmont then a main line burst of speed to Moss End where the 26's were removed. Here green kettle Flying Scotsman was waiting to work North whilst Scottish choppers 20149/20202 provided the power onwards to Ayr. Being the last Summer Saturday of the year withering rumours of exotic power on service trains out of Brum and Sheffield began. 37239 on the 0900 Tenby-York being one beast a few missed that October Summer Saturday.

In the Kirconnel area , true to form one of the bombs (20149) blew up but the tour atmosphere failed to dip as much as our speed. At Carlisle the photo stop was abit of a scrum but it offered us the ch ance to stretch our legs and to admire the Boris the Basher club wielding Geoff Capes lookalike headbord on the replacement rat's iron's. Rat's to Newcastle then those flying Goyles back to Sheffield where we arrived about 30 down. We made one of the last Summer Saturday workings of 1983 in the 2047 Sheffield-Bristol but it's power in 47137 offered little to bellow about after the type 2 delights we had all enjoyed.