Steam train failure probed
SUFFOLK: Engineers are still trying to find out what caused the failure of the steam engine at the head of Saturday’s Easterling tour which was due to bring steam back to the East Suffolk line.
The Black Five steam locomotive that pulled the train from London was declared a failure at Norwich after the first leg of the journey.
The train was then pulled back to Liverpool Street by a diesel locomotive after an extended stay in the city – and no trip to Lowestoft or down the East Suffolk Line.
Photographers who had lined the 45-mile route through Suffolk hoping to catch a glimpse of the train were disappointed, and passengers only got a third of the steam experience they had been expecting.
The train’s promoter the Railway Touring Company was today still working out what compensation would be paid to disappointed passengers.
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The locomotive is privately-owned but is managed by the West Coast Railway Company based at Carnforth in Lancashire.
No one was available to say what had gone wrong on Saturday – or whether the problem was serious for a locomotive that has been a regular performer on the main line.
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Saturday’s trip was the second Easterling of the year to run into problems.
An earlier running planned for July had to be cancelled after the rostered locomotive Oliver Cromwell needed repairs.
Oliver Cromwell had also been due to pull Saturday’s train.
However. its repairs have taken longer than expected and LMS-designed Black Five 44932 was brought in as its replacement.
n Were you disappointed by the steam no-show? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or you can e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar. co.uk
