45562 passes above Griffin Mill lock

I had a diary entry for today for a steam train tour, the Cotswold Venturer, passing through our Golden Valley. Despite being under the weather with the aftermath of covid, I thought I’d still like to make the effort to see and photograph it. When the steam train tours visit here there are two attractions for the sales brochure – the amazing valley landscape the Brunel designed line travels through as well as the challenge for the steam engine in pulling a full complement of coaches up the steep inclines to reach the summit of the Cotswold hills at Sapperton.

I decided to view its descent this morning on its outbound journey from London Paddington to Worcester via Stroud. I checked the timetable and saw that it was planned to reach us at about 10.20 am. I drove about a mile up the valley to park at the old Griffin Mill complex not far from a public footpath that crosses the valley. The valley bottom is only about a hundred and fifty yards wide and manages to accommodate the London Road, the river Frome, various former mill leets, old mill buildings, some small houses, the Thames and Severn canal and of course the mainline railway route from Cheltenham to Swindon, and thence on to London.

I knew the footpath crossed all of these other routes by small footbridges, and with a foot crossing over the railway trckes themselves. By the time I reached the canal I could see a gaggle of enthusiastic steam train photographers standing by crossing over the tracks, which rather pout me off. Instead I walked about forty yards further west to Griffin Mill Lock where I thought I’d be able to see the train approach down the valley and then pass on the slightly elevated embankment above me.

The towpath was very busy with Saturday morning walkers, joggers, cyclists, and many otter watchers, many of whom mentioned in passing that then hoped to see one of the often spotted creatures that now live close to the f=river and canal who all. I kept my distance from all comers and tried not to engaged in conversation but everyone wanted to know ‘whether there was a train coming?’.

The train was actually about ten minutes late, and I’d chosen to use a wide angle lens rather than a telephoto. In the end the view of its approach in the distance was the most dramatic because it was letting off steam, rather than smoke, and a telephoto would have been more suitable. I’m blipping a cropped version of that view as an ‘Extra’, as well as the closer angle showing a bit of the lock and the embankment. The engine was originally named Galatea, but for some strange purpose the nameplate is of a different engine of the same class, called ‘Sierra Leone’. the number on the side of the cab is 45562, the number on the front of the smokebox was 45627 and Galatea had the number 45699. They were all William Stanier designed Jubilee class engines for the London Midland and Scottish Region, and renowned as wonderful work horses of their time.