Myself and my good pal Mike Brenan set of at 8.30am from Carlisle to see the Great Goodbye for the 6 A4 pacifics at Shildon. Along the way we also saw many of the lost railways of Cumbria and County Durham. Travelling along the A66 towards Appleby we saw remnants of the Eden Valley Railway and also passed Warcop the home of the Eden Valley Railway Trust with passenger trains running every Sunday and bank holiday Mondays from April. As we pass over Stainmore summit we spot the recently restored Stainmore Summit Board and the route of the line over Stainmore. As we turn off for Barnard Castle we could see the sad site of Bowes Station now in a poor derelict state. A great clip from the Age Of Steam - Barnard Castle to Bowes Railway in 1964 can be seen HERE. We finally arrived at Shildon to be met by the Union of South Africa coming towards us pulling 3 Brake vans as we walked towards the National Railway Museum at Shildon. To see all six A4 Pacific's together was a fantastic experience for myself and Mike and one we will never forget.
