26th June 2005

A "Western" on "The Mule"! D1015 "Western Champion" looks and sounds wonderful as it approaches on the "Western Trident III" Pathfinder railtour, the 11.30 Exeter St. Davids to London Victoria. As alluded to in the railtour title, this was the third of a three-day tour behind this locomotive. The previous day I and my friend Alan travelled from Exeter to the Central Wales line and back behind “Champion”, a great day out and my first trip behind her.

I'm standing close to the A35 overpass, looking west. Westerns were not uncommon on this route during the 1970s, but certainly this was the first appearance of one since their withdrawal in 1977.