25185 storming Goodrington Bank......10 min of rat thrash....

A bit of gen on SW Rail Gen ended up in a trip to Paignton on 9/5/2009, where the rat was supposed to be out on an evening additional to Kingswear, to tie up with the music festival in Dartmouth. An enjoyable afternoon was spent riding various kettles, and 03192 on a brakevan ride at Churston, ending up back in Paignton for 25185 on an additional 1900 Paignton-Kingswear service. Departure time came and went, the barriers went down on the crossing but there was no movement.

A worrying 20 min wait ensued while the brakes were battered into shape. Eventually after a man in an HV vest had attended, we set off. The rodent produced a steady thrash to Goodrington Sands, where we briefly halted. Then followed probably the best few min of rat thrash I've experienced off the mainline. A solid storm up the bank to Churston, maintaining a steady 20-odd mph, loads of noise and some smoke. The rodent seemed to handle the 7-coach load easier than kettle Nunney Castle did earlier on with the same load. Hellfire!

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Travel & Events

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• 25
• rat
• rodent
• PDSR
• 25185