After a successful visit to the turntable at St Blazey, No. 60103 heads the return working of the RTC’s ‘Royal Duchy’ railtour – the 1Z47/18.06 Par to Bristol – at Restormel, to the north of Lostwithiel, on April 30.
BERNARD MILLS
APRIL 30 saw the magnificent sight of ex-LNER/BR ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman penetrating deep into former GWR territory when it reached Par, Cornwall, at the head of the ‘The Royal Duchy’ railtour from Bristol and then became the first steam loco to be turned on the newly-restored turntable at St Blazey depot.
Many of the spectators that day would have been unaware of the intense challenges that had to be dealt with ahead of the tour in a relatively short timescale. I was involved in the initial discussions in late summer 2022 after being approached by one of Network Rail chairman Lord Hendy’s team regarding the work by M Power Kernow, led by Duncan Mitchell, to restore St Blazey’s turntable to full working order. The plan was to turn No. 60103 there in April 2023 rather than on the Plymouth triangle.
Duncan Mitchell and Barrow Hill boss Mervyn Allcock were spearheading the project. Duncan comes from a marine engineering background but his main focus now is the expansion of the complex at St Blazey for training young apprentices, while Mervyn oversaw the rail industry side of the project.