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45690 Leander Conquers The Hampshire Hills

Published on Sat, May 4th 2024 Autos & Vehicles Rectangular HD

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th April 2024 saw the Mid Hants Railway - aka The Watercress Line - hosting their annual spring steam gala, which brought in a rare visitor to the South, the LMS Stanier 'Jubilee' No.45690 'Leander', courtesy of the Beet family and West Coast Railway Company. A first time visitor to the Hants, this was to be its penultimate appearance at a heritage railway gala before the expiry of its current boiler certificate. Of the four surviving Jubilees, Leander is the third to have a crack at 'The Alps'*, with 45593 'Kolhapur' and 45596 'Bahamas' both having visited in the last 30 years.

*An affectionate nickname for the line going back to the days of steam, due to its hilly nature and steep gradients. The summit of the line sits just east of Medstead and Four Marks station, which sits at 644ft (196m) above sea level, making it the highest operational railway station in the south east of England.

During Leander's time running at the spring gala, a wreath was adorned on the smokebox door. This was in memory of Craig Potter, a member of the loco's support crew and a WCRC fireman who sadly passed away in the week leading up to the event.

In this video then, we catch Leander at a small number of locations along the line as it forges its way up the 1 in 80 to 1 in 60 gradients between Alresford - the western terminus of the line - Ropley and Medstead.

Filmed on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th April 2024, using a Panasonic HC-X1500 with an Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone.

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00:00 Bighton Bridge
02:24 Northside Lane
04:12 Ropley
05:23 Bowers Grove Lane
06:47 Wanders Curve
08:57 Grosvenor Road
10:04 Northside Crossing
11:46 Rookwood