The Sutherland Special

Edinburgh Waverley Station at 05:45 is not the most inviting place but it was well worth the early start. A railtour hauled by EWS class 37/4s was the reason for being up early. The red and gold EWS locos 37401 and 37422 (Cardiff Canton) looked the part at the head of the maroon SRPS stock. However it was not the greatest of starts as 401 was not talking to 422. We were forty minutes late as the loco's thrashed out of Edinburgh and a quick and loud run to Linlithgow to pick up passengers was welcomed by all on board.

The early problems behind them, the locos were on good form as we hammered west via Polmont, Falkirk and Larbert. Now the locos faced there first test climbing from Stirling to Perth via Gleneagles. The sun was shining bright and we had already made up ten minutes approaching Perth. A superb effort by all those involved. We reached Perth and went through a 'time warp' a half hour late. We skipped the half hour booked stop at Perth and we were now on time and relishing a trip along the Highland Main Line which is uphill most of the way to Inverness. The loco's were more than up to the challange and were in fine fettle at the pass of Killiekrankie 401 and 422 put in a fantastic performance working very hard up to Drumochter (1484 feet above sea level) and Schold summits.

Inverness brought a crew change and a surprise! The locos were detached and 401 (see photo) was left in the station (no RETB was the reason given) and 422 was to take the tour forward to Dunrobbin and Brora. 37422 was duly thrashed working the train after a slow pass (5 MPH) over Thomas Telfords Caledonian Canal on the Clachnaharry Swing Bridge. The sunshine made for a beautiful run skirting Beauly and Crommarty Firth. 37422 provided a fantastic soundtrack, especially on the climb to Lairg summit. Some passengers alighted at the cartoon like Dunrobin Castle, I opted to stay on to the town of Brora to watch EWS 37422 run round.

A punctual departure from Brora as we retraced our steps back to Inverness, where we were reunited with 37401 ready for the long climb from Inverness. The tour kept to time and arrived early at Perth despite poor weather closing in. The locos pounded through the night sky on the last leg of the journey towards Polmont. A most enjoyable tour.