'Black Fives' Battle It Out to York! 44871 & 45231 'The Sherwood Forester' - 18/11/2023

Steam railtours to the York Christmas Markets are nothing new, but imagine separate excursions in a day! That's what happened on Saturday 18th November 2023, when three separate steam-hauled charters descended onto the ancient city in the space of a few hours. Furthermore, despite York being strictly east coast territory, all of the engines were of Midland origin!
First was LMS Stanier 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0 46115 'Scots Guardsman', hauling a West Coast Railways Santa Special from Carlisle. The second and third tours started from London: 'The Christmas White Rose' from the Railway Touring Company with LMS Stanier 5MT 44871 and 'The York Christmas Markets' with fellow 5MT 45231 'The Sherwood Forester', replacing SR Bulleid 'West Country' 4-6-2 34046 'Braunton'. Due to conflicting timetables, I decided to concentrate solely on the 'Black Fives', mainly to see which of the pair would provide the most exciting spectacle.
However, photography-wise, the day did not go according to plan. My adventure began at Newark Northgate. 44871 was due to pass through at 10:39, after which I would then catch the 10:46 LNER service to Doncaster, overtaking the tour at Carlton-On-Trent Loop. Ultimately, due to late running, the LNER service was prioritised ahead of the steam tour, meaning it left on time and 44871 rumbled through Newark twenty-one minutes late. I then had to wait a further forty-five minutes for the next service north, foregoing my planned shot at Doncaster in favour of seeing both tours arrive at York. Further delays meant that 44871 was now running forty-eight minutes down.
At York, huge crowds had gathered to see the trains, so clear views were tight. Whereas 44871 was running straight up the ECML, 45231 had been diverted around Lincoln and was therefore running around forty minutes behind the RTC tour. But, due to 44871's late running, both tours were now estimated to arrive within five minutes of each other. In the end, 44871 arrived first, closely followed by 'The Sherwood Forester'; both shots being bowled by oblivious photographers. As a last ditch effort, I headed to the security gates at Aldborough Way to see 45231 depart with the empty stock to Skelton Junction, where I was very nearly bowled again by a southbound LNER unit.
The return journeys weren't any better. Only the 'Steam Dreams' charter to be turned at York; 44871 and 46115 would have to reverse on the Gascoigne Wood triangle, being dragged by diesels until then. I had planned to go to Copmanthorpe for these shots, but cancelled bus services due to the enormous overcrowding in York city centre meant I opted for the station instead. For unknown reasons, 45231 arrived with the empty stock twenty-eight minutes late and my shot was blocked again by an ignorant member of staff. Eyelines at the far end of platform five were slim, with the light gone, and an Azuma unit blocking most of the view, I concluded this must have been one of the most difficult days filming I'd had in a long time.
I hope you all enjoy the video. Only my shots at Newark Northgate and Aldborough Way went without issue, so this is all I can upload of the day. I started out by wanting to capture two 'Black Fives' battling it out against each other along the ECML. Ultimately, it became a battle to film the engines at all! Better luck next time I suppose. Thanks to the crews at RTC and LSL for the tours. Feel free to comment and subscribe!