Not being deterred by a little bit of rain, I managed to photograph both steam specials that ran on the Welsh Marches line on Saturday 24th November 2012.   Not only that, but thanks to some generous timtabling, I was able to photograph each train at two locations.

The Yuletide Borderer I, 24th November 2012

Fortunately the service train to Taunton was safely out of the way as the first train came through Severn Tunnel Junction, bang on time at 09:30 (and just as the rain started) with no. 70000 Britannia in charge.  She took the climb out of the tunnel as if it was level track but managed to produce a splendidly thick cloud of white exhaust.    While the train took a water stop at Magor, I went up to the now closed station at Penpergwm near Abergavenny, arriving with plenty of time to enjoy the increasingly heavy rain before Britannia ran through.

The Yuletide Borderer IV, 24th November 2012

It turned out that I had a lot more time to get back to Severn Tunnel Junction than I had thought, as the second steam special was around 30 minutes late by the time that it eventually appeared.    I rather suspect that it had been held at Bristol Parkway to allow two extra Cardiff bound HST services to pass, full of rugby supporters heading to the Millennium Statium (We'll say no more about that...).   The wait was worthwhile though, when 60163 Tornado ran through, wearing her newly applied BR Express Passenger Blue livery.

The Cathedrals Express II, 24th November 2012

And to finish the day, I got back to Penpergwm a few minutes ahead of the Cathedrals Express.

The Cathedrals Express III, 24th November 2012

That LED headlamp that Tornado carries when on the main line is far too bright for head on photography, but at least my 70-200 f2.8 L IS II lens is able to handle it without producing any lurid green internal reflections.