Where to see pair of vintage steam locos as they pass through Black Country and Worcestershire
Two classic steam engines of a type once regularly seen in the West Midlands will be returning to rails in the area on Saturday.
The pair of Castle class express engines, designed and built by the Great Western Railway, and latterly British Railways, will be taking enthusiasts on a circular route starting and finishing at Birmingham New Street.
Passengers will head from Birmingham through Wolverhampton and on to Telford before continuing west towards Shrewsbury.
Once at the county town the train will turn south, bypassing the station, and head through the likes of Church Stretton and Ludlow before reaching Hereford.
Fronting the Vintage Trains-organised excursion will be Castle class locos 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and 7029 Clun Castle.
The trip is marking 100 years since the first of the class, now preserved in Swindon where it was built, was introduced by the Great Western Railway. The design was so successful that a total of 171 were constructed over a 27-year period from 1923 to 1950.
Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was built in 1936 while Clun Castle - named after the castle in south Shropshire - was one of the last to be finished in 1950. Both locos were withdrawn in the 1960s and today are owned by Vintage Trains in Tyseley, Birmingham.
After a two-hour break in Hereford the train will go to Gloucester, via the Severn Tunnel, before returning to Birmingham via Bromsgrove and - the highlight of the trip for those on board - the famous Lickey Incline.
The Lickey Incline will present a stern test for the locos. The two-mile stretch of railway is Britain's steepest main line, with a gradient of 1 in 37.
