Railway Herald
InterCity's Diamond Jubilee Express charter from Bristol Temple Meads to York on 27th July 2024 was hauled by LSL Class 45 No. 45118 Royal Artilleryman. Including a stop at New Street the tour spent over 90 minutes traversing Birmingham. The likely highlight would have been its routing via Lifford Curve. This short stretch of double track provides a little used link between the Cross City line and the Camp Hill line at Cotteridge. The tight curve is in a deep, overgrown cutting and the only possible view is from the bridge over the Pershore Road. The Peak is seen from the bridge as the train approaches the Camp Hill line on its way to York, with the exhaust emissions blowing the low hanging vegetation clear of its roof.
Peter Carbin
