The Railway Magazine – August 2019

100•TheRailway Magazine•August2019

Railtours Track Record

Yo urreports and

pictures aremostwelcome.

Highlycompetitiverates

arepaid,especially if

exclusivetoTheRM.

COMPILED BY

BEN

JONES

Call: 01507 529589

email: railway

@mortons.co.uk

‘Royal WindsorSteam

Express’ to return in 2020

REGULARsteam operation will

return to LondonWaterloo in 2020

afterSteam Dreamsconfirmed its

‘RoyalWindsor Steam Express’will

run again next summer.

Operating everyTuesdayuntil

September 3, the trainsconsist of

three one-way,steam-hauled trips

from Waterloo toWindsor&Eton

Riverside and an evening dining

circuitknownast he‘SunsetSteam

Express’.

Trains return diesel-hauled

to London, with passengers

travelling backat thei rleisureby

scheduledSouthWesternRailway

services.

Prices startfrom£35, making

it one of the cheapestwaysto

experiencesteam on the main line,

althoughFirstClass andPremier

LNER‘B1’4-6-0 No.61306Mayflowerarrivesat Chinnor on June 26

with emptystock forthe following day’sSteam Dreams char ter

to Weymouth.The trainwasthe firstrailtourto operatefromthe

Chinnor&PrincesRisboroughRailway through to themain line.

PHIL MARSH

Staffcharter takesGBRf

‘50s’back to Scotland

JULY6sawClass 50s Nos.50007
Herculesand50049Defiance
work aGBRailfreightstaff
char terfromMotherwell to
Scarborough via the EastCoast
Main Line.
Thetrain workedthe empty
stock north from Burtonto
Motherwell via Lancaster and
Carlisle on July 5, and thenran
via Edinburgh andYork to the
NorthYorkshireseasideresort,
returning via the sameroute
thatevening.

Thefollowing day’sempty

stock move backto Birmingham

via Edinburgh,York andDerby

wasoperated as acharitytrain

forinvited guests and friends

of theFiftyFund and GBRf,with

passengersraising morethan

£1,000forgood causes.

An unusualroutefor Class 50s

included the EastCoast Main

Line,the Swinton&Knottingley

routevia Ferrybridge and the

Rotherhamto Chesterfield

‘Old Road’freight-only line.

Starting their

long journey

backto

Scotland,

Nos.50007

(running as

long-withdrawn

classmate

No.50014

Warspite)and

50049 Defiance

departfrom

Scarborough

with aGB

Railfreight

staff charterto

Motherwell on

July 6.

ANDREWMASON

‘Royal Scotsm an’onGrand Tour

BELMOND’S‘RoyalScotsman’
luxurylandcruisetrain –more
usuallyconfinedto itineraries
withinScotland–embarks on
an annual seven-nightgrand
tour of Britain, visiting popular
tourist spots in England and
Wales.

On the thirdleg from

Edinburghto Chester on July 7,

No.66746 leads the train

throughCarnforth. No.66743

wasonthe rear of the train,

which also visitedAviemore,

Bath,Cambridge,Scarborough

and Alnmouth.AIDAN FORT

Yorkshire BLStourraises£15kfor charity

Theformer GreatCentral main linewest of SheffieldVictoria

is virtually unrecognisable asWest Coast Railways’No. 37667

leads the‘LucaPezzulo Express’throu gh Bridgehousestowards

Deepcar and Stocksbridge on July 20.Between the trees,the

RoyalVictoria Hotelcanjust be seen, one of the lastreminders

of the station closed inJanuary1970.LES NIXON

THE Branch LineSocietyand West

Coast Railwaysoperated the‘Luca

Pezzulo Express’onJuly 20, visiting

rare freightlines aroundYorkshire.

Highlights includedarare

trip over theremnants of the

Woodhead Route, running beyond

the Network Rail boundaryinto

Liberty Steel’s Stocksbridge

Steelworks,near Sheffield,and the

formerTinsleyYard.

Thetrain also visited the OMYA

chemicals facilityatFerriby,

near Hull,the formerKellingley

Collierysidings,and Drax power

station, whereitb ecame the first

passenger trainto run through

‘C’track at theunloading facility.

Powerfor the trainwasprovided

by West Coast’s No.37667 and

Colas RailfreightNo. 37521

runningtop-and-tailwithaset of

WCRC Mk1s.

Proceeds from ticket sales and

on-train fundraisingraised more

than£15,000for Martin House

Hospice, which provides care

forchildren with life-shortening

conditions.

Dining options arealso available.

David Buck’s ‘B1’4-6-0 No.61306

Mayfloweris theregular booked

locomotivefor the trains,with

Stanier‘BlackFive’No. 44871

standing in when necessary.

Interestingly,the 2019Windsor

trains areusing twodifferent

routes ,with the 08.05 running via

LatchmereJunction, Kensington

Olympia, NorthPole Junction,

and briefly joining theWest Coast

Main LineatWillesdenSouthWest

sidings beforeproceeding via

South ActonJunction, Kew East,

Hounslow, Feltham andStainesto

its destination.

The11.18 and 14.09 departures

takeamoreconventionalroute

via Clapham Junction,Putney and

HounslowtoStaines.