The Railway Magazine – August 2019

August2019 •TheRailway Magazine•101

RAILTOURROUND-UP

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‘Shakespeare Express’

2019 season underway

VINTAGETrains reintroduced its
popular‘ShakespeareExpress’
between Birmingham SnowHill
and Strat ford -upon-Avon on
July 21.
Tworeturn trips per daywill
operate on August 4,August 18,
September1and September
15, with BR‘Castle’No. 7029Clun
Castletaking charge,except on
August 4when ex-LMS‘Jubilee’
No.45596Bahamasis bookedto
makeits‘Shakespeare’debut.
Thetrains offer around 50 miles
of main line steam travel with the
option ofreturning immediately
or takingabreak of aroundfour
hours inStrat ford.

Gourmet hamper
The2019 operation features a
revised schedule,with departures
from Birminghamat 10.00 and
13.56 and new dining options,
includingachoiceofagourmet
picnic hamper or picnic boxfor
either lunch or afternoontea.
Return ticket prices startat
£35 per person inStandardClass

or £50 inFirstClass,including a

lightbreakfast.Every adul tticket

holder can bringachild of 12

years or under free of charge.

Further information and

booking details areavailable

at:www.VintageTrains.co.uk

VintageTrains is nowworking

withWest MidlandsRail

Executive(WMRE)to establish

the ShakespeareLine as Britain’s

premier main line heritage

railway.

WMRE, whichoverseesrail

services in theregion, recogn ises

the cont ributionVintageTrains

makesto the local economy

–including boostingtourism,

creating jobs andretaining

valuable engineering skillsat the

TyseleyLocomotiveWorks.

Thetwo organisations arenow

lookingformoreopportunities

to run steam on theWest

Midlandsrail net work,possibly

in connection with major events

such as theCoventry Cityof

Cultureand Birmingham 2022

Commonwealth Games.

Theclassic GWR lines of No.7029ClunCastleprovide asharpcontrast with the modern urban

architecturethatnow crowds around Birmingham SnowHill.Ith ad justworkedthefirst‘Shakespeare

Express’of2019 on July 21.CLIVE HANLEY

UK Railtoursunveils Christmas char terlineup

ALTHOUGHsummer is currently

in full swing,charteroperators

have already turned their

thoughtsto the end of theyear.

UK Railtours is noexception

and has announcedatrioofdays

out by train visiting Christmas

markets inManchester,Lincoln

and Beverley duringDecember.

On December 7, UKR will run

atrain fromLondonKing’s Cross

to Manchesterforthe city’s

famous Christmas market–one

of the largest outsideGermany.

Passengers will also have the

opportunitytovisit Manchester

modelrailway exhibition, which

is being heldover the same

weekend.

Thetrain will run fromLondon

via Oakham and the HopeValley

routewith abreak of around

four hours inManchester.

Thefollowing day, it is the turn

of Lincoln, which hosts one of

the UK’s oldest and most popular

Christmas markets.

Again, the train starts from

King’s Cross,runningover former

Grea tNorthernRailway metals

to reach the cathedral city, and

giving passengers ample timeto

visit morethan 250 traders near

the cathedral quarterand castle.

Caro ls and shopping

UKR’snow annual tripto the

Beverley Minster Christmas

carol servicetakes placeon

December 21.

TheEastYorkshiretownalso

offersawide range of seasonal

shopping and eating options,

which can be enjoyedduring the

four-hour break.

However, beforeall tha t, UKR

is visiting theSevern Valley

Railway (SVR) on November 16.

Bridging the gap between

its summerexcursions and

Christmas adventures,this

journey runs via Rugby, Coventry,

Stechford, Aston,PerryBarr

Junctions,Soho Junctions,

Galton Junction and OldHill

Bankto Kidderminster,whereit

joins SVR metals.

Tour tickets will bevalid

on SVRtrains –which will

be operating an enhanced

timetable–during the break.

Thelonger return tripto

Euston runs viaSoho,PerryBarr,

Bescot ,Walsall and the Sutton

Park lineto reach theWest Coast

Main Lineat Nuneaton.

Fordetails of allfour trains and

online ticket booking,please

visit:www.ukrailtours.com

Theempty stock of UKRailtours’charterfromLondonto Buxtonbacks out of the Derbyshiretown’s

station and into the recent ly extended HogshawLane sidings on July 13. DBCarg osupplied Class 66s

Nos. 66100 and 66107to powerthe train.Thesidings arebuilt on the siteofthe former LNWR loco

shed,and aremoreusually usedby stone trains runningto and from the Hindlowbranch.LES NIXON

MichaelWhitehouse,chairman

ofVintageTrains Community

Benefit Society, said:“This

partnership withWMRE will

build on theVictorian initiatives

thatenabled the Cityof

Birminghamto become the

greatest manufacturingcentre

the worldhas everknown, and

forits citizensto develop skills

and pride in theirwork as exports

weresentbyt rain worldwide.”

Left:Lookingvery

muchat home among

the lush greenery

of Gloucestershire,

HastingsDiesels

Ltd’s No.201001

approaches Stroud

during its tripto

Parkend on theForest

of DeanRailway on

July 6.TREVORRADWAY

Looking stunningat theheadofthe Belmond‘BritishPullman’

set,rebuilt‘MerchantNavy’No.35028Clan LinepassesWilmcote

on the NorthWarwickshireLineonJuly 10, heading the 17.15

Stratford-upon-Avon-LondonVictoria.GRAHAM NUTTALL

Recalling memories of the 1950s,No. 70000BritanniacrossesAis

GillViaductonthe Settle-Carlisle Line withSaphosTrains’‘Fel lsman’

charterfromCrewetoCarlisle on July 10.PETER AINSWORTH