RAILTOURS
September 2019 RAIL EXPRESS 73
PEAKFOREST‘66’:UK Railtours’ charter on July13ran from Euston
to Buxton via Crewe and Manchester Victoria, thereturn leg via Chinley
seen coming offthe Hazel Grove-Northenden freight line at Northenden
Junction with No. 66100 leading (‘top and tail’ with No. 66107).
Greg MapeDRAX ‘SYPHONS’The Branch Line Societyranthe ‘TheLuca Pezzulo Express’ fromLancaster to Hull on July20, taking inrare lines such as Stocksbridge,KellingleyColliery and
the Drax PowerStatio nbranch amongst others.Type 3s Nos. 37521 and 37669 ‘top and tailed’ the charity trip and areseen on the Drax branch at Gowdall.PhilChilton
TWOoft he main tour operators, UKRailtours and
PathfinderTours, have both announcedsome
mouthwateringtours forthe back endof2019.
One of the surprising onesis the chance to
ride theIron bridgebranch. This line wasbilled as
destinedforclosure, with ex-GWR steam loco
No. 7029ClunCastleproving thevaledictory
runs on June 9, under the heading of the‘Last
steam train to Ironbridge’.
Butthereare plans torevitali ze the tourist
attractions inthearea, and in thisrespec tthe
former generalmanageroft he Severn Valley
Railway,NickRalls ,has taken up dutiesin charge
of the IronbridgeMuseumsandthe railway
is planned toform an importantpart of the
revival. This includes thepossibility,one da y, of
extending theTelfor dSteamRailwaytojoin the
branchonce again. December 11 isthe chosen
dayfor UKR’stour to Ironbridge,which will see
thespecial p oweredbyaClass67and Class 60
in places.
UKR hasalso bookedajaunt round the
NorthEast,embracing Durham andNewcastle,
forNovember 30,whilst aweek later(Dec ember
7) seesthecompany makeits familiar pilgrimage
to the Lincoln ChristmasMarket. AClass 67
is bookedforboth thesetrips.
Threerailtours areatthe final planning stage
with PathfinderTours, but note thedatesifthey
appeal. November9seesRivierastock used
on atrip to variou stantalising locationsin the
Manchester area, whichincludesnon-passenger
lines.DB Cargowillprovide Class 66power.
A1 ‘Pacific’ No.60163Tornadowill be used
by Pathfinder onNovember 23, takingthe steam
loco on the Welsh Marches routetoShrewsbury.
The train initiallyuses aClass 67 to Gloucester.
Then December 14seeaPT tour head to South
Humberside to again traverse somenon-
passenger lines.ADBCargo 66 andaClass 56
should be in charge.
■The chanceto savour A1andA4steam
powerfromKing’s Cross to Newcastle might be
tempting to manyfolk, especiallyasitincludes
No. 60009UnionofSouth Africa.Savour every
chance,as this machinegets evernearer toits
final run beforeretiring toaprivate museum.The
RailwayTouring Club is running ‘TheTynesider’
on SaturdayDecember 14, withtheA1Tornado
taking the train toYork afterwhich ‘Union’ is let
loos eonthe northernstretch to theTyneside
capital.Tasty year-end ahead