West CoastRailways’‘TheJacobite’
namedasBritain’s best steamtrip
‘BlackFive’No. 45 212passestheyardatFortWilliamwiththemorningworkingof‘TheJacobite’to MallaigonMay15. There
wasadiese lont herearbecauseoft hehighfire-risk.DAVIDPRICE
ByRobin Jones
WESTCoast Railways’FortWilliamto
Mallaig summer‘The Jacobite’service
hasbeennamedast he best steam
railway journey in Britain.
‘The Jacobite’–whichhas been made
famousby the line’s use as therouteof
the‘ HogwartsExpress’intheWarner
Brothers HarryPotter series–came first
out ofashortlist of seven steam-hauled
journeyscompiledby Boundless, the
events andexperiences clubforpublic
sector workers.
Helpingto judgethe winnerswas
railway authorAnthonyLambert,who
described the 41-mileWest Highland
Extension as“one of theworld’ sgreat
railway journeys,”adding:“Dramatic
landscapes fill the windowfor every
minuteoft he journey (tunnelsapart),
running beside freshwaterand sealochs
with the islandsofMuck,Eigg and Rum
in the distance.”
He said:“Thegracefulcurve of
the pioneeringconcret eviaduct at
Glenfinnanfeatured in HarryPotter
films ,and the HouseofStuart’slast
throw of th ediceisr ecall ed by the
Jacobite monumentatt he headof
Loch Shiel.”
Steam ended on theWest Highland
line in 1962 butreturned 22years
laterin1 984, a saresul tofaninitiative
by ScotRail.Inthe lead-uptor ail
priv atisation,the steam servicewas
takenover byWest Coast Railways
in 1995, under the new title of‘The
Jacobite’,commemorating the uprising
underBonniePrinceCharli eof2 50
years before.
From smallacornsmighty oaks
grew,as, underWest Coast Railways’
stewardship (with some undoubtedmarketinghelp provided by a
certain boywizard),‘The Ja cobite’
hassteadilyexpandedto become a
world-renowned mainstayoft heWest
Highland economyand theScottish
tourist scene.
TheBoundless list placed the Bluebell
Railway in second place,offering the
best steam journeysinE ngland,because
of its dining trains and springtime
landscapes,and the DartmouthSteam
Railway wasthirdbecause of its glorious
steam views.
TheFfestiniog&WelshHighla nd
Railway wasplacedfirstin
Wales, because of its glaciated
Snowdonian scenery.
Also listed in thetopseven in the
Boundless listweretheVintageTrains
daytrips fromTyseley,the North
Norfolk Railway and the NorthYorkshire
Moors Railway.Clan Line storms theGreat Western
Main Line with theBelmond Pullman
FootplatecrewmembersDave Proctor
andWayneThompsonareseenwith
ClanLineat BanburyonJuly10.
ALANRAWLINGSByDonBenn
PULLMANtrain operator Belmond
headedfor afresh destinationwith
MerchantNavyPacific No.35028Clan
LineonWednesday,July 10–Stratford-
upon-Avon–and the locomotivemade
historyonthe GreatWester nMain Line
(GWML).
DepartingLondonVictoria, the 4-6-2
ranvia Readin gand Oxford toWarwick
Parkway, whereroad coachestook
passengerstoe itherWarwick Castle or
Stra tford, witheveryone returningto
Stra tfordfor the homeward leg.
Meanwhile,the traintravelled
forwardtoTyseley forservicing and
thenClan Linebroughtitb ack on the
NorthWarwickshireline tender-firstto
Stra tford, beforereturningto London.
When the locomotive’sowning
group,the MerchantNavyLocomotive
Preservation Society(MNLPS)was
working onapathfor thereturn from
Reading inconjunction with Network
Rail,agap wasspotted on the GWML,
which alleviatedthe needto go back
via Staines.
Thewhole run back wasbrillian tbut it
wasthe dash up the GWML thatmade
it veryspeci al.The crew changedat
Banburyand driver Dave Proctorthen
took the train down to HinkseyYard.
No.35028 then set offforthe fast
line,wherethe trainwasplannedto be
switchedbeyond Ealing. As expected, it
wasaslow, on-timeexit fromHinkse y, as
the trainwasback down theyard, so it
hit KenningtonJuncti on three minutes
late and stayedthatway to Didcot
North, where it stopped on the curve for
other trains crossingonthe relief.There,
WayneThompson changed placeswith
Dave Proctoront he footplatefor the
record breaking dash.
Finally ,itw as away11 minuteslate
at Didcot East and the MNLPSteam onboardfeared theworst,ast herewas a
Grea tMalver nservic etrain onlyfour
minutesbehind–thathad to call at
Reading and Slough andthe Pullman
did not.It actually stayedbehind
andwas only three minutes adriftby
the time No.35028 hadturned offat
ActonWest.
Thegood newswas thePullmanwas
only four minutes late when it crossed
over at ActonWest.Didcot Eastto
ActonWest wasachieved in 42 minutes
forthe 47½ miles, withspeed in the
mid-seventies throughout; passing
Reading uncheckedat an extraordinary
76mph.Remember, this is 2019
andthe 485-tonBelmondPullman
steam-hauledby No.35028.Eventhe
‘CheltenhamFlyer’with No.5043Earl of
MountEdgcumbehad themanda tory
speedrestriction through the station, as
it waswhen the through lineswerein
placeatReading–itwas alwaysa‘stop
all’station.
Clan Linemade historyonJuly10
andmoretothe pointithas no wbeen
demonstratedthatthereisafastpathon
the GWMLthatworks! It wasquiteaday
andtherewas nodieselins ight.
Forthe record, the Pullmanreturned
toVictoria on time.Writetous:Heritage Railway,MortonsMediaLtd,POBox43,Horncastle, LincsLN 96 LZ. eritagerailway.co.uk 61
Steam special
to mark the
reopening of
‘faster ’Conwy
Valleyline
NETWORK Rail (NR) isto run a
special steam trainto Blaenau
Ffestiniog onAugust 3tomark
the reopening of theConwy
Valleyline from Llandudno
Junctionto BlaenauFfestiniog
following therectification offlood
damage causedby StormGareth
in March.
Starting fromChester,ticketsfor
the train, operatedbyWest Coast
Railwaysonbehal fofN Rand
TransportforWales,wentons ale
on July 22.Stanier 8F No.48151
and newly-overhauled‘Royal
Scot’No.46115ScotsGuardsman
were thou ghttobethe most
likely options.
Llandudno Junctionto Llanrwst
Northreopenedto passengers
on July18.Theremainderofthe
line followedsix da ys later, in ti me
forthe National Eisteddfodin
LlanrwstfromAugust 3-10.
Theline wasclose donMarch 16
due to significantflooding, caused
by acombination ofahigh
tide andalow-pressuresystem
followingStorm Gareth. Six miles
of track,Dolgarrog station,10
levelcrossing sand nineculverts
needed significantrepairs.
Permanentway teams have
replaced ballast,refurbished the
levelcrossing sand designed
and installed floodculvertsand
constructedembankments.
Dolgarrog willremain shut
while the flood damaged
platformis replaced.During the
closure, NR seized thechanceto
completearange of maintenance
and renewal activities,including
reviewingthe 30mph restri ction
throughMaenan,on thesection
between Dolgarrog and Llanrwst
North, which has been in place
followingawashoutin the
1980 s.Th eline hasnow returned
to 45mph.
Therepairwork sa wthe delivery
of 9500tonnes ofrock ar mour
and 3000tonnes of ballast.Wewant your
newsandviews
WritetousatHeritage
Railway,Mortons MediaLtd,
PO Box43, Hornca stle,Lincs
LN96LZ or email
editor @heritagerailway.co.uk