300-PLUS TOURS
In September 1950, a tour was organised from Holborn Viaduct to Victoria with an amble around many suburban lines in London in between. It was only the second tour organised by the RCTS since its first, 12 years earlier.
It employed three engines and the fare was 3/6 (17.5p). Unsurprisingly, it was heavily over-subscribed and ran again the following week with 850 passengers. Initially most society tours were in the summer months, but on February 6 1955, 540 passengers travelled on the ‘Hampshire Railtour’, which was run to mark the closure of the Meon Valley and Pulborough-Petersfield branches. Thereafter, railtours ran throughout the year.
Indeed, the 1950s and 1960s were the golden age of railtours; other societies ran similar trips, and the RCTS itself organised over 300.
Most regions were very cooperative in arranging tours, but the North Eastern was initially a problem in that it didn’t allow tours over goods-only lines unless they were also traversed by the occasional BR excursion. Most tours ran to plan, but there was the occasional problem such as the time that the London Midland was asked to provide an ex-Great Eastern cafeteria car in the formation, which they duly did, but without any staff or food to go with it.
One tour, which used goods brake vans and included the Leicester West Bridge branch, was in danger of being over-booked. The RCTS branch organiser’s solution to that problem was to ban ladies from joining, on the grounds that they would find Glenfield tunnel too wet and sooty.
The ‘East Midlander’ tours included a full dining service, always staffed by BR crew from the Nottingham-St Pancras breakfast service, thus ensuring a superb standard for the participants, and the chance to purchase a gin and tonic or beer at 9.30 on a Sunday morning.
Although the society continued to run tours following the demise of steam, often using DMUs and sometimes in association with other organisations, increased charges and the shrinking network reduced the scope considerably. A very different market emerged for ‘Merrymaker’-type trips run by commercial organisations, led by BR itself and aimed at the general public. When privately owned steam was eventually allowed to return to regular use, the commercial organisations then dominated the market. While the commercial trains of today provide memorable moments, it is doubtful that they come close to offering the fun and sense of adventure enjoyed on those early society tours.
SUDDENLY, SHARPLY, ACCENTUATED AGAINST THE DARK AND GRIMY BACKGROUND, STOOD No. 1, SPOTLESS AND RESPLENDENT