Bo-Bos to Oban for recast GBRf 2021
The organisers of the GBRf 2020 charity railtour, postponed from September due to…. well, you know why, are hopeful that it can go ahead for its revised dates of April 1518, 2021. The highlight will be taking a pair of Class 20s to Oban for a Class 33 back to Glasgow!
The redating has a silver lining, namely that some routes that were closed for engineering on the original plan are now open, and so a new plan of attack has been drawn up, featuring that trip to the West Highlands. Paul Taylor from GBRf said: “As you know, we were forced to postpone our GBRf 2020 tour planned for last September for obvious reasons.
“With recent positive announcements and the suggestion that ‘things will be more normal in the Spring’, we feel it right to add to this positivity and announce our plans for GBRf 2021. We appreciate that nothing is certain at this stage, but with planning timescales and the high level of interest our tours generate, we didn’t want to sit back and miss the opportunity.
“We do not intend to put tickets on sale until we are certain that we can run the tour. It may be that we will have to put in a level of social distancing or other safeguards, although we would rather run a full train, given the level of interest we generate so we are keeping a close eye on developments.”
The new plan features some of the original as it was outlined but it also has some new additions. It will start on Thursday April 15 at Victoria in its now usual 0943 slot with a Class 66 working via London and into Essex for a visit to the London Gateway Intermodal Terminal. Once there, two Class 73/9s will head to Temple Mills Loop before the Class 66 proceeds along the Great Eastern Main Line to Harwich International for a short break. The 73/9s will then work via Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge and the West Anglia route to an optional set down at Highbury and Islington before the train continues to Wembley to reverse and the 66 works into Euston.
Day 2 will start at Euston with two 73/1s working to Wembley where there will be a reversal before 59003 Yeoman Highlander takes the train onto the Southern Region via a pick up at Hounslow. The train will continues via Woking, Guildford, Fareham and into Eastleigh Yard for a short spin with a Class 08 while the 73s are swapped for a different pair to work back towards the capital via Basingstoke, Clapham Junction and Kensington Olympia. There will be a set down there or passengers will be able to stay on board for a trip to Acton Lane Reception where there will be a final reversal and the stock serviced prior to the 73/1s working into Euston to end Day 2.
With a Locomotive Services Limited Class 86 then at the helm, the train will recreate the days of WCML overnights, leaving Euston behind an AL6. It will work to Birmingham New Street and then down to Bromsgrove, a first for an electric loco, where the train will reverse again. There will then be the bizarre sight and sound of two 73/1s attacking the 2½-mile 1-in-37 Lickey Incline. This fearsome gradient, the steepest on the UK network, used to rely heavily on banking locos, but in this case it won’t be two 37s, instead the 86 will remain on the rear to give some inevitably much-needed assistance to get the train up the grade!
At Birmingham New Street the 73s will be detached and the 86 will continue via Cannock (another first) to Crewe where it will be replaced by one of GBRf’s Class 92s for a trip to Mossend Yard. Once there, the 92 will be replaced by two Class 20s, LSL’s 20096/107, and they will continue to Glasgow Central Low Level where the overnight trip will officially end. During the loco change, Class 33 D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN will be attached to the rear of the train.
Day 3 will therefore start at Glasgow Central Low Level with the two 20s in charge for a rare trip for Type 1s to Oban. While the odd Class 20 has reached Oban on passenger trains over the past 63 years, this is thought to be the first time a pair will have ever arrived on a such a train. After a two-hour break in the town for breakfast, the return to the lowlands will be behind the Class 33. Apart from two visits on the Royal Scotsman to Taynuilt, this will be the first time a BRCW Type 3 will have worked on the Oban branch, and the first to get to the end of the line. At Polmadie Down Holding Sidings the 20s will be replaced by a LNER Class 91, and then the 33 will lead into Glasgow Central for a short leg stretch. Departure from Glasgow Central will, unusually for a railtour, be with the Class 91 that will work via the Hamilton Circle, Holytown, Wishaw and Carstairs to Edinburgh, and then to Newcastle where Day 3 will draw to a close.
After an overnight stay in Newcastle the train will start its long journey home to London. It will kick off with a Class 60 working via Hexham to Carlisle and then give way to a Class 66 for a WCML run to Preston. The final leg will see three Class 50 Alliance ‘Hoovers’ in multiple working to Bescot where another Class 66 takes over for the short run to Whitacre Junction via Sutton Park. There a new Class 69, a Class 56 with a GM engine, will make its UK passenger debut by hauling the train via Birmingham and then forward via Worcester and Evesham to Reading to end the four-day charter – as always – at London’s Paddington station. Then the counting of the money raised can start!
Some heritage cheer for 2021?
Saphos Trains, the charter train promotion arm of LSL that concentrates mainly on steam, has announced a full series of charter trains for 2021, to be hauled by a mix of steam and heritage diesels. The full steam programme is detailed in the next piece, but there are trains that will appeal to photographers and haulage fans alike.
With repairs progressing well on Class 40 D213 Andania and 55022 Royal Scots Grey – which, if I were a betting man, could most likely appear back in two-tone green as D9000 for the first time since 2006 – both should return to action in the summer. The ‘Welsh Marches Whistler’ is down to run on Thursday June 3, and will start at Preston with D213 in charge. It will only works to Crewe, however, where two steam locos from the LSL stable will take over for a run via the Welsh Marches and the Severn Tunnel to Bristol for an afternoon break. The Class 40 will then be on hand to take charge for the return leg to Preston via Cheltenham, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Standard Class will be £99 but there will be First Class and Premier Dining options also available.
Four weeks later, on July 1, ‘The Bristol Forty’ trip will run. This will start at Bangor hauled by D213 again, running to Bristol Temple Meads via Stafford, the West Midlands and Bromsgrove. The return will be steam hauled as far as Crewe where the 40 will then be in charge for the run back along the coast to Bangor. If D213 is unavailable, then 40145 will no doubt substitute.
July 24 should see the return of Deltic D9000 for the first time since it was bought by LSL from Martin Walker a few years ago. It is due to work the outward King’s Cross to York leg of the ‘Elizabethan’. The loco will work over its old home line via Peterborough and Grantham to York where it will give way to steam, with either 46100 Royal Scot or A4 Pacific 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley expected to be in charge to continue to Edinburgh for a two-night break. The return will be on the Monday with steam working as far as York and the D9000 back south to King’s Cross. No overnight accommodation will be included in the £370 First Class ticket price. On the Sunday during the break in Edinburgh, the stock will be used for an Edinburgh-Aberdeen steam hauled trip, the ‘Aberdonian’. Again, if I were a betting man my money would be on D9000 giving way to 60007 at York, which would then continue to the Granite City the following day. The loco swap at York would attract more than just a few camaras!
Saphos prepares a full steam programme for 2021
As well as the trains featuring the Class 40 and 55, Saphos Trains has announced a full programme for 2021 featuring steam haulage for sizeable, sections of the itinerary, if not all of them. Locos will be drawn from its pool of 46100 Royal Scot, 34046 Braunton, 70000 Britannia and 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley. Most trains will change from diesel or electric to steam at Crewe, but some will feature steam throughout.
The ‘White Rose’ is set for January 30, 2021 and will start at Wolverhampton and run via Cannock, Stafford, and Crewe for a traction change. Then it will be on via Manchester Victoria before crossing the Pennines via Hathersage and running to York and returning via the Calder Valley route. The train will be repeated on August 18, starting at Wolverhampton and running via Shrewsbury.
On February 13 the ‘Lakelander’ is scheduled to start from Leicester and run via Nuneaton and the WCML to Crewe where steam will take over to Carlisle for a two-hour break. The return will be via the Cumbrian Coast line. This train is due to be repeated on May 15, but starting at Coventry, and again on August 21 from Hereford.
Two weeks later, on February 27, the ‘Welsh Marches Express’ will start at Nottingham with a diesel and run via Derby and Stoke to Crewe where steam will again take over for a trip to Cardiff via Hereford. This train will run again on March 27 starting at East Midlands Parkway via Nuneaton and Lichfield Trent Valley, and again on August 11 from Wigan.
The ‘North Wales Coast Express’ is set for March 6 and will start at Worcester Shrub Hill with a Class 47 working via Kidderminster, Tame Bridge Parkway and Stafford to Crewe where steam will take over for a run to Holyhead On March 10 the ‘William Shakespeare’ will begin at York behind a Class 47 and run via Wakefield Kirkgate, Todmorden and Rochdale to Manchester Victoria and then on to Crewe where steam will take over to continue via Stafford and Walsall and then to Stratford-upon-Avon. This train will be repeated on September 1 starting at Holyhead.
The ‘Buxton Spa Express’ will commence at Hereford on April 14 behind a Class
47 and runs to Crewe via Shrewsbury where it will give way to steam to the East Midlands. It will avoid Sheffield to take the Hope Valley line to Chinley and then down to Buxton. The return will be via Dove Holes and Whaley Bridge to Stockport.
Heritage railways are often the destination for charters, but on April 28, Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway will be the starting point for the ‘Great Western Envoy’ that will serve several SVR stations and then continue to Bath and Bristol via Birmingham Snow Hill, Oxford and Swindon. This train will be steam hauled throughout.
The first of a series of ‘Fellsman’ trains is set for May 12 and will set off from Crewe and head to Carlisle via the S&C. The trains will run again on May 26, July 14 and August 4 and all will be steam hauled throughout. Another summer-dated repeat itinerary train will be the Sunday ‘English Riviera Express’, which will start at Bristol Temple Meads and run via Weston-super-Mare and Taunton to Kingswear. This train is scheduled to begin its season on June 6 and will also run on June 13, 20 and 27.
The ERE steam locos will be based in Bristol and on June 9 the ‘Devonian Express’ will commence behind a Class 47 at Solihull and run via Oxford and Swindon to Bristol where the doubleheaded steam traction will take over for a run to Plymouth. One of the Bristolbased steam locos will also work on June 16 on the ‘Portsmouth Harbour Express’. This tour will start diesel hauled at Wolverhampton and will run via Kidderminster, and Cheltenham Spa to Bristol where the steam will take over to ‘Pompey’ via Salisbury. Likewise, on June 23, the ‘Torbay Riviera Explorer’ will start with a diesel at Shrewsbury and route via the Welsh Marches to Bristol for steam forward to Kingswear.
The ‘Severn Valley Enterprise’ on July 21 will begin at Lancaster and runs to Crewe to swap from diesel or electric traction to steam for a trip to Bridgnorth, running via Shrewsbury. This train is also due to run on September 8 from Paddington, steam hauled throughout.
The ‘Magna Carta’ on September 4 will start at Crewe steam-hauled and will run south via Wolverhampton, Birmingham International, Leamington Spa, Oxford and Basingstoke to Salisbury. The return run will be via Westbury and Swindon. A week later is the ‘Golden Arrow’, which as it did in days of old, will start at Victoria steam hauled and head to Canterbury via Ashford. After a break in the old city the return to London will be via Dover and Folkestone and then Tonbridge.
The ‘Devon Belle’ will set off from Paddington on September 13 via Reading to Dartmouth where there will be a twonight stay before the train returns to London on the 15th. In between, the stock and loco will be used for the ‘Welshman’ on September 14, which will start at Kingswear and run to Cardiff, returning via Chepstow and Gloucester.
LSL will then take a bit of a break over the autumn months and return on December 8 with the ‘Chatsworth Christmas Sparkle Express’ from Lancaster and stations on the WCML to Lichfield, then via Leicester to Chesterfield for a coach transfer to the historic Chatsworth House. This train will have modern traction north of Crewe and steam for the rest of the day.
The ‘Christmas White Rose’ on December 15 will begin at Llandudno Junction behind a diesel but will change to steam at Crewe to head to York via the Hope Valley, returning via the Calder Valley. Finally, the last train of 2021 should be the ‘Pennine Moors Christmas Cracker’ on December 18, which will start at Rugby behind an electric loco and run to Crewe where steam will take over again for the circular run via Copy Pit and the Calder Valley line.
The diesel legs are expected to be Class 47s from the LSL stable but they could be 37s – or even the 40 or 55! The AC electric locos in the Saphos fleet, 86101, 87002, 90001/002, could be used for those legs to/from Crewe that are wholly under the wires.