RTC 2026

I have no idea, but your post makes it sound like the 2026 RTC programme is unusual. It all looks pretty standard to me for the the first 3 months of the year with mainly CME's and CCE's, trips on Valentine's Day or the nearest Saturday to it (next year the actual day). The only "novelty" if you want to call it that is the Whitby trip, but that needs to be early in the year due to NYMR Whitby operations (although a couple on here seem to thing the NYMR may not last that long).
Depends I guess on support crew availability or SLL's willingness to let a WCRC support crew work it. 10A is a way bigger commitment in time and money than 81C

 

Oh no. It wasn't that I found it unusual, the programme of trips looks very similar to last year. I was more just wondering if 34028 would go up north to lighten the load off Tangmere. Or maybe Swanage are having it for the winter. Who knows.

 

Would also assume a Riley 5 will be available for its normal winter stint so wouldn’t bet on 34028 coming North.

Who knows by then everything may have changed anyway.

 

Maybe they held off planning any pending confirmation of the availability of 34028? It's a Southern engine and its owning group are southern based, and certainly in the past SLL have stated their intention to see it running mainly on Southern routes. Don't want an early falling out with SLL like that with the A1 Trust!

 

Fair points. We'll just have to see what happens next year.

 

I believed it to their intention too, I just heard a rumour a few months ago that SLL were open to it doing a season at Carnforth running on S&C. Again unconfirmed was just curious if anyone here had heard the same.

 

A swap with Tangmere, maybe? Black 5s really don't look the part down here, and Clan Line hires are few and far between.

 

Black 5's look the part anywhere really.

 

I don't think Tangmere would come down south again. I'm probably wrong but given the amount of times that loco has broken down they appear to prefer to keep that at Carnforth. But I hope that's just a rumour that's incorrect.

 

Now are railtours published until September 2026.

Does anybody know if there will be a 'Great Britain' in 2026?

 

That's a good question - I have noticed there are still no other UK Hols or Day trips advertised over that same period we went this year !

 

They appear to be here
https://www.railwaytouring.net/uk-2026

 

Yes they are after this year's same period slot for the GB, which finished May 4th.

 

https://www.railwaytouring.net/bse-14-03-26

Interestingly the provisional timings show 2hrs Man Vic to Stockport on the outward journey but 4hrs on the return

Mentions a water stop at Denton in both directions so quite why it's estimated to take double the time on the return?

 

Because as far as I can see outward and return are two different routes as explained in the detail. Outward is via Blackburn and Copy Pit.

 

Yes I read the same, but doing that via Copy Pit and Blackburn would surely be longer time wise on the outward journey, yet the return is showing 4hrs Stockport to Manchester Victoria with no mention of the route taken for that length of time

 

I am not personally familiar wit the area but if you have a Trackatlas or a Baker it all seems to make sense to me.

 

I'm familiar with the area

I read outward as
Manchester Victoria - Bolton - South - Blackburn - Copy Pit - Todmorden Curve - Rochdale - Brewery Curve - Ashton Moss North Junction - Denton - Stockport

So quite a journey

The spiel for the return mentions
Stockport - Denton (Water Stop) then onwards to Manchester Victoria

So I read that as Denton - Ashton Moss North Junction - Miles Platting - Manchester Victoria

A much shorter journey

Yet provisional timings show outward as 2hrs, return as 4hrs

So unless they intend sitting at Denton for hours for water on the return journey
something doesn't add up

 

The ammount of traffic up and down Platting now really means there’s minimal paths so it could well be an hour for water to meet the next charter path.