Alternative WCME 2015

Electric to Carnforth.
Steam:
Carnforth - Hellifield - Blackburn - Bolton - Manchester - Rochdale - Burnley - Blackburn - Farington Jcn.

Discuss ...

 

Sounds good to me ! Could alternate between that & the coast route, generate some more custom possibly, everybody happy ?
Andy

 

Its not in Cumbria, and there are not much by way of mountains... but as a route its fine

 

Already discussed here...... http://www.national-preservation.com/threads/todmorden-curve.205408/#post-755477

 

True but this is a thread specific to the topic of a different route being required if a series is planned for 2015 due to the eng works on the S&C next winter.
Apologies if it's seen as a a tedious rehash of old discussion. Mods can remove or merge if so.

 

What's your destination for the daytripper ?, VT did a route over the Pennines like that a few years ago, pleasant enough run, but Blackburn was hardly the best layover I've had.

 

OK so an alternative possibility for debate is

Longsight-- Hazel Grove-- Chinley--Sheffield-- Brighouse--Copy Pit--Blackburn--Bolton--Longsight.

The route from Sheffield to Brighouse would depend on motive power and route availability in both senses.

 

Manchester for 2 hrs, MOSI or pubs.
Plus the option for partial route tickets alighting at Blackburn for connections back to the joining point?

 

Connecting bus like the Fellsman to ullswater or Metrolink?
It's just one of many options in Manchester, certainly more than Carlisle.

 

I'd stick with the pint...

 

Get it to drop in and service at the ELR instead of Manchester ?

Win win on a few levels ?, a "cotton mill" style routing would be quite attractive.

 

doesn't Mosi have a mainline connection ? thought they brought Tornado in once....

 

Perhaps a slightly different angle, but with some alternative being sought to the winter CMEs, why head up north? It baffles me as as to why anywhere south of Birmingham is more or less written off between January and March. You don't always get snow and crisp winter sunshine on the S&C. If you want lovely scenery, plenty of gradients and fast running, why not use modern traction London-Worcester and return then a loop via Malvern, Hereford, Abergavenny, STJ, Lydney and Gloucester? The Riley "Fives" ought to fit on the Malvern-Hereford section if Tangmere and Braunton did.

Or why not Westbury-Kingswear or Plymouth? or even London-Sherborne/Yeovil?

 

Currently yes, but possibly not for much longer (as Ralph says, can of worms).

Where would you stable a charter set in Manchester these days ?.

 

Just run it up Shap, then down the Cumbrian Coast, with the tour being called, The Winter Cumbrian Explorer. Job done !

 

They've just surrendered it to Network Rail as part of the new Ordsell Curve that is being built to link Piccadilly and Victoria stations by rail for they first time

 

How about Manchester - Shap - Carlisle - Tyne Yard - York - Manchester?