RTC TRIPS 2009.

Dobbin is nothing if not brave

My mrs would divorce me if I ever booked an RTC multi day tour again. And I have no intention of paying £1,745 to be out of bed at 05.00, as will no doubt be the case on several days. OK - I'm not a pure bred gricer - too true - See you in the Golden Lion after a round of the decks post brekkers.

05.00 - not in my list of holiday delights - ever!

And as for loco rostering - check UK Steam the day before.

No - its not good consumer business - but this company seems to thrive on it

 

Another RTC change. Try booking "The Easterling" via their on line booking service and you will see this trip has been postponed from Saturday 21 March to Saturday 16 May 2009. No idea why or indeed if it will still be hauled by 70013 as "Ollie" is due move back north the previous Saturday on Steam Dreams "The Palatine".

 

](*,) Oh no!,not another change.Only booked on this a few days ago and if 16th May is the alternative we can't do that due to a prior commitment.

 

...........and yet another, although this change has been anticpated due to engineering works referred to earlier in this thread. The Royal Duchy scheduled for Saturday 4 April has been put back 24 hrs to Sunday 5 April and now runs with steam Westbury to Newquay [not Penzance] apparently being top & tailed on the Newquay branch. This seems interesting.

 

Does this mean steam both ways on the branch?

 

Newquay better than Penzance in my opinion,Luxlyan bank (Spelt way wrong!) bank with a castle and a brit or one of them =P~

 

Luxulyan bank is very spectacular for sound effects even on a HST. From memory the ruling gradient is about 1 in 40. Any photographic locations on the bank would be hard to find as the line runs through a steep sided valley with all the hill sides covered with pine trees.

The only down side is the pubs are better in Penzance for the break at the terminus.

Regards, Neil

 

I see that the RTC website now shows D1015 for the Bristol to Penzance diesel leg, and 6201 for the Bristol - Preston leg of The Great Britain II.

D1015 also show for the Paddington to Westbury leg of The Royal Duchy.

 

The RTC 2009/2010 Brochure ( which can be down loaded from the website) lists :-

The West Highlander Steam Express - 3 days - Standard, First and Premier Class

Day 1 - 5690 Preston - Glasgow
Day 2 - 61994 Glasgow - Fort William
62005 Fort William - Mallaig and Return.
Day 3 61994 Fort William - Cowlaird
5690 Cowlaird - Preston


Snowdonia and Northern Fells ( 2 trips) -
5 days which include Liverpool- Shap- Carlisle -Appleby- Liverpool, North Wales Coast, Blaneau Ffestiniog branch, Cambrian
Loco's 6233 or 70013 to Carlisle, 6201 to Holyhead, Black Five to Blaneau Ffestiniog

 

the west highlander looks great, looking forward to that one. if you have any prices or dates could you please post them as i am unable to view the online brochure. thanks

 

Standard £ 359.00. £65.00 single supplement. Includes 3 nights hotel Accomodation(Fri ,Sat, & Sun), 3 breakfasts , plus dinner in Fort William.

First £ 499.00. S.S. £ 65.00 rest as above.

Premier £ 699.00 S.S. £ 85.00. As above plus 2 other Dinners, and 3 Lunches.All served on board the train.

Dates : - Friday 25th September - Sunday 27th September.

 

The West Highlander looks tasty - but why do I have to buy three nights in a hotel when I can go home on Sunday? We don't all live two hundred miles away from Preston!

£1,050 - Wales - are you having a larf?

 

Two interesting things about the West Highlander:
* 5690 Leander on the Preston - Glasgow and Cowlairs - Preston legs. Great to see the Jubilee going over Shap again and Beattock for the first time time in preservation ("Unless of course, you know different! And finally, Cyril...")
* This implies that Leander will be running on the main line again later this year, which I think was left undecided after last year's tours.

It's going to be an early start from Fort William on Sunday morning!!

 

And wasn't it good - you could hear the exhaust all the way - both ways - and that broken speedo too ........ :-k

 

..........but it didn't go over Beattock! May get better weather over Shap but it's most unlikely you will get a better performance than that of 2006. Anyway this looks to be a good tour, just hope RTC don't substitute "Leander" with somethng else nearer the time.

 

Beattock is three miles longer than Shap Ralph - and if you are chasing you can pace all the way up the bank!

If this runs as advertised I would rather be on it - but I want to see solemn undertakings that we are not being taken for another ride before I put my money down.

 

The RTC Spring/Summer 2009 UK Day Tours brochure is now available to be viewed electronically on their website.

 

.... and most of it is also at www.uksteam.info