Great Britain XIV 2022

Presumably both enjoying a virtual lineside experience hence complying with the requirements of lockdown isolation.

 

Excellent conditions pity its diesel hauled because of the fire risk

 

Sat at the back and can't hear the diesel

 

Oh was that today. Missed it.

 

Many a true word spoken in jest! As one who should have been on the GB I fear we may not have seen much steam due to the extremely dry weather. Let’s hope it eventually runs in more favourable conditions.

Just noticed it’s five years to the day since I joined the group!

 

The shot at Coombe Fishacre was rather special. We heard her whistle through Totnes and she was sweet as a nut until the A-road bridge when she slipped briefly. That seemed to wind her and she got slower and slower as she went out of sight. Approaching the tunnel, I was counting the exhaust beats and wondering if she'd make it. But she did, with a triumphant long blast on the whistle. I caught her again at Burlescombe and Bruton. Splendid performance!

I wonder what it will be like in real life in September or whenever...?

 

a virtual GB 35018 Drumochter

 

Well that virtually does it for me Bob.Great stuff

 

Oh wow thats brilliant

 

Email received this morning : -


Dear Mr Paul

With regards to our decision in March to postpone our Great Britain 2020 tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic I would like to start by thanking you for your understanding at the time and patience whilst we have watched the situation unfold.

The past three months have seen us all face many challenges and uncertainty but we have now reached a time where there is light at the end of the tunnel for us all, however there are still hurdles to jump.

So as we start to navigate our way back to 'normal' following the storm I would like to give you an update regarding your booking.

We are confident that we will soon be in a position to restart running our tours again and are focusing on what will become our new normal. However with the guidelines still changing at this stage and making the safety of our customer's and on board staff priority at this time we are not rushing things. Also we want to be in a position to provide the same level of product and service and are working together with all third parties to ensure that this can be achieved.

Therefore following many discussions we have made the very difficult decision, and it really has been a difficult one so please know it is with the best intentions, to postpone The Great Britain 2020 until April 2021 when it will be renamed Great Britain XIV.

Your booking has been automatically transferred to the new date of Friday 16th April 2021 - Saturday 24th April 2021. We all hope that you will be able to join us next year but of course understand that the dates may not be suitable for everyone.

If you need to contact us to discuss this further please do not hesitate, we are currently working reduced hours and with limited staff but we are available for you. Our working hours are Monday to Friday between 9am and 3pm by telephone, 01553 661500 or email, enquiries@railwaytouring.co.uk.

Your booking with us carries financial protection through our membership of the Travel Trust Association and ATOL, meaning that your funds, already paid to us, are fully protected.

The team and I hope that you are well and we are all look forward to normality resuming so we can welcome you on board again very soon.

Kind Regards

Kelly Osborne
Managing Director

Please do not reply to this email it is sent from an automated mailbox, should you have any queries please direct them to enquiries@railwaytouring.co..uk

 

What a wonderful set of mixed metaphors: "light at the end of the tunnel", "hurdles to jump", "navigate" and "storm"!

I hadn't noticed before, but I think this year's would have been the thirteenth, hence their naming it The Great Britain 2020 rather than The Great Britain XIII. Thirteen certainly has been unlucky, but now GB XIV will still really be the thirteenth.

 

Is it time to update this thread's title to "Great Britain 2020 - now GB XIV in 2022", or even to start a new thread? Though I note that RTC's web page for the tour is called "https://www.railwaytouring.net/the-great-britain-2021". No mention of locos yet, of course, but I bet I'm not the only one hoping for either BIL or Tangmere over the Highland main line.

In the meantime... Someone asked me for a copy of the videos of The Great Britain 3 that I took in 2010. Having reviewed them for the first time in ages I thought they deserved a wider audience, so I've split the original 2 Blu-ray discs into 11 shorter programmes - 1 for each day and a short introductory montage for each disc (my own homage to PSOV). I've put them into a playlist which should play in sequence:

The individual days can be selected from The Steam Age Pictures main videos page:
https://www.youtube.com/user/SteamAgePictures/videos
If you do, thanks for watching...

 

Was it you in the sports car chasing the train around Scotland?

 

No, an old Skoda estate was my transport. Are you thinking of the black Ford Thunderbird that crops up in quite a few shots of the early GB tours, pacing the train up Beattock and the like? If so, that was a former habitue of this forum, who went by the name of TBirdFrank

 

Thank you. I remembered that it was an American car with left-hand drive but I didn't remember the colour and I wouldn't recognise a model.

And many thanks for posting the videos.

GBIII was the only one that I've been on (so far). Latterly I've reckoned that day trips are better value for money, but I haven't entirely ruled out another one.

 

Frank is still with us and occasionally posts on WNXX.

 

There are a fair few old names from the past that crop up on WNXX having left here for various reasons.

 

With all the previous loco allocations for the Great Britain tour having disappeared does anyone know when the revised loco allocations will be announced?