Vintage Trains 2026

£62.50 Castle to Liverpool on 13th June in Standard Class. Unbeatable price I suggest. We can achieve this by adding more TSOs than we usually do (up to five instead of two) and listening to the non enthusiast market for days out to an interesting place. You are welcome.
In the current financial climate and charter train positioning within the market, it is clear we need to do some things differently. Watch this space.

7029 is now ready but we won't have guaranteed time to do a trip run before Newcastle. Fixing the hydraulic test with independent insurers took a little longer than planned. So 5043 will run that train. She has NEVER been there before. We are looking at a recreation of 7029's ECML trips 60 years ago in 1976 for next year. The good news is that 7029 is fully fit for 3 years and, even then, there will now be less boiler work to do at the 10 year than expected previously.

5043 is unlikely to run after The Mayflower as we plan to change her wheel tyres. If you can spare some £ to help that it would be appreciated. Once done, she will then be fit for several years.

Priority is to keep two Castles going in tip top condition. Costs are significantly rising, the market for trains is changing significantly. But we are on top of this game.

 

Good to hear you're facing the challenges of railtour operation 'head on'.
A few thoughts I had that might raise some revenue in Standard (probably not just VT specific, but wondered if they'd been considered):

Improving the Standard catering offer
Steam Dreams used to offer complimentary at-seat tea and coffee to all passengers in Standard, which made it feel that little bit more 'premium' and allowed higher ticket prices for probably very minimal outlay. There is already a tea/coffee service with the pre-ordered bacon rolls anyway.

The buffet range could be expanded to include things like sandwiches, pastries, hot sausage rolls/pasties etc, and maybe on-demand Bacon/Sausage baps rather than having to pre-order when booking.
IIRC Pathfinder used to allow at-seat ordering from the kitchen car once dining service was done, if you wanted something more substantial than the buffet offer.

There are a few trips I've been on where there wasn't an opportunity to get anything substantial before boarding, and the first opportunity to get something other than a snack/cake wasn't until arriving at the destination many hours later.
I also knew that everything would be closed when I got back, so had to stock up on food for the return journey at the destination, would prefer if I'd just been able to buy it onboard when I got hungry.

I appreciate this would be an up-front investment in terms of facilities and stock, and it may not be as straightforward when stewards are volunteers rather than paid staff, but it might mean some of the food & drink spend stays onboard rather than going elsewhere.

Improve attractiveness for families:
As a more left-field option, I wonder whether there are ways of making longer trips more 'family friendly'. Could there a be a dedicated 'family coach' for families with younger children?
Could a brake area be made into a small play area for those kids that don't want to sit in their seats for several hours?
Could a baby changing facility be added?
Again, it's all investment, but could it be worth the payoff?

Combing train and coach travel
Finally, I wonder if there'd be a market for partnering with local coach companies to offer package deals including a railtour.
Have the coach pick up in a few major towns not served by the train, transfer passengers somewhere like Coleshill Parkway, the passengers get their train trip, then the coach is waiting to take them back home, no worry about delays/missed connections.

I'd certainly use it if it worked out cheaper than a couple of nights in a Birmingham hotel.

 

https://vintagetrains.co.uk/the-cathedrals-express-edinburgh/

Tornado taking VT back to Scotland for the first time in 14 years in November…

 

Seven hours in the dark on the way back, no thanks. Wrong time of year. Definitely worth a punt if you live in Yorkshire.

 

And only 2 hours in Edinburgh? While price isn't too bad compared to a lot of tours, longer in Edinburgh would definitely be a requirement before I reach for my card.

 

Unfortunately this is what people will have to accept with the new ECML timetables if they want steam up over the Northern part of the ECML. It’s got so much traffic now I suspect it’s hard to have too long in Edinburgh and get a good path back.

 

Will be booking on this no problem, the stagger of recent times is down to an acceptable trip.
As others say, a summer trip would be nice, but paths will be at a all time low, hence the staring at scenary for long periods in passing loops.

 

I MIGHT do FS to Minehead in Xeptember - yes I know FS only goes as far as BL

What are VT like for Diesel Assistance - assuming no weather related issues?

 

Usually only if necessary...but the reasons it is necessary seem to get longer by the day - that is the reality of mainline steam.

Without wishing to reopen a well worn can of worms, chatting to footplate staff on the Clun Castle trip to Liverpool they said they do not like diesel assistance. The steam footplate crew don't like it and neither does the diesel driver like giving it, but it was Red fire risk that day (soon to become Black) and diesel assistance was provided up to 50mph. Above that Clun was allowed to work unassisted. Given the temperature, what happened later that day and what has happened since, no one was going to argue. We still had plenty of pleasant high speed running and plenty of smuts through the window.

The trip behind Tornado I did to Carlisle earlier in the year, the diesel only added an extra 120t of weight (when it was attached) and was actually switched off between Crewe and Wolverhampton on return. I was surprised as we were running a little late and fully expected a shove.

The Scotsman trip I did in February, the diesel did very little apart from a slight nudge out of Stratford-upon-Avon. However it was a very disappointing path which called for not a lot more than walking pace!

In my experience VT are certainly one of the better ones, but unless you book one of their explicitly 'no diesel' trips (they are the only provider who does this), then the reality is it's probably a lottery.

 

Picked up via Facebook but not seen added here yet - Tornado to Edinburgh

https://vintagetrains.co.uk/the-cathedrals-express-edinburgh/
Vintage Trains heads north to Edinburgh this November, which is our first journey into Scotland in 14 years, and Tornado is joining us for the ride.

The Cathedrals Express departs Birmingham on Saturday 14 November, running diesel hauled up through the East Midlands to Yorkshire and the North East. At Darlington, Tornado takes over. Built in 2008 as a brand new addition to the LNER Peppercorn A1 class, Tornado is one of the few steam locomotives in the country cleared to run at full main line speed, and she'll prove it on the sprint up the East Coast Main Line, through Northumberland and across the border into Scotland.

When you arrive in Edinburgh you'll have some time to explore the castle, the Georgian streets and the Christmas Market, which opens the very day you travel.
Seems to be very fairly priced too and very appealing.

 

See post 229 above onwards.

 

Wondering how to interpret this - are they hinting at something in excess of 75mph?

Nick M.

 

It's just marketing. There are around 750 preserved steam locomotives in the UK. Only around 30 of them are approved for mainline use on the national network. As one of those 30, Tornado is therefore "one of the few".

 

I imagine so. Rather creative use of the word 'few'.

Does Tornado have any current dispensation to operate at more than 75mph? I rather lost track of what happened in that respect.

Nick M.

 

She was cleared for 90mph, but the society chose to operate her at 75mph following her ECML incident and there has been no indication they want anything more since her most recent overhaul.

She is a very capable locomotive even at 75mph, with a very good acceleration, even with a heavy load. She can also work with VT's water carrier - so makes longer distance trips much more viable without needing a higher limit.

 

Thanks Alan, excellent summary of things.

Nick M.

 

Very good acceleration in relation to what? I watched a diesel hauled excursion leaving York a few days ago and the driver was gunning it. Even so a bemused passer by was heard to comment about how slow its departure was in comparison with "normal" trains. Heritage traction, be it steam or diesel, has abysmal acceleration in comparison to what is now normal on the network and there is no point in kidding ourselves otherwise.

Peter

 

Compared to other steam locos, I am not going to compare her to a modern DMU thats up to 40mph before its even left the platform!

However, I did watch her lift a 13 coach train out of Craven Arms loop and she was well into the 30s by the time she passed through Craven Arms station.

My point is in every essence she is as was originally envisaged, the ideal 21st century mainline steam loco. Its such a shame she's only getting a few trips a year now - but well done to VT for organising them.

The Edinburgh trip is tempting, I must admit.