The Border Raider with 60163 - 16/09/17

I'll gladly send down the black pudding !

 

Clearly one of those days where one has to make the requisite preparations. Might bring along some slices of Bara Brith (Welsh tea-infused fruit loaf) to keep the sugar levels up throughout the morning, as well as a couple of bottles of Batham's Best Bitter for the return. Will stock up on provisions at Carlisle for supper.

 

I'm getting bored now waiting for some news, so as we have our grandson tomorrow I thought that I would do my checklist for Saturday.

Oswald's Checklist for Saturday
Fuel in car
New batteries in GPS
New lead in pencil (I have not included MrsW's comment!)
Black Pudding for Al
Times and route

This is NeaRly a DeBaCle.

 

Oh Mr Porter whatever shall I do?
They've sent me on to Birmingham and I wanted to go to Crewe!

 

Many a true word spoken in jest, Al:

Just received from UKRT:

Dear Customer,

It is with some relief that I can at last advise you of the finalised departure and return arrival timings for this Saturday’s tour with 60163 Tornado. These have only just been received from Network Rail.

Please check the departure times carefully as some of them have changed by the odd minute from our last email. Note that Tame Bridge departure is now two minutes earlier.

Tame Bridge Parkway (Platform 1): Depart 07.03

Birmingham New Street (Platform 5): Depart 07.46

Wolverhampton (Platform 1): Depart 08.10

Stafford (Platform 5): Depart 08.45

Crewe (Platform 12): Depart 09.15

The route is then via Preston (water stop) and Shap to Carlisle where we take a break from 12.40 to 15.00 .

After the break we head south over the Settle & Carlisle to Hellifield. Because of a blockade at Clitheroe we now take a longer route by way of Skipton, Keighley, Leeds (Engine Shed Junction), Wakefield Kirkgate, Mirfield, Huddersfield, Stalybridge, Guide Bridge, and Stockport. Arrival times are then:

Crewe: Arrive 20.34

Stafford: Arrive 21.09

Wolverhampton: Arrive 21.54

Birmingham New Street: Arrive 22.39

Tame Bridge Parkway: Arrive 23.00

On behalf of the A1 Loco Trust we would like to thank for you once again for your patience.

John Farrow​

S&C and Standedge on the same day - is this a first? Certainly is for Tornado! I'm quite sure NR wouldnt have conceded this route unless they had had to!

Peter on a sunny afternoon in Manchester, and in my heart!!!
pjhtransportpix.zenfolio.com

 

The routing of the return is certainly a turn-up for the books -- when did steam last manage to squeeze across the 'Trans Pennine Mainline' via Standedge?

Got to hand it to whoever pulled that as the solution out of the hat - masterful - and still not a 'silly o'clock' time scheduled for the return - maximum planned journey time of 16 hours sounds like a 'part day' by the standard of some railtours!

(How are the breakfast relief supplies going for Standard Class?!?)

Steven

(Tornado is still newer than the standard trains on the TPE route though!)

 

Now that's added a whole new dimension to the run, all I can say is roll on Saturday!

 

The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take us away, coming to take us away, take us to(Satur)day....!!!!!

 

Over the moon with that return run! I did think about it yesterday, but ruled it out for logistical reasons. Glad I was proved wrong. A stretch of track I've needed to scratch, but they stopped running steam over it just before I moved north. Shap, Ais Gill and Standedge in one day. Legendary. Really looking forward to it, now!

 

After preparing for Shap both ways this alternative is something of a big bonus. I sort of forgive the team at Milton Keynes for taking a while to get this sorted, as it must have taken while to get it all fitted in. I hope nobody is going to complain that they are missing Clitheroe.

 

Should certainly raise the echoes on the 1:96 after Huddersfield. Wonder if NR would have actually entertained using that route if it had been requested??

 

Looks like a brilliant outcome.

I'm not on this, more's the pity, though my brother is. He was less than impressed when I suggested it might be Shap both ways, but he is well chuffed with this return route, which he actually suggested to me last night might be a possible route. I said no way, probably not gauged that way, and maybe problems with route knowledge. Glad I was wrong!

I'll have to settle for videoing it at Stafford, together with the more or less simultaneous arrival and departure of Statesman Rail's Ravenglass trip.

 

Border Raider? And a War of the Roses as well?!

Peter with the sun still shining in Manchester
pjhtransportpix.zenfolio.com

 

Waiting with some interest for the detailed point to points. Doing that route and getting back to Crewe earlier does seem a tad optimistic.

 

Indeed. Wonder if there'll be any speed-related icing on the cake, which might have been the deciding factor to send the train this way?

 

Well this is a better outcome than I could have imagined 24 hours ago. Promises to be a memorable day out in coach J!

 

I think I'm dreaming...it's almost a wet one!

 

Maybe the water economy works to your advantage. If they can cut out the water stop at Appleby, I could see you all getting to Leeds in three hours or a tad over, maybe 1715 from Skipton where there is a vacant slot in that hour. Then two hours to Stockport including filling up at Denton might work, for example if you could get to Huddersfield for 1845. Needless to say, everything will have to go right. Good luck!