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Railtour
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, specific sections of railway track (for example, freight-only lines), the locomotive hauling the train, the rolling stock (passenger carriages), or any combination of these. Organisers may own or hire locomotives or rolling stock, or tours may be organised by railway management or other bodies outside the railway fraternity. Perhaps the most famous railtour in England was the '' Fifteen Guinea Special'', the last steam hauled main line train run by British Rail. Railtours are often identifiable through the use of a train headboard, often identifying the name of the specific tour or the tour operator. On TOPS, railtours are always given a 1Zxx headcode. Types of Railtour Destination tours A 'destination' railtour is often associated w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 55
The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, or English Electric type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) between Edinburgh and . They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 ''Deltic'' (the running number DP1 was never carried), which in turn was named after its Napier Deltic power units. At the time of their introduction into service, the Class 55s were the most powerful single-unit diesel locomotives in the world, with a power output of . They had an official maximum speed of , however this was frequently exceeded, especially in their later years of service, with speeds of up to , being recorded on level gradients, and up to whilst descending Stoke Bank. Twenty-two locomotives were built, which were used for express passenger services on the ECML, particularly from London to and Edinb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vintage Trains
Vintage Trains is an operator of heritage railtours in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Birmingham Railway Museum Trust, and is based at Tyseley Locomotive Works, the trust's other subsidiary. Mainline locomotives Vintage Trains operates many steam and diesel locomotives on its mainline railtours. Steam locomotives Locomotives listed here are not all owned by Tyseley Locomotive Works as some are owned by private societies, but are made available to operate on the mainline by their respective owners (assuming they have the appropriate mainline certification). All engines used on VT's tours are operated under vacuum braking, engines which do have dual/air braking fitted can be used on VT tours but only operated under vacuum braking (71000 being an example as it's fitted with air brakes). Diesel locomotives Loco numbers in bold mean their current number. Also, in previous years, Vintage Trains has operated charters using electric and diesel traction that has not a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deltic Preservation Society
The Deltic Preservation Society is a railway preservation group based in England. The society is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the remaining Class 55 "Deltic" diesel locomotives operated by British Rail from the 1960s to the 1980s. Formation The Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) was founded in 1977 following the entry into service of the Class 43 High Speed Train. A group of Class 55 enthusiasts made the decision to join together to ensure that a working locomotive was kept running, forming the DPS to raise funds to this end. By 1982, when the Class 55 was withdrawn, the Society numbered over 1,500, with the result that it was able to purchase two locomotives, D9009/55009 (''Alycidon'') and D9019/55019 (''Royal Highland Fusilier''), from British Rail. These two units were moved immediately from Doncaster Works and put into service on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. A third locomotive, D9015/55015 (''Tulyar'') was added to the inventory in 1986 when it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifteen Guinea Special
The ''Fifteen Guinea Special'' was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Rail on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day, the extra day added to allow for the movement of locomotive BR Standard Class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell to Bressingham Steam Museum. It was a special rail tour excursion train organised for the occasion from Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria to Carlisle and back, and was pulled in turn by four steam locomotives during the four legs of the journey (with two engines sharing the third leg). The last scheduled standard gauge steam-hauled passenger services had run on 3 August 1968 from Preston. Steam continued to be used on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway under British Rail, which was subsequently privatised in 1989. Reason for name The ''Fifteen Guinea Special'' was so named because of the high cost of tickets for the rail tour (15 guineas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Train
An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customers. United Kingdom A number of excursion trains are run in the United Kingdom and in some cases there are regular steam worked passenger services over some routes, one such train being '' The Jacobite'' which runs Monday to Friday from Fort William to Mallaig from April to October. A second afternoon train also runs from May to mid September but on weekdays only, weekend services running from June to October. A number of Christmas Jacobite's have even started running on select days in December. There are also a number of routes across the UK which are famed for running excursion trains, examples include: Settle & Carlisle line, Cumbrian Coast line, Shakespeare line, Scarborough line, West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line. As w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathedrals Express
The ''Cathedrals Express'' was a named passenger express introduced in 1957 on the Western Region of British Railways. It connected the cathedral cities of Hereford and Worcester to . The service started on 16 September 1957 and was operated six days a week. It departed Hereford at 07:45 with the return service leaving Paddington at 16:45. Coaching stock was in the Great Western Railway chocolate and cream livery, not the British Railways standard maroon of this period. The service also stopped at , another cathedral city, although this was already well-served by other London services. Although a named train, the ''Cathedrals Express'' was by no means a fast service throughout. Between Hereford and Worcester it was at most a semi-fast. In later years the number of stops increased. The timetable in summer 1963 was: Hereford (d. 08:00), Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern, Malvern Link, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill (d. 09:10), Evesham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Oxford, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compass Tours
Compass Tours was a UK railtour organiser specialising in excursions with heritage diesel locomotives such as the Class 37, Class 40 and Class 47 and also using Steam Engines such as the LMS Black 5. A pro-rail company, Compass Tours heavily promoted the advantages of rail as a mode of transport, encouraging passengers to leave their cars and take the train. Nearly 300 tours were organised by the company, with many thousands of passenger journeys being taken. The tours were typically very popular, carrying between 400-600 passengers in up to 13 vehicles of Mark 1 or Mark 2F coaching stock. Compass Tours became one of Britain's main rail excursion organisers operating in the North West, West Midlands, North Wales, and Scottish Borders as well as latterly the North East and East Midlands regions, building a loyal customer base. Operating with a regular team of volunteer stewards to operate the Secondary Door Locking system and staff the buffet, Compass Tours had a reputation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Headboard (train)
A headboard is a board hung on the front of a locomotive. Generally it can depict a named train. Headboards are distinct from locomotive nameplates. In the United Kingdom, headboards were common on the public railway in the age of steam and into the age of Diesel and electric trains, although in modern times, use of headboards on scheduled trains is now defunct, although headboards are often still used on the occasion of a "last train", such as the withdrawal of a particular class of locomotive. On the scheduled network, headboards were used to denote special named trains, such as luxury pullmans, blue riband expresses or other once a day special services such as boat trains. Latterly, headboards are still used by railtour companies for rail enthusiast's excursions, to denote the name of a tour, or more generally the name of the organisation running a tour. Headboards are also frequently used on heritage railway line services to denote special trains or events. Common prac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Reporting Number
A train reporting number in Great Britain identifies a particular train service. It consists of: * A single-digit number, indicating the class (type) of train, followed by * A letter, indicating the destination area, followed by * A two-digit number, identifying the individual train or indicating the route (the latter generally for suburban services). The train reporting number is often called the headcode, a throwback to when the number was physically displayed at the head of a train. History Headcodes Headcodes were introduced circa 1850 and were shown by oil lamps facing forward on the front of the locomotive. The position of these lamps on the locomotive denoted the class of train, which assisted the signalmen to determine the gaps between trains required in the interval-based signalling system that was used at the time. The lamps were lit at night and were usually painted white to assist with sighting by day. On some lines white discs were used by day in the place of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is supported and minority-owned by charitable trust the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) and the West Somerset Steam Railway Trust (WSSRT). The WSR plc operates services using both heritage steam and diesel trains. It originally opened in 1862 between and . In 1874 it was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway. Although just a single line, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the significant number of tourists that wished to travel to the Somerset coast. The line was closed by British Rail in 1971 and reopened in 1976 as a heritage line. It is the longest standard gauge independent heritage railway in the United Kingdom. Services normally operate over just the between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four British railway companies, and was privatisation of British Rail, privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the railway. A process of dieselisation and Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the Vale of Rheidol Railway (a narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge tourist line). Passenger train, Passengers replaced freight train, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torbay Express
The ''Torbay Express'' is a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom. The Torbay Express departs from Bristol Temple Meads railway station on summer Sundays at approximately 09:15 with arrival back in Bristol at about 20:10 (depending on the route). Great Western Railway The ''Torbay Express'' was a named train run by the Great Western Railway between Paddington and Kingswear, with a departure time from Paddington of 11:50. Originally the down train also included a slip portion for Ilfracombe, this being detached at Taunton. The departure time from London was changed to 12 noon before the First World War and continued at the same time until after World War 2 although the slip portion had ceased by 1918. From 1961 the train, now the 12:30 from Paddington, split at with the other portion continuing to , and in 1967 the name was dropped from the daily service and applied to a separate train running on Saturdays only and departing from Paddington at 10:50. In 1983 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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