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 Site contents © D. Bailey 2001-2007 |
Scarborough
Spa
Express 2007 |
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LATEST NEWS last updated : 25th April 2007 |
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Added:25th April 2007
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| Dates of operation : Every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 24th July to 30th August 2007 plus Bank Holiday Monday, 24th August. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Fares:
First Class fares are also available. See the
Railway Touring Co. web
site. |
Approximate times
Note: These times are approximate and will definitely alter as some are, shall we say, interesting! York to Knaresborough in 15 minutes? Not a chance! |
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LNER A4 Pacifics 60009 'Union of South Africa' & 60019 'Bittern' LMS Coronation Pacific 6233 'Duchess of Sutherland' SR LN Class 4-6-0 850 'Lord Nelson' |
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Added:21st June 2007
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At last, some news to add! Unfortunately, it isn't particularly good news. You may already have heard that 71000 failed with leaking boiler tubes while working a charter recently. The problem, whilst easy to repair, requires some new boiler tubes which are manufactured in Germany and as these cannot be delivered until October, the loco is expected to be out of action until November. This will probably mean that 60009 and 6233 will work all trains but I can't help but notice that 6201 and 60019 have no worked booked during the period in question. Either of those, particularly the former, would make an excellent substitute. Another problem, which may have been solved by now, is the question of obtaining water during the journey. Scarborough Spa Expresses used to have water stops at either York or Leeds but this is no longer possible. Malton was the first suggestion but that has proved not to be possible, particularly during the return journey. Another suggestion was to stop on the Scarborough line alongside York District Hospital! As the complete journey from York to Scarborough is over 100 miles, a water stop at some point will be a requirement. We shall have to wait and see. Running steam on the main line is never simple is it? |
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Added:29th June 2007
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| Latest info suggests that 30850 & 60019 will be the locos to replace 71000. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Added:15th July 2007
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now seems that we will not be getting 30850, and 60019 will only work
the final week. 6233 should have two extra weeks to cover these changes.
Dates are in the table above. I have also heard that booking for these trains are said to be very poor. If we want these to run, not just this year but in the future, we will have to travel on them not just go out to the lineside. I'm already booked on a few, how about you? |
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Added:21st July 2007
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final timings for these trains have now appeared and are, shall we say,
interesting! A few sections are timed faster than the record runs that were achieved in the 1980s. Also of note is the lack of any water stops. Over 100 miles on a tenderfull should be do-able but I can't see that we will get the kind of performance that we would like if drivers are concerned with conserving water. We'll see! |
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Added:25th July 2007
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though No. 9 performed very well, the timings proved to be far too tight
between York, Harrogate & Leeds and we weren't helped by having a
number of restrictions due to limited clearances, particularly through
Bramhope Tunnel. All of which meant that we lost our path after Leeds
and ended up behind the service train to Scarborough that we should have
been in front of. 45 minutes late into Scarborough wasn't bad under the
circumstances. The return did much better for timekeeping but a really good run from York to Leeds was spoiled by a signal check at Micklefield having us down to 3 mph and the climb from Leeds to Horsforth is completely ruined by restrictions for clearances. I gather that 6233 has fewer restrictions. Despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We did have water stops in each direction alongside York District Hospital which proved necessary. !0 coaches was the load and we had 260 passengers in the morning, with a few more joining for the evening circle - more than I had expected. Seats for pay on the day customers are not only available but encouraged with fares available for almost any journey - £5 single from Harrogate to Leeds for example. No excuse not to support these trains! There has been yet another change to the loco line up. Bittern now seems unlikely to appear and 850 is penciled in for the final week. I'm looking forward to my next ride - how about you? And if you do travel, please let me have the running times for the table on this page! |
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