1st April 2006

Railway Touring Company
The Lincolnshire Poacher

Route:
1Z50 : London Kings Cross to Cleethorpes
1Z51 : Cleethorpes to New Holland
1Z52 : New Holland to Doncaster
1Z53 : Doncaster to London Kings Cross

Notes :
(1) 61264 on rear.
(2) ????? on rear.
(3) Original route : as above to Cleethorpes (13:58a) then 14:32d - New Holland (15:22 ~ 15:30) - Wrawby Jn (16:02) - Holton-le-Moor (16:14) - Lincoln Central (16:45 ~ 18:00) - Newark North Gate (18:24) - KX (20:44a).

Sources : The Railway Touring Company & Mike Harries

Tour Review
(by Mike Harries)

When the tickets were sent out this train had already been re-routed around the Hertford Loop in both directions, thus missing the Potters Bar pick up and set down. The letter also noted that it would not be possible to go to Barton upon Humber as advertised since Network Rail had advised of a weight restriction which prohibited all locomotives from the last three and a half miles of the branch. The train was however still expected to go from New Holland to Lincoln, for a stop of over an hour, before running to Grantham (18:37), Peterborough (19:16), Huntingdon (19:42), Stevenage (20:11), and was due back at Kings Cross at 20:44. The timing sheet handed out on the day was marked “Revised timings received 30th March 2006”.

Because the train lost time on the outward run (there was no very apparent reason, just that it did not go as fast as was necessary to keep timings – we did not stop for blow-ups, or anything obvious), to the extent that if we left Cleethorpes “right time” we would have had half an hour there – probably insufficient to water and service the loco – it was announced that we would leave at 16:15 instead of 16:00. The times below are as on the timing sheet, NOT amended for this 15 minute later start. Of course this necessarily carried through to the leg from New Holland. It is not clear whether there was sufficient recovery time, or time allowed at the loco change at Doncaster, to make this up, or whether the entire return would be expected to run an further fifteen minutes late.

Finally (as far as I know) a set-down was arranged at Hatfield and Stainforth for those who had intended to leave the train at Lincoln – the loco change at Doncaster did not allow for the train to be platformed there.

Timings (Booked & Actual)
(from The Railway Touring Company & Mike Harries)

Timings continue in first table.

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