18th October 1980

Hertfordshire Railtours
?L'Entente Cordial?

Locos Used SNCF BB67618
DMU Used SNCF X4504
EMU Used 7865

Route :

Traction Route
7865 London Victoria - Faversham - Dover Western Docks
BB67618 Calais Maritime - Lille
X4504 tour of local lines around Lille
BB67618 Lille - Calais Maritime
7865 Dover Western Docks - Faversham - London Victoria

Notes :
(1) Stephen Bidwell comments: If I remember correctly, this tour was called 'L'Entente Cordiale' (Webmasters note: confirmation required please) and was the first foreign tour HRT arranged. Very enjoyable but as with most tours, hitches did occur. A trip on the Lille tramway was in the itinerary but due to late running, participants were given the option of going forward by SNCF service train direct to Lille from Amiens (?) or staying with the plan and risking missing the connection home from Lille! In the end all was well, despite some cavalier train running from SNCF.

Sources : John Guyatt & Stephen Bidwell

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