1st & 2nd September 1985

F & W Railtours
The Coalville Slug

Locos Used 33033, 33052, 45121, 47480, 50003 & 58018

Route : 1Z42 throughout

Date(s) Loco(s) Route
01/09 50003 Penzance – Truro – Liskeard – Plymouth
01/09 47480 Plymouth – Exeter St Davids – Taunton – Weston-super-Mare – Bristol Temple Meads
01/09 33033 + 33052 Bristol Temple Meads – Stapleton Road – Filton Jn – Bristol Parkway – Westerleigh Jn – Yate – Standish Jn – Gloucester Yard Jn Gloucester
01/09 33033 + 33052 Gloucester – Barnwood Jn Cheltenham Spa – Abbotswood Jn – Norton Jn – Worcester Shrub Hill – Droitwich Spa – Stoke Works Jn – Bromsgrove – Kings Norton – Selly Oak Birmingham New Street – Proof House Jn - Landor Street Jn Water Orton – Abbey Jn – Midland Jn – Wigston North Jn – Knighton South Jn – Coalville
01/09 58018 Coalville – Burton-on-Trent – Stenson Jn Derby – Ambergate – Matlock
01/09 58018 Matlock – Ambergate – Derby – Long Eaton Trent South Jn – Loughborough – Syston South Jn Leicester
01/09 33033 + 33052 Leicester – Wigston North Jn – Midland Jn – Abbey Jn – Water Orton – Park Lane Jn – Ryecroft Jn – Walsall – Bescot – Perry Barr North Jn Aston – Proof House Jn Birmingham New Street – Galton Jn – Stourbridge Junction – Droitwich Spa – (reverse of outward route) – Barnwood Jn – Gloucester Yard Jn – (reverse of outward route) – Bristol Temple Meads
01/09-02/09 45121 Bristol Temple Meads – (reverse of outward route) – Penzance

Notes :
(1) Stephen Atkinson comments: The original advertised routing was to go to Stratford-upon-Avon after leaving Birmingham New Street on the outward run with the pair of class 33s and reverse for a class 56 to take the tour Leamington Spa where, after another reversal, the class 33s would lead the tour to Nuneaton via Coventry.  This section was dropped, as was advised in the confirmation letter, because SLOA had complete possession, to the exclusion of all others, of that area for their steam specials.  The class 56 was lost and the class 33s went via Water Orton as per the timings. The advertised traversal of the Wirksworth branch was also dropped, as was advised in the confirmation letter, because LM management had decreed that only trains which form part of their 'intensive' programme of shuttles would be allowed to traverse the branch.  Railway 'politics' being blamed for this omission. A pair of class 20s were also due to haul the tour from Wirksworth back to Leicester but they were also lost as a result of not going to Wirksworth. The tour instead went to Matlock with the class 58 hauling it there and back. The tour was also originally advertised to traverse the Walsall-Dudley-Stourbridge Junction line on the return leg but this was also dropped, as was advised in the confirmation letter, because due to LM not willing to open the signal boxes on that section. The tour hence went via Birmingham New Street and Galton Jn instead. The set-down at Gloucester on the return leg was not available and passengers were advised to catch the 21:18 from Worcester to Gloucester service, departing Cheltenham Spa at 21:45.  The service train was included in the tour ticket price. A pair of 37s was advertised from Penzance to Bristol and return but they were dropped in favour for a class 45 loco, as was advised in the confirmation letter, because the Western Region decreed that the train must be heated and Cornish 37s did not have train heating boilers anymore. The sweetener to this was the fact that 'Peaks' would no longer be diagrammed west of Bristol from the end of September so the tour would be a last chance to have one in the west. From the list of locos used above, it would seem that the class 45 didn't work the tour from Penzance on the outward leg and other locos were substituted instead but it did work the return leg. An off-train option was offered as an alternative to going to Wirksworth. A depot visit to Toton was offered for the price of £2.50 which included the Derby Corporation bus fare from Derby to Toton and return (originally advertised as returning to Long Eaton). The loco change reference in the timing sheet at Matlock is believed to be incorrect as the class 58 ran-round the tour at Matlock and worked onwards to Leicester.

Sources : Ian Monkton (Joined/left train at Taunton), Peter Turtle
& Stephen Atkinson (joined/left the tour at Worcester Shrub Hill)

Timings (Booked & Actual)
(from Howard Harrison & Stephen Atkinson)

M.C Location Booked (out) Booked (rtn) M.C
0.00 Penzance 02.50d 03.00a 208.01
5.63 St Erth 02/57 02/52 202.18
13.10 Camborne 03.08a ~ 03.10d 02.40a ~ 02.42d 194.71
25.73 Truro 03.28a ~ 03.30d 02.18a ~ 02.20d 182.08
37.74 Burngullow 03/48 02/04 170.07
40.24 St Austell 03.50a ~ 03.52d 01.58a ~ 02.00d 167.57
44.61 Par 04/02 01/52 163.20
49.16 Lostwithiel 04/17 01/47 158.65
56.48 Largin 04/30 01/39 151.33
61.63 Liskeard 04.38a ~ 04.40d 01.30a ~ 01.32d 146.18
70.25 St Germans 04/50 01/19 137.56
75.23 Saltash 04/55 01/13 132.58
79.41 Plymouth 05.05a ~ 05.10d 01.00a ~ 01.05d 128.40
86.26 Hemerdon 05/20 ? ?
95.56 Brent 05/31 ? ?
102.53 Totnes 05.39a ~ 05.40d 00.28a ~ 00.30d 105.28
111.30 Newton Abbot 05.53a ~ 05.55d 00.13a ~ 00.15d 96.51
121.02 Dawlish Warren 06/06 ? ?
131.44 Exeter St Davids 06.18a ~ 06.20d 23.50a ~ 23.52d 76.37
151.36 Whiteball SB 06/39 ? ?
162.24 Taunton 06.53a ~ 06.55d 23.18a ~ 23.20d 45.57
173.69 Bridgwater 07/05 ? ?
187.32 Uphill Jn 07/15 ? ?
189.04 Weston-super-Mare 07.18a ~ 07.20d 22.49a ~ 22.51d 18.77
191.26 Worle Jn 07/23 ? ?
208.01
0.00
Bristol Temple Meads 07L40a ~ 08L05d 22L15a ~ 22L30d 0.00
156.64
4.50 Filton Jn 08/13 ? ?
5.69 Bristol Parkway 08.15a ~ 08.17d 22.00a ~ 22.02d 150.75
10.39 Westerleigh Jn 08/23 ? ?
18.52 Charfield 08/30 21/45 138.12
31.77 Standish Jn 08/39 ? ?
38.07 Gloucester Yard Jn 08/55 21/30 118.57
39.08 Gloucester 08.57a ~ 09.10d - -
45.48 Cheltenham Spa 09.18a ~ 09.20d 21.18a ~ 21.20d 112.27
52.59 Ashchurch 09/28 21/12 105.16
63.46 Abbotswood Jn 09/36 21/03 94.29
67.40 Worcester Shrub Hill 09.43a ~ 09.45d 20.55a ~ 20.57d 90.35
73.19 Droitwich Spa 09/52 20/48 84.56

 

M.C Location Booked Actual
77.34 Stoke Works Jn 09/58 ?
79.47 Bromsgrove 10/01 ?
82.20 Blackwell 10/07 ?
83.10 Barnt Green 10/12 ?
88.00 Kings Norton 10/22 ?
92.21 Church Road Jn 10/28 ?
93.58 Birmingham New Street 10.31a ~ 10.46d ??.?? ~ 10.43
94.46 Proof House Jn 10/48 ?
95.23 Landor Street Jn 10/50 ?
101.40 Water Orton East Jn 10/57 10/53
104.14 Whitacre Jn 11/01 ?
113.73 Abbey Jn 11/14 ?
115.45 Midland Jn 11/19 ?
120.18 Wigston North Jn 11/37 11/36
121.67 Knighton South Jn 11/45 11/44
129.07 Desford LC 12/14 ?
130.79 Desford Colliery Sidings 12/17 ?
136.35
0.00
Coalville 12L41a ~ 13L55d 12.31 ~ 13.56
0.72 Mantle Lane 13/58 ?
8.54 Moira West Jn 14/21 ?
14.67 Leicester Jn 14/41 ?
15.17 Burton-on-Trent 14c52 ~ 14c53 14.54 ~ 14.55
21.34 Stenson Jn 15/00 ?
26.18 Derby 15.09a ~ 15.11d 15.06 ~ 15.12
34.05 Belper 15/23 ?
36.48 Ambergate 15/26 ?
43.30
0.00
Matlock 15L38a ~ 17L10d 15.37 ~ 17.11
6.62 Ambergate 17/22 ?
9.25 Belper 17/25 ?
17.12 Derby 17.34a ~ 17.36d 17.35 ~ 17.43
25.21 Long Eaton 17.46a ~ 17.48d 17/53
26.33 Trent South Jn 17/50 ?
34.03 Loughborough 17/56 18/01
41.51 Syston South Jn 18/03 ?
46.42
0.00
Leicester 18L08a ~ 18L27d 18.12 ~ 18.29
3.11 Wigston North Jn   ?
17.64 Midland Jn 18/49 ?
19.36 Abbey Jn 18/52 ?
29.15 Whitacre Jn 19/04 ?
31.69 Water Orton East Jn 19/11 19/18
32.41 Water Orton West Jn 19/12 ?
33.30 Park Lane Jn 19/15 ?
44.79 Ryecroft Jn 19/37 ?
45.41 Walsall 19/39 19/47
46.28 Pleck Jn 19/43 ?
51.52 Perry Barr North Jn 19/45 ?
53.74 Aston 19/53 19/57
55.76 Proof House Jn 19/53 ?
56.64 Birmingham New Street 19.57a ~ 19.59d 20.06 ~ ??.??
58.65 Soho South Jn 20/05 ?
60.43 Galton Jn 20/07 ?
68.41 Stourbridge Junction 20.19a ~ 20.22d ?
75.20 Kidderminster 20/31 ?
78.74 Hartlebury 20/42 ?


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