24th April 1993

Bedford Bletchley Rail User's Association
???

(B.B.R.U.A. Special Train No.16)

DMU's Used 2x 2-car sets (?)

Route :

DMU Route
as listed Bletchley - Ridgmont - Bedford - (via MML) - Wigston South Jn - Hinckley - Nuneaton
as listed ?Nuneaton - Bedworth -? Coventry - Kenilworth - Leamington Spa
as listed Leamington Spa - Warwick - Hatton - Claverdon - Stratford-upon-Avon
as listed Stratford-upon-Avon - (reverse of outward route) - Leamington Spa
as listed Leamington Spa - Kenilworth - Coventry
as listed Coventry - Rugby (4) - Bletchley (5)

Notes :
(1) Ran to celebrate the end of the long service of the 2-car DMU sets on the Bedford to Bletchley line. Preferred date has been in May but was brought forward as the units were due to end service at the end of April. Arrival into Stratford-upon-Avon was 40mins late due to a lack of train crew at Coventry.
(2) At Stratford-upon-Avon passengers had an option to visit the G&WR at Toddington where a return trip behind 46521 was made.
(3) Booked departure time from Stratford-upon-Avon was 18.30 but due to a freight train derailment at Fenny Stratford the train was delayed and also was to be re-routed down the WCML from Coventry to Bletchley. The train organisers requested that the train run booked-route to Woburn Sands with buses forward but at Coventry passengers for stations to Bedford were directed onto a Regional Railways service train to Leicester where an HST was caught to return passengers to their departure stations.
(4) On arrival at Rugby it was announced that the train would terminate there - however as soon as the organisers and passengers were off, the route was cleared for the train to continue!
(5) Arrival back into Bletchley was an hour early but passengers for stations along the Bletchley to Bedford line then had a very long wait for the onward bus. The passengers for stations after Ridgmont were transferred from the bus to a single-car DMU!

Source : Nigel Benning

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