GB RAILFREIGHT’S second four-day ‘mega-tour’ has been unveiled and will see a Class 56 making its passenger debut over the West Highland Line, a pair of Class 73s over the Forth Bridge, and AC electric locomotives running to London Paddington and Blackpool North.
Living up to its name – ‘GBRf 2018 – Out of the Ordinary’ – the train will start from London Victoria on September 20 behind a Class 66; possibly one of the 10 recently acquired from DB Cargo.
It will head for South Wales via Bristol, where a pair of Class 73/9s takes over for a run to the Celsa steelworks in Cardiff.
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Resident GBRf Class 08s will haul the train in the works yard, providing rare traction and track. The rebuilt ‘73s’ will then work to Didcot Chester Lane Junction, where an AC electric locomotive – No. 86101, 86401 or 87002 – will take charge for the run to Paddington.
Day 2 starts at Euston with a pair of Class 20s working via Bletchley and Bedford to Wellingborough Yard. A Class 66/7 will then head back south to West Hampstead Thameslink, where a further reversal will allow the Type 1s to take a circuitous route via Dudding Hill, Dartford, Tonbridge West Yard and Kensington Olympia to Acton Lane reception siding, where a pair of Class 73/1s takes charge for a rare loco-hauled
run to Waterloo’s former international platforms.
Read more in the March issue of The RM – on sale now!
