However, the announcement also identified three more routes to be considered : The Midland Main Line, Manchester - Preston and Liverpool - Preston. On closer inspection, the latter refers to the line between Liverpool and the WCML at Wigan, rather than an extension of the Merseyrail system to Preston, which many people have suggested in the past.

More here.

The word is that the Cargo-D set + DBS class 90 will be used on the Friday-only relief to Preston tomorrow night. Whether that will be the case in the coming weeks, is anybody's guess. The WB64 set may become available, or a Voyager could be substituted.

Times for the FO relief are still available on the Gen/Timetable page, along with various other bits & bobs added recently.

6233 has been a regular performer on railtours over the past few years, but is approaching the end of its main-line certification, so this will be one of the last chances to see the loco in full-flight for quite some time.

On Thursday, 5972 Olton Hall, in its Harry Potter Hogwarts Express guise, will be running from Carnforth to Southall, probably in connection with the launch of the latest film.
Details are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Full details of tours running on Friday and Saturday are also on the Gen/Timetable page.

Such a move would also allow the aging fleet operated by Northern to be replaced by EMUs when they come up for renewal. 

If all this sounds a bit like Groundhog Day, you are right. This is far from being the first time that such a scheme has been considered, having come close to actuality in the 1980s. As recently as January this year, Preston Council published a report on the subject All aboard electronic trains for Preston.

If classic diesel traction is your thing, check out the Preston-related DVD titles on our DVD Listing Page, which includes a selection of Cab Rides through Preston.

Confirmed times are now available for all of these, in the usual place.

Thanks as always to Darren and the PrestonRailGen group

This will be a blow to the rail-tour market, in general and particularly in the steam sector. PTR is responsible for the popular and (apparently) successful monthly Cotton Mill Express trains, as well as many other steam tours over several years. With the Kingfisher also having run into difficulties in the last few months, it seems that the rail-tour market is finding that times are tough. If an established operator like Past Time Rail can struggle, it seems likely that other companies, particularly smaller and less well-established ones, may follow.

There are also a couple of stock moves through Preston today. These are following last weekend's event at Eastleigh.

PRESTON PASS 16:21
and
PRESTON PASS 16:13

Thanks to Darren and the PrestonRailGen group for the info.

www.northerncharters.org.uk

The DVD can be bought directly from the Anbrico website or via Ebay. The DVD is also included on our new DVD listing pages.

SPECIAL OFFER :
All cheque orders placed via the Anbrico website will qualify for a 10% discount. This applies to their North West Class 101-116 DMU title as well as This is Preston.
Please quote the following code when ordering : PREWEB

SPECIAL OFFER :
All cheque orders placed via the Anbrico website will qualify for a 10% discount. 
This applies to their North West Class 101-116 DMU title as well as This is Preston.
Please quote the following code when ordering : PREWEB

Some details are on their website and all three tours are now listed on the Gen / Timetable page.

There are some places still available on the tour,  which picks-up at Preston, available via the Northern Charters website.

The all-day event will take place on Thursday 6th August with ‘John Howe’ dirtied up for the occasion and the possibility of a period road vehicle or two on the swing bridge. 

The cost of £35 per person covers the opening of the railway specifically for the event, with RSR staff needed at the Control tower. Places are limited to 15 people.

Andy Fowler writes : "We are looking at 6 – 10 wagons possibly in 2 formations, including NCB-liveried hoppers. The idea is to recreate a traditional Docklands theme. There is also the possibility of a line-up of a couple of other locos, either in ‘light steam’ or a simulation thereof (rags in the smokebox!), including the L&Y ‘pug’; the latter has been discussed with the RSR and agreed in principle. I’m aiming for a lineup of ‘pugs’ under the steelwork in the evening." 

For more information, please use the Feedback page, and we will pass-on your messages

Details in the usual place.
Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the times.

Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the bad news!

46113 Scots Guardsman is still booked to take the train north on Thursday morning.

Details in the usual place.

Details in the usual place.

According to www.uksteam.info , Saturday's Cumbrian Mountain Express featuring 6233 Duchess of Sutherland will now be steam hauled south through Preston.

The tour was originally booked for a loco change at Preston, which was then changed to Lancaster. The change will now happen at Crewe, which means that the tour will now pass Preston steam-hauled. 

Details in the usual place.

We're back on-line now... sorry for the break in transmission!

See NOTICES for an explanation of what's been going on...

Carnforth 1994 - 2000
Carnforth 1998 - 2008
West Highland Railway
Railways Around Lancaster

* A special discount is available for readers of this website! *

Full details are available here.

There are a couple of Green Express tours next month, which are now listed on the Gen / Timetable page. Generally, despite the lack of anything very much in the last few (and next couple) of weekends, the rail tour schedule is looking quite healthy for 2009. It will be interesting to see if Statesman Rail's weekly steam tour up and down the S&C (from July) can attract enough paying customers - especially in the light of this weekend's Cotton Mill Express cancellation.

The Freight timetable is still available on the Gen / Timetable page, but it's worth noting that a full working timetable is now available for Preston on the UK-Railways.com website. You can view it here.

Aparrently, there's a tour booked for Wednesday 18th from London Euston to Carlisle via the WCML outward and back via the Cumbrian coast. Class 90 haulage appears to be booked on the Westmoreland Hill & Cumbian Coast  except for the coastal run, which will be class 67-hauled.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page.
Thanks to PurfleetSteve on the PrestonRail group for the info.

"From Monday February 16th a further 16 daily Virgin services will be added to almost 100 services that were introduced in December.  London Midland will introduce an extra six services to add to their 52 extra services added in December. Southern will see the extension to Milton Keynes of its 32 trains between Watford and south and west London..."

This will presumably mean that the loco-hauled Friday relief will commence on Friday 20th.

The new trains will be a mix of electric, diesel and bi-mode configurations, with the diesel and bi-mode versions incorporating hybrid technology, as trialled on the NMT HST set. 

It seems likely that Sunday's ECS return to Carnforth will not feature any DRS locos, with the 57 being utilised instead.

Thanks to Alan Taylor for the info.

On 6th June, two AC Locomotive Group locos will top & tail a trip from Crewe, Warrington, Wigan and Preston to Glasgow, with an optional excursion to Ayr and back as an alternative to exploring Glasgow. Blue/grey Mk2 stock from Rail Blue Charters / Cargo-D will enhance the 1970s / 80s look of this tour.

Details are now on the Timetable / Gen page. Further details and booking information can be found on this webpage.

Today's FO relief from Euston, as predicted, is booked to be handled by a Voyager set. This is likely to be the case for at least another month, until the VHF timetable can be implemented in full.

46115 is running a private charter from Hellifield to Carlisle and back, on Thursday (5th). There are ECS moves before and after the excursion, both of which involve a short stop at Preston.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page as always.
Thanks to Ian on the PrestonRail goup for the info.

It's beginning to look like the Friday-only relief from Euston may not be loco-hauled this week as planned. It seems that the full implementation of the high-frequency timetable is to be put back - to a date as yet unspecified. This will presumably mean that a Voyager will continue to be available for the Friday relief so the EWS 90 and Cargo-D stock won't be required for the time being.

Often cited as a potential "infill" electrification scheme, the route between Preston, Bolton and Manchester is currently under consideration as part of a national study into electrifying more lines. Last night, Preston Council threw their weight behind the proposal, highlighting the many benefits that such a scheme would bring.

The Preston - Bolton - Manchester line has always been one of the more obvious candidates to be electrified, partly because it is often used as a diversionary route when the WCML is closed south of Preston. Proposals for such a scheme have been made several times over the years, including the mid-1980s. The recent removal of the listed "flying arches" at Chorley effectively removed one of the obstacles to electrification.

The amusingly named "All aboard electronic trains for Preston" is available to view on the Preston City Council website.

Ian Birch writes with news that  it seems that there will be two of these trains this year, which are usually class 67-hauled through Preston.  The trains are run by the Railway Children charity for teams of intrepid walkers to climb the highest peaks of England Scotland and Wales in just 3 days.

The trains will run in June and September, but if you would like to support the charity, you can do so by visiting the link below. Ian is involved with the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, from which a team of people will be taking part in this gruelling event. Their website is here...

Ian's Fotopic site is dedicated to "The Ratty" is ...here...

Compass Tours have announced a number of railtours which involve Preston. The list for the first half of 2009 includes classes 37,40, 47 and 50, with destinations such as Carlisle, York, and Devon. 

Details of the tours which stop at, or pass Preston are on the Gen / Timetable page now.

As always, please get in touch if you think you find anything wrong or missing...

Also added on the Gen / Timetable page, are three Vintage Trains tours which have been recently announced. 9th May sees 86259 Les Ross bringing a tour to Preston where 46115 Scots Guardsman takes over for a trip both ways over Shap to Carlisle. 86259 will again be involved on 30th May taking a tour as far as Carnforth where an 8F will take over to Ravenglass and back. Lastly, 20th June sees a GWR "Castle" making a similar excursion to that involving 46115, except on this occasion, the change to steam will happen at Crewe.

The diagram is a one-way trip, with the stock returning ECS. Since there are only a few Virgin drivers who sign the class 90s, the set will stand in the station for an hour while the driver takes a break. It will then move north to the PSB, before leaving for Wembley 15 mins later as 5A05. Times are on the Timetable/Gen page now.

Thanks to Mark for the info.

Also, there seems to be some confusion over the start date for Virgin's loco-hauled Fridays-only service from Euston to Preston. Unless someone has any different information, the situation seems to be as follows :

• The new service will begin this Friday (9th Jan), but will be covered initially by a Voyager set.
• Friday 30th January should be the first loco-hauled service, arriving at Preston at 21.55. There is no return service and there's no word yet on the time of the ECS.
• For those wishing to hitch a ride on the loco + Mk3 set, booked stops include Warrington and Wigan, but these are set-down only. This is presumably to help it keep pace with other WCML traffic by minimising station stop times. It may be possible to hop-on un-noticed, but  it's certainly not strictly allowed.

I hope those hang-overs are beginning to fade... 

Have a great New Year.

Adrian

Well, it's that time of year where website-owners are supposed to issue a Christmas Message to their readers. I'm glad to say that the number of people visiting our little corner of the Inter-Web has increased by 35% over the year, so I guess we are doing something right... I say "we", because although I run the website myself, It wouldn't be much good without all the help I get from a whole list of people too numerous to mention here - you know who you are! A special thanks must go to Darren at the Preston Rail Yahoo! group for all the information he shares with us all, plus regular photo contributors Martin Brown and Mike Thomas.

2009 should see some big changes to the website. There is a large backlog of material to add to the historical parts of the site, including more from the camera of Tony Gillett. For the fan of modern traction (and I include anything after about 1972 in that!), there should be a big expansion of the Rail-Blue page, which will be joined by pages covering the 1990s, both pre and post-privatisation.

As always, if you have anything you would like to contribute to the website, or if you have any suggestions about improvements or additions, please get in touch. 

For Preston Station, 2009 should be a year of changes, with the new multi-story car park being completed, plus several changes designed to make Preston a station fit for the 21st century.  Sadly, that will mean an end to some familiar features such as the main footbridge, but time marches on...

My New Year Resolution is to change the photo at the top of the page more regularly - daily would be nice, so please send in those photos!

So, have a cracking Christmas and New Year. Perhaps I'll see one or two of you on the 29th for the class 56 tour...

Adrian

As previously reported, the new timetable comes into force today and brings with it a number of changes for Preston. With the upgrade to the WCML (almost) complete, Virgin have introduced their new high-frequency timetable, although the new weekly loco-hauled diagram to Preston on Friday evening won't start until January. The changes will also mean that Pendolinos will no longer be stabled in the station  overnight, although a 57 will continue to be stationed at Preston during the day, travelling back to Longsight in the evening.

Changes on the Blackpool North - Chorley - Bolton - Manchester route mean that the "new" class 180s will now arrive at Manchester Victoria, removing the option to leave the train at Oxford Road or Deensgate as well as Piccadilly.

The expected large reduction in freight through the station doesn't seem to have materialised just yet, although it seems likely that there will be more use of the Settle & Carlisle route in the coming months following its upgrade to provide an alternative to the WCML, especially at peak times. 

The new Freight Timetable, courtesy of Darren and the PrestonRail Yahoo Group, is available now on the Gen/Timetable Page.

This is perhaps one to be filed under "Wishful Thinking", but a couple of weeks ago there was a whisper that DRS had sourced 6 class 56s for use in favour of 66s. The story goes that the fuel economy of the 66s is poor compared to the Doncaster & Romanian-built veterans. Does the fact that 7 of the class have now been moved to Crewe lend any credence to this? According to The End of the Line  the seven Crewe locos have now been moved inside the DMD at Crewe, with an eighth loco currently at Warrington . The numbers also seem to add up, with 6 machines rumoured to be heading to DRS - perhaps that's six plus one or two as spares donors?

In the wake of DRS's decision to take -on 55016, and with their track-record keeping 37s and 20s on the rails, perhaps class 56s wouldn't be such  a ridiculous move. Various people have suggested that their fleet of 20s might be getting to the point where they are no longer economical to maintain.

Of course this may all turn out to be complete rubbish... Watch this space.

Spitfire have announced two tours for the first part of 2009. In February, 2 DRS class 20s will be in charge of a tour from Birmingham to Carlisle, with an outward trip via the S&C and a return over Shap. One month later, the Celtic Growler will start from Preston with a pair of WCRC 37s taking a jaunt via Manchester, Leeds and York to Edinburgh.

Details of both tours are on the Timetable / Gen page. More information can be found on the Spitfire website.

A new timetable for Freights through Preston Station is available on the Gen / Timetable page.

A big "thanks" goes to Darren at the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for this information.

The details are for the new timetable which begins on 15th December. Hopefully we will be able to add more information in the coming weeks and also include times for Lostock Hall, where freights are routed via the S&C.

The good news for the time being is that the number of freights using the northern part of the WCML doesn't seem to have decreased as expected.

Carnforth
A new DVD covering a wide variety of subjects at Carnforth between 1994 and 2000 is now available :

"This DVD filmed from 1994 onwards shows the many passenger and
freight workings in and around the Carnforth area. There is vast
variety of steam and diesel locomotives on this DVD

The DVD starts in 1994with 31439 'North Yorkshire Moors Railway ' in
regional railways livery on a Barrow- in- Furness to Manchester
Victoria passenger service also featured on this service is BR blue
31427 ."

Contact me via the Feedback page if you would like further details.

Preston
Although it's been mentioned here before, if you would like to see footage of Preston, there is another DVD available at Peter Cooper's www.railwayDVDs.org.uk website. "Roaming the North West Rails - The Very Best Of Preston" is a 2-volume set filed between 2000 and 2004 and featuring no fewer than 14 different classes of locomotive plus a sprinkling of steam.

The End of the Line is reporting that the log trains currently hauled by Virgin 57/3s may be in the hands of Colas 47s in the near future. It's possible that these will be amongst the services which will travel via the S&C and therefore avoid Preston.

Hopefully, we will be able to provide a comprehensive freight timetable for both Preston Station and Farington / Lostock Hall, when all the changes have come into force. 

A second, similar tour will run on 25th April next year featuring two Network Rail class 37s - now 97/3s.

Details are available at the Pathfinder site and on the Gen / Timetable page.

Details are on the Gen / Timetable page.

The LEP reported on this plan a couple of weeks ago, and the article is now available here.
You can read the excellent Railway Herald here. The article is on page 10

Times from the PrestonRail Yahoo! Group

For those that haven't seen it. There is a new page on the website, which is a home for photos of interesting and unusual diesels at Preston. In the transition years, BR ordered a huge number of new diesel types. Some never made it beyond prototype, whilst others entered service, but were out-lived by some of the steam locos they were meant to replace...
  Early Modernisation Plan Diesels & Prototypes at Preston. 

Gen courtesy of Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group

For those that aren't familiar with these DMUs, they were specified as a 125mph HST replacement for line from Paddington to the Westcountry. Unfortunately, the result of poor reliability and the re-engined HSTs have left them unwanted by First Great Western and placed in store. It now seems that various operators including Northern and Hull Trains are interested in using them.

Until recently, the popular theory was that Virgin would be taking on two class 180 Adelante sets, which would enable the existing loco-hauled set to be handed back to Porterbrook. The set is due for major overhaul, which Virgin seemed to want to avoid. That seems to have changed, with their option on the 185 sets dropped and an overhaul of the MK3 set booked for early next year.

It seems that as an interim measure, a Cargo-D set may be hired-in when Virgin start their Voyager service to Chester. It may yet be that Virgin will operate two loco-hauled sets once the high frequency timetable kicks in...

Acknowledgement to various sources on WNXX and Northern forums.

Thanks to Mike Birtles for the nod - Details in the usual place...

This year, the we have had visitors from over 30 different countries and the statistics show that a healthy number of people check back on  a regular basis. This is all good news and means that I need to keep the updates coming regularly, which I try to do.

I'd like to say a big "thank you" to everyone who visits the site, and especially to all those who contribute (you know who you are). 

If you have anything you would like to contribute, or have any suggestions to improve the site, please don't hesitate to get in-touch.

Adrian

Thanks to Dave and Darren for the info.

With the real thing being scarce, you could always while-away a couple of hours or so with DVDs from www.RailwayDVDs.org.uk , including some shot entirely at Preston. Roaming the North West Rails - The Very Best Of Preston!  is a 2-DVD set shot between 2000 and 2004, featuring classes 20, 31, 37, 40, 43, 47, 50, 56, 57, 67, 86, 87, 90 and 92....

With a run of successful tours under their belt, and a loco and stock from well-respected sources, Spitfire must have been pretty confident about the Electric Scot ... Sadly,it all went rather pear-shaped half-way through the tour, after the passengers had been successfully delivered to Glasgow. The loco, 87002, then develeoped a fault which meant that the rather incongruous 57 on the back of an otherwise 1980s retro train, had to take charge of the return trip.

Reports of a fire on the 87 were thankfully exagerated, and the loco was hauled dead-in-tow on the back of the train. The AC Loco Group have an excellent reputation, and it seems likely that the fault was just unfortunate, and "one of those things.

Hopefully it will be "third time lucky" for whoever decides to run the next class 87 tour...

As always, the details are on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer for the heads-up.

It should be pointed out that stock movements are notoriously unreliable, and quite likely to run ahead or behind time, or even not at all...

The times for the above, and various others over the next two weeks have been added to the Gen/Timetable page, including confirmed times for next week's Electric Scot featuring 87002 and ECS moves featuring a pair of class 50s.

Thanks to UKSteam.info and various people on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for the info...

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Dave Hoyle and WNXX / Snapper for the info.

Preston times are on the Gen/Timetable page.

Does anyone know more? Drop me a line via the Feedback page ...

Photos : D Hunt.

Confirmation of this is on the Royal Scots Grey website

Thanks to whoever pointed this out to me via the Feedback page

Next weekend there's the Deltic Settler, which is due through Preston on its homeward leg, although possibly a bit late in the day for a good photograph.
Correction - Next week's Deltic Settler has been cancelled. 
See above.

Timetable / Gen Page

As always, if you spot an error or omission, please get in touch via the Feedback page.

Timetable / Gen Page

• Ormskirk - hourly service recommended
• Southport - mention is made of the suggestion of resuming train services between Preston and Southport which would require the re-opening of one or more of the Burscough curves. This could happen between 2014 and 2019, subject to a favourable demand  study.
• Bay Platform - "conversion of the existing engine siding into a bay platform" - currently under consideration... not sure which siding they mean.
• Changes to platform 1 & 2 will involve removal of the existing buffet and crew accommodation in favour of new provision, clearing the busiest area for passengers.

There may be other things in there that I haven't spotted. Let me know if you find an interesting nugget of info...

Note : this move did take place, more or less on time. I heard it pass Cadley Causeway bridge with a blast on the whistle at 05.13.

Most recently, a new group has been started to post old photos of Preston - particularly from the 1980s and 1990s. There are already some photos posted, with more promised...

PrestonRail Yahoo Group for general chat and gen
PrestonRail80s-90sPhotos for 1980s/90s photos

The Parry People Mover trams are being considered, which use a flywheel system to store energy to propel the vehicle, with a regenerative breaking system feeding back to the flywheel.

Interestingly, the piece closes with a statement from council chief executive Jim Carr saying that "a light railway running from the docklands - which is operated as a twice-weekly freight line and  by local steam ralway enthusiasts  - would be connected to the city's railway station by the time the Tithebarn opens in Spring 2014. 

Exactly what is meant by that is anyone's guess!

Anyone nervous about booking on this tour after the last-minute failure in 2007, shouldn't worry. The AC Locomotive Group and the Cargo-D stock had a flawless record when they were operating regular services for Hull Trains earlier this year.

Details are on the Gen Page

Details are on the Gen Page

Details on the Gen page.
Thanks to pnemicky for the heads-up and UKSteam.info, as always.

It's all a bit of a let-down for those who were hoping for a faithful repeat of the original "15 Guinea Special", but at least there's the chance of photographing 1T57 over the S&C as per the original.

The good news for Preston steam buffs is that there are two light-engine movements heading through Preston today, ahead of tomorrow's tour.

Lostock Hall timings are on the Gen Page
Full timings on UKSteam.info

Times are on the Gen page

Times are on the Gen page

8F 48151will kick-off the tour in the place of unavailable Black Five 45305, while sister locos 45231 and 45407 locos will be used on other legs. 

ECS times are on the Gen page - main tour timings still to follow...

Times for Lostock Hall are on the Gen page

The Dalesman ran today with 48151 in charge. 
Thanks to Darren clearing that up.

There's also a correction to the Dalesman ECS, which now correctly shows it as running this Saturday evening, not Sunday as previously stated. 

The "Crompton" is due to pass Preston at 12.16 on Friday.

Details courtesy of the U-K-Rail yahoo! group.

Details courtesy of the PrestonRail yahoo! group.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk/next.html

See the Gen / Timetable page for details

See the Gen / Timetable page for the return times and tomorrow's ECS.

67020 is in charge of the Three Peaks after 67021 was taken off the rear over night (personally I was hoping for a 44, 25 and a 46 triple-heading!)

The good news is that the loco and srock will be stabled at Preston over night, heading off to Crewe in the early afternoon on Sunday.

Full times are on the Gen/Timetable page Info from the PrestonRail Yahoo! group.

The City of Glasgow Explorer run by Vintage Trains, appears to have been cancelled. More information as it comes...
Thanks again to Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for the info.

Thanks to Darren on the PrestonRail Yahoo! group for keeping us up-to date.

 I've added a permanent link from this site (menu-bar bottom-left).

Roaming the Rails - The Very Best of Preston - Volumes 1 & 2 are available post free for £9.95 each, or £15.95. The two volumes cover 2000-2002 and 2002-2004 respectively, bringing us the last 4 years of regular loco-hauled trains at Preston. There are lots of Virgin 47s, 86s, 87s, 90s and HSTs, interspersed with various freights and railtours - ideal to remind us what things were like before the great plastic revolution!

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/1015peterc
If you prefer not to use Ebay, I can put you in touch with the seller directly.

The usual disclaimer - I have no connection with the producer of this DVD, but I HAVE bought a copy and can recommend it on that basis.

Jim Markland, railwayman and author passed away on Friday. Jim was known to north west railway enthusiasts as the author of the highly entertaining "Bolton Engineman" trilogy of books, which chronicle his experiences on the footplate as a Fireman working out of Bolton Shed. 

Sadly, the reunion for Bolton Shed, which Jim was instrumental in arranging, will take place this evening at the Ribble Steam Railway without him.

The Settle & Carlisle Explorer on 5th July has been postponed by Pathfinder due to the unavailability of Network Rail 37s (97/3s).

Spitfire's Fellsman Chopper on 2nd August is also postponed due to pathing dificulties due to upgrade work on the WCML.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page

Just added to the Gen page is Fishwick's Mid Wales Borderer Blackpool - Cardiff tour for 19th July. Pathfinder's Snowdonian tour runs on the 12th from Preston to Porthmadog.

Also added - The Green Express tour on 23rd August taking a pair of WCRC machines from Lancaster, Preston and Blackburn via the ECML to Edinburgh.

Details on the Gen / Timetable page
Thanks to Neil Dimmer, Dave Hoyle & Keith Sergeant for various nuggets of information.

More on the Visitors Page

In the meantime... 
I can recommend the following for anyone with an interest in "heritage" DMUs. :
The North West Class 101-116 DMU DVD
The DVD is available via their Ebay shop: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Anbrico-Felixjaz and includes a short(ish) section filmed at Preston in 1987 along with plenty of 101s, 104s, 110s etc at Manchester Victoria and other North West locations.

Standard Disclaimer...I have no connection with Anbrico other than being a satisfied customer!

A new Yahoo! Group has been set-up to cater for Preston rail enthusiasts. Group owner Darren has already posted some useful times and other information.

For those not familiar with Yahoo! Groups, they can be accessed either by the web, or like a mailing list, where messages arrive in your e-mail in-box, and you reply in the same way as an ordinary email.

The group can be found here:
 http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/prestonrail/

The Black Five used on The Cotton Mill Express will pass through Preston  before the tour:

Saturday : 05.29 (Preston pass Carnforth - Man Vic)

Although the tour itself doesn't reach Preston, it does pass south of the city via Farington Curve. On this second "circuit", the tour will have "whistler" 40145 in charge:
Saturday : 19.26 (Farington Jn)

The following day, a WCRC diesel will collect the coaching stock and return it to Carnforth via Blackburn :
Sunday : 12.55 (Preston pass Man Vic - Carnforth)

Black Five no.45231 is due to pass Preston at 12.05 today. 

Sorry for the short notice, and thanks to Neil Dimmer for the pointer to GoingLoco for the times

Confirmed times for the Ynys Mon Express are now available. This will be hauled by a WCRC locomotive (47 / 57) in bolth directions through Preston. 

Full times on UKSteam.info. Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the nudge.

It's a quiet weekend this time around, so perhaps the KWVR Diesel Weekend would be make a change...

Thankfully,  Saturday 14th has a little more to offer, with 37s, 47s and 67s on railtour duties. The Ramsden Renegade is still showing on some websites, but Pathfinder appear to have replaced the already-postponed class 31 tour with a 37-hauled tour with similar itinerary.

There have been varios other changes and updates to the times, but there are plenty of gaps to fill and times to confirm yet...

Thanks to Martin Brown for noting varios changes.

Sorry for the short notice, but 34067 Tangmere is due to pass through Preston at 11.08 this morning, en route to Southall from Carnforth.

Details on UKSteam.info

Thanks to Mike Birtles for heads-up (which was sent in plenty of time).

I've made various additions, corrections and updates to the Gen/Timetable page. There are more to come though, because there seem to have been several changes since I last did a sweep of the various tour operator sites.

If you spot anything wrong or missing from the list, please get in touch.

Passing times for Saturday's PMR tour featuring 6233 Duchess of Sutherland are now on the Timetable/Gen page. 

Preston times are on the Gen Page.
See UKSteam.info for times elsewhere 

The Pathfinder Cumbrian Mountain Explorer, featuring 6201 Princess Elizabeth is now showing as cancelled on the UKSteam.info website. The associated tour on 31st May is not yet shown as cancelled, but 6201 was to have remained at Carlisle between the two tours. This leaves Pathfinder with the choice of cancelling the second tour, running 6201 light to Carlisle, or operating the tour steam both ways... 

Kingfisher have announced a regular Dalesman service from Hellifield to Carlisle via the S&C on Sundays beginning on 27th July and finishing on 7th September.

Although the tour itself doesn't involve Preston, the steam loco will move from Carlisle to Hellifield on the Saturday evening, pausing at Preston for 50 minutes.

Locomotives for the service will be taken from the Carnforth pool, which include 48151and 70013 Oliver Cromwell.

Thanks to UKSteam.info and Neil Dimmer for the info
Details in the usual place : Gen/timetable page.

Thanks to those who contacted me to say that the tangmere move did go ahead on Thursday, passing quietly through Preston at about 22.07 - about 2 minutes after I left! 

34067 Tangmere doesn't appear to have made the expected move to Carnforth - at least not at the expected time. Does anyone know if the move happened early, late or not at all?

Thomas Cook have a foot-ex bringing Rangers fans down to Manchester today. The train will be top & tailed with class 67s and is due through to arrive for a short stop at Preston at 12.52 (dep 12.54).

34067 Tangmere is due to move from Southall to Carnforth on Thursday evening. UKSteam.info has full times. Preston times are in the usual place...

Gen/timetable page.

Now on-line : four video clips of recent tours, including D1015, 40145 and 6233 on Saturday.

See the Visitors page...

This months Traction Magazine includes an article featuring loco hauled trains on the Preston to Ormskirk line. Entitled, "via Midge Hall", the article is illustrated with photos of classes 08, 31,37,47 and a 56!

PLEASE NOTE - the times published at UKSteam.info contain an error, which means the Preston times given here are incorrect for the outgoing trip.

This makes the Preston time 11.02, not 10.37 as previously stated. The other times should still be correct. 

Apologies for the error, and thanks to Mike Birtles for pointing out the mistake. Gen/timetable page.

The Duchess of Sutherland will pass through Preston no less than four times on Saturday, thanks to the need to turn the loco after arrival at Blackpool. Full times in the usual place...
Gen/timetable page.

Former footplateman Bob Jackson, known to local rail enthusiasts as the author of the hugely enjoyable book Steaming Ambitions – The Footplate Recollections of a Preston Engineman, passed away suddenly but peacefully at his home in Chorley earlier today.

His footplate career started as a cleaner at Preston shed in October 1960 and with promotion to passed cleaner, he moved to Newton Heath in September 1961, only to return to Preston the following March. Eventually moving into the Top Link at Preston as a fireman, his work often took him to Glasgow and London and his final job with a steam loco took place in June 1966. Bob took his driver’s examination in March 1969 and from which time he worked on most diesel and electric classes along the West Coast Main Line until ill health caused his premature retirement in August 1996.

Day one of this tour is due to call at Preston on Friday.
gen/timetable page.

The passing time at Preston is now on the gen/timetable page.

The usual bank holiday class 90 hauled diagram is expected to run again today. The 13.43 departure from Euston should be extended to Preston, arriving 16.24 with a 17.02 return South.

Times are now available for most of the weekend tours. Still missing though are times for the Kingfisher trip with a pair of 37s. 
Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Those of us who waited in vain for the Electric Scot Farewell tour at the end of last year, will be pleased to hear that 87002 will not now be exported to Bulgaria with the rest of the class, and has been claimed by the AC Locomotive Group.

The loco is already well on the way to appearing back on the main line, with OTMR already fitted and a repaint underway.

Details on the AC Locomotive Group website.

Confirmed times for the Bank Holiday Weekend tours are beginning to filter through. If you have confirmed times for 86259 on Vintage Trains' Cumbrian Explorer or the 37s on Kingfisher's The Settle & Carlisle Experience, please let us know.

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Compass Tours have been regular users of class 47 haulage on their tours, but the coming Bank Holiday sees them making use of the CFPS's 40145.

The CFPS have now announced that the same loco will be used on another Compass tour, The Whistling Fellsman, on 2nd August. That tour will pass through Preston on the outward trip, with a return via the Settle  & Carlisle line.

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

I've added a few more diesel tours to the list. If you spot anything I've missed, please drop me a line. 

Details on the Timetable / Gen Page.

Confirmed timings have been added on the Timetable / Gen page for three Compass tours on the 5th, 17th and 31st May. 

Carl Hughes writes with news of a new DVD:
"I have recently released a DVD featuring classes 20-56 on our heritage lines doing what they do best, making plenty of noise. There are also a few clips on the mainline including 37416 blasting up Preston dock incline on a tour in 2005."
Visit www.hellfireheritage.co.uk for further information or to order a copy.

After a week away, there are one or two things to report...

One or two people have reported problems viewing the website over the past week or so. All appears well at the moment, but my ISP has recently been taken-over, so that might explain any hic-ups. 

Please let me know if the problems continue.

Sir Nigel Gresley arrived 15 mins early on Wednesday, then departed after just 10 mins, 5 before it should have arrived. 

Photos of 60007 and the black 5 45407, by our Dave Martin

Updated on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer

If you fancy turning out to see the move, be warned, it's an early get-up...

Preston times are on the Gen/Timetable page.
Full times on UKSteam.info.
Thanks to Jack Prentice

The jaunt which will include a 47 for insurance and will take the loco from Carnforth, via Hellifield, Blackburn, Cherry Tree, Farington Curve, Preston and back to Carnforth via the WCML. 

The timings include a 1hr 17min wait in Preston.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil Dimmer

That's three tours this year featuring the Deltic, With Fishwick's Post Centenery Special, also in July and Spitfire's Capital Deltic in November.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Paul Whiteside for spotting this

Elaine Speight chose the Miley Tunnel as the subject of her MA in Fine Arts Studies. The result is a website which examines various aspects of the tunnel, from its history to the plants which now grow there. There's plenty to click on and explore, and it 

The website can be found here.

At the moment, this service is booked for a class 90 and Mk3s, arriving at 16.19 as 1T63 and leaving at 17.00 as 1T05.

It should be noted that some of the Mk3s in the set are high mileage and Virgin are trying to limit their use to avoid a major overhaul before they are returned to Porterbrook. For that reason, it would be no surprise if Alstom/Virgin manage to conjure a Pendolino set instead.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.

Spitfire Railtours have announced the Capital Deltic tour for November, starting from Preston and travelling via Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Leeds, Doncaster and the ECML to Kings Cross.

Details on the Gen/Timetable page.

See news item from 10th March for details.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil for the pointer.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Andrew for pointing out the ones that got away.

Make the most of this and the steam tour, because unless I've missed something  (quite likely), we have a 6 week gap before the next railtour at Preston!

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Martin for pointing out the omission.

The main tour loco is BR Standard 76079, but on arrival at Preston, 6201 Princess Elizabeth will be added to the train for the journey via Chorley and Bolton to Manchester Victoria.

Times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Neil

Title is '40th anniversary of the end of steam on BR' by Robin Lush. Robin will be showing the period from August 1967 to August 1968 and his search of the last steam workings on BR during this period, which I am told will include the North East in Autumn 1967, the areas of shap and Settle - Carlisle line before Carlisle Kingmoor closed in December 1967 and the run down of the last remaining depots and steam services
in the North West during 1968.

Admission is £3.00 including raffle and tea on arrival. pie and peas supper at half time iis an extra £2.00.. The show will start at 7.30pm.

Updated times on the Gen/Timetable page.
Thanks to Dave and Martin for the nudge!

Also, he information in Saturday's bulletin was incorrect. The containers were lost over Shap, not Beatock, and there was no derailment. Apologies for the duff information!

The line is closed, and expected to remain so for several days.

As a result of the incident, the Caledonian Sleeper was terminated at Preston, providing an unusual sight in daylight hours.

Thanks to Martin Brown for highlighting this.
See the Gen/Timetable page.

The train will have a 50+ minute stop at Preston for water.

Thanks to Neil Dimmer for pointing this out.
See the Gen/Timetable page.

The Deltic went back to Castleton earlier than planned, passing Preston about 14.15.

Thanks to Rob for the heads-up

See the Gen/Timetable page for times

It can be found HERE 

Updates to the Gen / Timetable page :

4 loco and stock moves for Deltic 55022 Royal Scots Grey for Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th Feb.

Also, added BLS 66-hauled tour on 1st March.

The Steam Locomotives and Railwaymen of Rose Grove Loco Shed
A slide show will be held at Greenbrook Methodist Church in Lowerhouse, Burnley on Friday 22nd February. It will be presented by Barry Atkinson as part of the 40th Anniversary of the end of steam.

More details here.

I've added various contributions sent to me by Trevor Machell over the past few months. His detailed log of traffic from August 1961 has been added, accessible via the Regulars page. There are also three interesting photos from Trevor, which are on the Platform 4a, Platform 4&5 and South End pages.

There have been some new additions to the Gen / Timetable page too...

Meanwhile, we are fast approaching the 10,000 hits mark for the site - a figure I would have expected to take years, not just six months. In hitting that figure, the site has had visitors from as far afield as Hong Kong, USA, Denmark, Czech republic,  New Zealand, Japan - in total, 16 countries in the last two months alone!

Hopefully everything is back and working as it should, but if you find any broken links or other nonsense, please let me know - via the Feedback page, if it works.

Adrian

71000 will be removed at Preston on the return trip.

Full times on the Timetable/Gen page.

Timetable/Gen page.

With nothing much happening at Preston today, I paid a visit to the East Lancs Railway. In addition to taking a ride on the line, I managed a little wander into Castlecroft yard.

The photos, for a limited time only, are on the Gallery page

I recently came across a box of tickets from the early 80s (I keep everything!) which include some from/to Preston. Just as a bit of fun, I've scanned them and given them a page of their own.

More details here.

The Minster Day Out run by Kingfisher Railtours will now run a week earlier than planned on 1st March. Since that's (almost) Mothers Day, Kingfisher are letting mum go free with a familly of 4!

More details here.

A slide show will be held at Greenbrook Methodist Church in Lowerhouse, Burnley on Friday 22nd February. It will be presented by Barry Atkinson as part of the 40th Anniversary of the end of steam.

More details here.

I have added a few photos of the Preston Docker tour. They can be found on the Visitors page

It is reported that 67029 is heading the train. 37401 will be added to assist at Preston and Heysham, possibly being removed at Preston on the return trip.
Timetable/Gen page.

Times for the Preston Docker remain unchanged for tomorrow. I have no confirmation on the traction, but a 67 + 66 combination still looks most likely.
Timetable/Gen page.

Heartland's Cumbrian Cruiser is now cancelled. 

Various times have been added for tours including Spitfire's 37-powered excursion in March. 

The latest on the Preston Docker is that it will be either 2 x EWS 66s or EWS 67 as main loco with an 66 being added to the back at Warrington to assist in and out of Preston Docks and round Heysham. The tour is routed such that the train will be turned for its southward return, so a loco may be removed at Preston.
Timetable/Gen page.

Rumours have been circulating that the "Preston Docker" may be top & tailed by a DRS 37 and a pair of 20s. This may just be wishful thinking though as it now seems that EWS will be providing the motive power. That being the case, a pair of 66s look most likely, as with previous tours to the docks.

The "Turning Movement" tour (an offshoot of the "Les Ross Day Tripper") is being offered at the bargain price of £25, providing a run behind 47773 to Preston from Liverpool, then with 86259 leading to Crewe and finally 47773 again back to Liverpool. 
Timetable/Gen page.

Thanks to those who have flagged-up tours which were missing.

Timetable/Gen page.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

The Timetable /Gen page has been very popular and I'd like to thank everyone who emailed me to let me know about things I missed or got wrong (hopefully not too much was wrong) - again, please keep the information coming.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site over the past few months.

Lastly, following the rather damp-squib that was the final class 87 outing, here is a photo from Keith Till of a class 87 in happier times (1978 to be precise).
Adrian

Perhaps this isn't the send-off for the class 87s that we were hoping for, and I'm sure that some Spitfire will be "spitting fire" themselves, since the blame for this shambles doesn't appear to lie with them.

The only hope of seeing an 87 on a passenger train again now would seem to lie with the AC Locomotive Group. Hopefully they will succeed in their aim of preserving an 87 (87002 ?) and bring it back to the main line as they have with 86101.

Times for the tour remain unchanged - see the Timetable/Gen page.

The gallery is HERE.

Just a reminder... the last 87-hauled mail train is due southbound through Preston tomorrow (Sunday) at 13.32. This of course isn't cast in stone, and could always turn out to be a 325 unit.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

LATE NEWS
I've just heard that the 90 and stock will NOT now operate the relief, with a Pendolino taking its place. I haven't been able to confirm this yet, but I suspect it's correct.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

One of the 87s is also expected to be on a final mail train on Sunday 23rd passing Preston @ 13.32

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.

See the Timetable/Gen page.
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the information. 

See the Timetable/Gen page.
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the information. 

Tangmere is one of the mainstays of mainline steam, but operates mainly on its home territory, so this is a rare chance to see a Southern streamliner at Preston.

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the nod - times from the excellent UKSteam.info

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Jack Prentice  for the nod - times from the excellent UKSteam.info

Of course it is possible that the AC Locomotive Group might acquire one and return it to the main line in the future, but that's by no means certain.

See the Timetable/Gen page for Preston times
Thanks to Gwot on various Yahoo! groups for sharing the details.

I'll post times if / when I get them.

55022 is booked to leave the East Lancashire Railway at 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning (5th Dec). The LE move is still via Carnforth, but won’t now include 26024 which wasn’t registered in time to make the journey.

Info from the Rail-gen-online Yahoo! group. 

Times are on the timetables/gen page

Thanks to Martin for letting me know about this one.
Times are on the timetables/gen page

Times are on the timetables/gen page

Full times are on UKSteam.info.

The DVD is available here.

Please note that I have no connection with Visions International, and haven't seen the DVD. I'm simply passing on information which may be of interest to some readers.

The tour runs on the 1st March 2008.

timetables/gen page

Thanks to Andrew for the "heads-up"

There's just the diesel section of the Welsh Marches Express to look forward to tomorrow, plus the usual 57/3 activity on Virgin "drags".

I don't know whether this is a change in name or whether it has been known as such for some time - perhaps someone can let me know...

If there is a name change involved here, does this involve a change in use for the yard?

Feedback Page

Of course, we are now in the quiet-season as far as railtours are concerned, so now we will be looking to see what the various operators announce for next year (see below for an early highlight).

On the plus side, I have added Pathfinder's Settled Settler to the gen/timetable page. That tour will feature a pair of Riviera 47s and will run on 29th Dec - the same day as the Spitfire 87 tour. Alsoe added is a Compass tour from Stockport to Sterling, Perth and Dundee.

Times for all up-coming tours are on the gen/timetable page.

The Fifteen Guinea Special, on 10th August, is a re-run of the final steam service on BR in 1968. An effort is being made to use the same route and locomotives, where possible. The Manchester - Carlisle leg (passing Preston)  is scheduled to be hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell. The BR Standard was one of the locomotives which featured in the original tour and has been undergoing restoration to mainline standards. The Carlsile - Manchester return leg should be in the hands of "Black Fives" 44871 (again, one of the locos used in 1968) and 45407 which will run as 44781 for the day. A third "Black Five", 45305 will be used on the Manchester - Liverpool sections. The tour is being run by the West Coast Railway Company.

Times for all up-coming tours are on the gen/timetable page.

Details of the tour can be found here. Provisional times are on the gen/timetable page.

If anyone has a photo of yesterday's specials, let me know and I'll add it to this page.

Drop me a line via the Feedback page if you have a photo or news to contribute...

57311 and 310 continued to Longsight for damage assessment, whilst 57303, the Preston standby, was coupled to the front of the logs and shut-down waiting to continue its journey in the usual path today.

Photo (above) courtesy of Mike Thomas.

Changes to the Derbyshire Dalesman tour mean that the steam section will finish at Manchester Victoria on the return section. Consequently, the two steam locomotives will only be seen at Preston on the outward trip.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

If you were booked on this tour, please confirm this information before altering your plans.

The Compass statement regarding the cancellation is here.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

In connection with the planned use of 86101 by Hull Trains whilst one of their 222 sets is out of action, the preserved AC electric will be doing a test-run from Crewe to Carlisle and back today. Stock will be 5 Mk3s + 1 Mk2 brake.

Times are a bit vague, but expect it through Preston after 10am. The return leg should pass at around 2pm. PLEASE NOTE These times are estimates and will be subject to change anyway.

Due to the vague nature of timings and short notice, I will not be adding this to the Gen/Timetable page.

There is a Northern Belle excursion picking up at Bolton and heading for Carlisle on Sunday. The Northern Belle website gives no clue as to whether the train will go via the WCML or by the S&C. If it turns out to be the former, we can expect the top & tail 67s through Preston at about 08:25.

 Again, since I can't be sure whether this train will pass Preston, I won't be adding it to the Gen/Timetable page.

The Vintage Trains tour to Ravenglass on Sat 20th is now to be in the hands of 8F 48151 rather than 6233 Dutchess of Sutherland, due to gauging problems.

The 8F will be visiting Ravenglass this weekend too (although not involving Preston). Times for the steam leg of that tour are now available, so we have a rough idea of when the 47-powered tour will pass Preston.

See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

47s are the order of the day (or rather -week) with three pairs passing through Preston on tours on Friday and Saturday. 
The railhead treatment trains now seem to be in full swing too, with the added bonus of 57-powered drags at the weekends.
See the Timetable / Gen page for more.

After the busyweekend last week, this saturday sees just one tour  through the station. Times for the Steamy Affairs Blue Pullman trip are on the Timetable / Gen page.

Times for the Compass Tours Cumbrian Coast Express on the 13th October, are now on the Timetable / Gen page.

The New Measurement Train passed through the station twice today on its way to/from Blackpool.

Photos are on the Visitors page.

Photos of todays visiting locos are now on the Visitors page.

Times for the Steamy Affairs Lakes Explorer are now on the Timetable / Gen page.

Previously missing from the Timetables/ Gen page, there are now times for this 47-powered excursion from Carlisle to Euston (Friday) and returning on Saturday. 
NOTE I have seen two versions of these timings. Since I don't know for certain which is correct, I will list both sets of times.

Times are now available for tomorrow's Cumbrian Coast Circular tour, which should be Victa Westlink / Riviera 47s. 

Times for the Pathfinder "Lakeland Express II" tour on Saturday, featuring a pair of EWS 37s,  are now available. 

The New Measurement Train (otherwise known as the Flying Banana) is due through Preston on Sunday. Times in the usual place.

All these are now on the Timtable / gen page.
Thanks to the usual sources! 

Thanks to Neil Dimmer for the info.

Thanks to Mike Thomas for the heads-up.

LINKS
There are already quite a few there, but if I have promised a link to your site, or if you can recommend any other useful addresses, please get in touch.

REGULARS
I'm looking for suggestions and contributions for this. The idea is to show typical traffic at Preston, rather than the specials and one-offs which are covered elsewhere.
Please have a look at the page for more on how you can help.

Both new pages have links towards the bottom of the button-bars.

As always, if anyone has anything more concrete, please let me know and I'll post it here.

UPDATE
A comprehensive list of this year's trains can be found here:
http://drs-rhtt-2007.blogspot.com/2007/09/guide.html

Details are on the Timetable / Timings pages.

Can anyone confirm this? Did it run yesterday?

Drags, it seems will start today. There were two 57s at the station yesterday.

Lastly, you will find photos of the Buxton Forrester tour on the Visitors page.

Of course if you just want to call me a "nerdy anorak" or something, you are welcome to remain anonymous.

For those who prefer to be tucked up in bed at that time of the night, the empty stock working will be tomorrow, passing Preston at a more civilised 14.03.

Full details are on the Timetable page. 

I had somehow managed to miss a Compass charter from the list. The tour runs from Crewe to Ayr next Saturday (22nd). Booked locos are 47839 + 47769, the latter receiving it's first passenger turn since 2001.
Full details are on the Timetable page. 

Messages posted on the Trans-Pennine-Gen group say that there will be regular Pendolino drags between Manchester and Preston (via Bolton and Chorley) on Saturdays and Sundays for the duration of the new timetable. 

There seems to be some doubt about this, so I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who can confirm / deny this.

Well, we've passed the 1000 hits mark in a fairly short space of time. That's not bad for a website covering a single location. In the last week, we've also had the odd hit from outside the UK including Canada, USA, Italy and South Africa too! 

47813 and 47828 were booked to do the ECS north today, so presumably the same to Cotswold locos will do the trip to Waterloo. 

Thanks to my usual sources for this information.
Times are on the Timetable page with the latest information I have. 

Starting on 29th March and ending on 17th May, Saturday and Sunday services on the WCML will terminate at Preston, with some extended via the Settle & Carlisle line to Glasgow. These will be a mixture of Voyager and Pendolinos dragged by class 57/3s.

This information is not guaranteed correct - it may be provisional or unfounded (if detailed) rumour.

Times are on the Timetable page, with full details about WCML closures on the Timings page.

The train is a charter, organised by The Famous Tartan Army Magazine, taking fans to the Scottish Euro 2008 qualifier. The service links with two chartered Eurostars at Waterloo and will reportedly be powered by a pair of Cotswold Rail 47s.

More on the Timetable page.

There are other planned outings for 55022, including Spitfire Railtours' first tour which is now cancelled after having been initially postponed until November.

Thanks to Dave Hoyle for the heads-up.
As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

As always, the Timetable page has all the information I have received.

If you know of any tours or other special workings I have missed, please let me know via the Feedback page.

See the Timetable page for details.

Thanks to www.uksteam.info - as always, the "Bible" for steam tours in the UK.

Rumour has it that the class 90 and MK3 set won't be running up as far as Preston again. In an effort to keep the set operating with minimal maintenance, it will be restricted to the southern section of the WCML - or so the grapevine suggests.

Times are on the Timetable page now.

Please send news, comments or suggestions via the Feedback page.