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I believe that Serco was previously involved in the running of the three principal Luxury trains in Australia (Indian Pacific,Ghan,Overland) but bailed out on being awarded the Caledonian Sleeper franchise.
So was their aspiration to be running something akin to their Australian trio?
If it had been completed through to Inverness as was originally planned,it would have been a very useful link particularly during the Two World Wars. The irony is that the Northern section was abandoned only 6 months before WW1 broke out and left the Highland in dire straits
Much later (2008 for example) 55022 was used on a number of Railtours to Oban and Mallaig made up of Mk1 stock and tailed with a class37. I was on the Mallaig tour which started from North Berwick.Fondly remembered
Much of the Google site has a local area account of the various Estates in the area obviously written by someone who lived in the area and published by the community council.Its dated January 2016.
It's a very obscure line.If it hadn't been for Craig in the late 1960s,I would never have heard of it.
It was in a location ,a fair distance from the nearest main line railways ( Blairgowrie and Ballater) so I would say it wasn't on the radar of most enthusiasts and by it's very nature ,a true...
I worked for a number of years with a guy who was a bit of an eccentric.Craig had what would now probably be described as Autism.
However he had a kinda side interest in obscure railways and the Dalmunzie Hotel Line came into that category.
I believe it was built by the Motor Rail company and...
There are still 4 7 car emu sets of class285 which run nightly west from Tokyo as a pair,splitting en route.One set goes to Shikoku and the other to a station on the Sea of Japan coast.These have Tiny British style cabins.
All other Japanese Sleepingcar trains were withdrawn some years ago but...
I don't think so.Neil Gow was a noted fiddle ( violin) player and composer in I think the 18th century.After a crop failure he wrote Neil Gows Farewell to Whisky!
The Jimmy Shand of his day!!
There's the story about the old lady who encountered tramlines for the first time.So she asked an official " will I get a shock if I stand on the rails"
His reply was " no missus - unless you hook a leg over that wire up there !! "
I think it was Hamilton Ellis who told the story of Sir Geoffrey(?) Cust who was a courtier in the Edwardian court but who fell foul of the LNWR.The Royal Train would be changing locos at Crewe and Cust would be out to see the new locos backing down.
Sure enough he was there and the first loco...
Going back to steam days it was reckoned that Gatesheads A4s were only cleaned when they went to the Plant for shopping.
Photographic evidence shows 60002 and 60020 hauling prestige expresses ( Flying Scotsman and Heart of Midlothian respectively) in a total state of filth.Peter Townsend related...