Advance Information Regarding Fort William

[joy54.gen]

Over the weekends of February 11th/12th and 18th/19th next year
engineering works will take place betwen Bridge of Orchy and Tulloch
so the Beds 1Y11 get diverted into Oban vice the Fort on the
Saturday morning of each weekend and stable for the weekend with
1B01 departing Oban on the Sunday night. Im led to believe though
that there is only one Oban driver who signs 37s now and he is
currently off long term sick.

I have been wanting to do Oban loco-hauled for ages and ages, but have always been unlucky usually by missing the railtour. Anyway as both these weekends are at the start and end of the School Half Term, I can feel a meet coming on.

 

[Met Driver]

There's no two ways about it - I must do this!

 

[yorkie]

There's no two ways about it - I must do this!

Same here.

Would it be best to take day trains up during the daytime and do the 37 back? (downside: it would be dark) or do it the other way round? (downside: crazily early start) or to do both (downside: what would we do for hours in the mean time?)

 

[joy54.gen]

I'm probably going to do both trips both ways, probably never have the chance again due to once the engineering work is done the track access charges can go down and 67s can run.

 

[Met Driver]

I'm probably going to do both trips both ways, probably never have the chance again due to once the engineering work is done the track access charges can go down and 67s can run.

To do both trips, would it be a case of going up to Oban in the day, returning to Edinburgh on the sleeper, then back to Oban on the sleeper, finally returning south the same morning?

 

[joy54.gen]

Nope, would be a case of going up to Oban on the Friday Night/Saturday Morning, staying somewhere up there then going to Oban on the Sunday and returning on it. I may do both trips, or maybe I'll do the first trip and the last trip ie. the night of 11th up in Oban on 12th. Then next week head up there and return on the night of the 19th.

 

[yorkie]

We are currently looking into how this can be done, but the timings don't look great and it may not be feasible to turn this into a meet, unfortunately.

EDIT: The Fort William sleeper is bookable for departures on Friday 10 February, arriving on the morning of the 11th. Is that an error?

 

[Techniquest]

Re: Doing Oban behind a 37, I am DEFINATELY doing this! Even better is I get paid only a few days before the trip (if I'm still employed then), so it's all good!

Surely once the sleeper arrives there's a DMU back to Glasgow or something to have something to do all day? That's what I'd do.

 

[Met Driver]

Surely once the sleeper arrives there's a DMU back to Glasgow or something to have something to do all day? That's what I'd do.

One would have hoped so, but there isn't. Not for a couple of hours IIRC. The sleeper arrives at Oban half an hour after the first DMU departs.

We are thinking, and I stress thinking about combining this with the Far North line.

 

[Techniquest]

Far North AND Oban? mmm. Maybe I should make this trip into my Freedom of Scotland trip.

Any updates, let us know post haste!

EDIT: To do this trip, I have NO intention of going via London. I would be going via Crewe from Hereford. I did nearly the same thing in June (except I went from Swansea, but still via Hereford and the Misery Line), is it likely to be possible still, and will a Hereford to Oban return ticket be the best course of action? Or perhaps Hereford to Edinburgh, then an Edinburgh to Oban CDR?

Of course, if I do combine this meet with my Freedom of Scotland Travelpass trip, then such a question is irrlevant. However, that decision isn't made yet.

 

[Sprinter]

This is a MUST for me as well.

I am thinking about doing teh Megabus up to Glasgow. Do some local lines/spotting around Glasgow then head up to Oban to join the Sleeper back south to London (or vice versa, as the northbiound sleeper goes round the Northampton loop)