Regarding the tour last year we were indeed advised of the change onboard however it was due to a rather peculiar incident.
WCRC were providing the rolling stock, 47580 was on the rear and a nice pair of DRS 37s were up front. Apparently there were only two drivers who still knew the route, one who was booked for the tour and one who was out of the country. Sadly the one who was booked broke his leg around 3 days earlier and was unable to work the tour, EWS did have drivers who still had route knowledge but threw their toys out of the pram because DRS had been chosen to provide the traction and would not let their drivers work the tour. That is what we were told on the day and frankly I believe it as I really can see it happen.
It is a shame that this years tour has been rerouted to Aberystworth, but on the plus side the Preston-Tenby tour looks good & loving the fact it will be on my birthday so I'm guessing I must go on that one
I find it a little ironic (and sad) that Spitfire are running fewer tours this year because they had so many problems last year only for the tours to be delayed or rerouted anyway, or in the case of one so far cancelled. They are a good outfit and I've used them many times in the past, if anything the only thing that puts me off is that WCRC now provide the traction but that's for a different discussion.
Phil