It seems that from Saturday to Monday inclusive there are no rail services whatsoever on the WCML north of Stafford all the way to Glasgow and Edinburgh (other than [Chorley?] Preston - Lancaster.) This looks like the worst/most comprehensive shut-down that I can ever remember.
The Virgin explanatory leaflet even for the Monday (p8/9) has a diagram showing buses all the way N of Stafford that day, IC trains from London via the west midlands terminating at Stafford, "direct" Scottish trains terminating at Crewe but "local services available [via Manchester] forward to Lancaster!"
Fortunately it's not quite so dire: Realtime trains and NR enquiries both show trains from London via Colwich and Stoke to Crewe, then straight down the main line to Carlisle for a bus forward, not nearly such a bad offering... Poor publicity though.
The Virgin explanatory leaflet even for the Monday (p8/9) has a diagram showing buses all the way N of Stafford that day, IC trains from London via the west midlands terminating at Stafford, "direct" Scottish trains terminating at Crewe but "local services available [via Manchester] forward to Lancaster!"
Fortunately it's not quite so dire: Realtime trains and NR enquiries both show trains from London via Colwich and Stoke to Crewe, then straight down the main line to Carlisle for a bus forward, not nearly such a bad offering... Poor publicity though.