SETTLE & CARLISLE PULLMAN - SATURDAY 22nd JANUARY 2022

Departure from;

Eastleigh (pu) - Winchester (pu) - Micheldever (pu) - Basingstoke (pu) - Reading (pu) - Maidenhead (pu) - Slough (pu) - Watford Junction (pu) then fast to the Settle and Carlisle reaching Carlisle around lunchtime.

This specially preserved HST set run by Midland Pullman are pleased to offer this very special New Year rail tour  special circular tour including a journey over the entire majestic route of the famous Settle to Carlisle railway and Cumbrian Fells. The Midland Pullman, was Britain’s first luxury high speed diesel-electric train, running in the early 1960’s between Manchester Central and London St Pancras. Beautifully refurbished carriages hark back to the days when you could truly unwind and enjoy the journey. The comfortable Pullman and first class carriages have leather cushioned seating, generously sized tables, and plenty of room to stretch your legs.

With great limestone peaks and deep valleys, we travel over no fewer than 19 viaducts and through 12 tunnels on this masterpiece of Victorian engineering – including the famous Ribblehead Viaduct Our train heads into the Yorkshire Dales for a spectacular journey over the magnificent high Pennines with the prospect of snow-covered mountains as they glisten in winter sunshine. The sheer scale of the scenery is apparent as we pass such famous landmarks as Batty Moss, Wild Boar Fell and Mallerstang Edge, with views of the three peaks towering over the line.

One magnificent sight follows another before we gradually descend into the tranquil Eden Valley to the border city of Carlisle for a lunchtime break of around 2 hours. We return over the west coast route passing Penrith, climbing over Shap summit and through the pretty Lune Gorge affording stunning views of the Cumbrian mountains, thence through historic Lancaster and Preston.

Blue Pullman, A brief history.

In July 1960 the Midland Pullman was relaunched as a luxury all-first-class service using two new Blue Pullman six-car diesel-electric units. The Blue Pullmans were luxury trains used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman diesel-electric multiple units, incorporating several novel features.

Named after their original Nanking blue livery, the trains were conceived under the 1955 modernisation plan to create luxury diesel express trains aimed at competing with the motor car and the emerging domestic air travel market. Although not entirely successful – they were seen as underpowered, and ultimately not economically viable – they demonstrated the possibility of fixed-formation multiple-unit inter-city train services, that a decade later was developed as the InterCity 125, which resembled them in having an integral power car at each end of the train. The sets were an advanced and luxurious design, befitting a Pullman train, although they did suffer some criticism particularly over a persistent ride quality problem. Over time it became costly to maintain such a small fleet of trains. By 1972, with the development of first-class accommodation in Mark 2 coaching stock, the surcharge for Blue Pullmans seemed uneconomical and unreliable to passengers and BR managers, and in 1973 the trains were withdrawn. Sadly none of the class were preserved.