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.

INTER-CITY "ROYAL SCOT" RAILTOUR [EUSTON - GLASGOW - CARLISLE] - 12th DECEMBER 2020

INTER CITY CLASS 90 'ROYAL SCOT'
Inter City rail tour from London Euston to Glasgow, scenic return via Carlisle.

Saturday 12th December 2020

Departing From: London Euston, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston

Travel from London to Glasgow in First Class comfort on refurbished air conditioned inter-city train, hauled by celebrity Class 90 electric locomotive 90001 ‘Royal Scot’ as it whisks us north for a journey up the West Coast Main line, over the Cumbrian fells with magnificent views of the Lakeland Mountains and across the border, thence through the Scottish Lowlands and the stunning climb to Beattock Summit.

The tour is due to arrive in Glasgow Central around 12.30 for a 30 minute leg stretch, owing to the restrictions in place north of the border the tour will only have a short stop here before running to Carlisle.  At 13.00 we will depart for the journey south returning over Beattock Summit in daylight to Carlisle with an arrival around 14.15 and the opportunity to discover the border city in an afternoon sightseeing break.

In Carlisle expect to have at least 2 hours available for some pre-Christmas retail therapy or perhaps visit the Castle and Cathedral, prior to a departure around 17.00 for our homeward journey south over Shap Summit and a fast run through historic Lancaster.

The whole tour has been planned out with meticulous detail to the current Covid-19 guidelines and details of seat allocation, social distancing and more can be found here. https://inter-city.co.uk/covid-19/ 

Royal Scot (Inter-City)

90001 London Euston (pu) - Milton Keynes (pu) - Rugby (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Preston (pu) - Glasgow Central (short-break) - Carlisle

90001 Carlisle - Shap - Preston - Crewe - Rugby - London Euston

INTER CITY CLASS 90 'ROYAL SCOT'The origins of the Class 90 can be traced back to various schemes performed by British Rail during the 1970s and 1980s. Several events, including the electrification of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and the cancelled procurement of the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), which was at one point intended for the APT to be the next major intercity express train, had led to a significant nationwide shortage of electric traction. 

Following withdrawal by Greater Anglia in 2020, 90001 and 90002 were acquired by Locomotive Services Limited to operate their excursion trains. Their use varies between working electrically operated excursions along the West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow, using an identically painted set of coaches or working part of a tour which would be operated by modern traction before being worked by a steam locomotive. After purchase by LSL, the two locomotives were repainted into their original InterCity Swallow livery; 90001 was named Royal Scot.