Charity tour to mark GBRf’s 15th anniversary

GB Railfreight will run a charity tour over four days in September, to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Fifteen locomotives from its fleet are due to be used.

The tour runs on September 8-11 as far north as Inverness, with an overnight train also part of the plans. It will feature Classes 20, ‘47’, ‘59’, ‘66/7’, ‘73/1’, ‘73/9’, ‘86’ and ‘92’, and will include taking locomotives away from their usual operating areas with ‘20s’ running to Inverness, ‘73/1s’ visiting London King’s Cross and ‘73/9s’ to Great Yarmouth.

The tour will also feature the first main line passenger runs of 59003 Yeoman Highlander since it returned to the UK, while the final-built Class 66 (66779 Evening Star) is also expected to feature.

All funds raised will be donated to British Heart Foundation, The Ripple Project and Woking Homes, all charities nominated by GBRf employees.

The train will be formed of air-conditioned Mk 2s with First Class and Standard Class accommodation. There will be a buffet car as well as a sales stand with various memorabilia available for purchase.

Additionally, for passengers travelling on all five trains, GBRf will offer a Platinum Class that will include a limited edition commemorative mug, a goody bag, and free tea and coffee for the duration of the trip. There will also be an offer for a First Class table for two supplement of £10 per person per day.

Fares are available for each train individually, and also for the entire event, which offers a significant discount.

Bookings will open in April. Full details of how to book will be advertised on GB Railfreight’s website - http://gbrfcharityrailtours.co.uk/ - as well as on a Facebook page event.

Organisers say that because of the multi-traction nature of this event and the broad geographical coverage, this train will only be able to be booked in advance, and they will not be accepting any ‘pay on the day’ customers. No part fares will be available either.

PANEL

GB15 fares

Day   Standard      First   Platinum      Notes

London Victoria-London King’s Cross         £65    £100  N/A

London King’s Cross-Stratford £75    £115  N/A

Stratford-Edinburgh        £65    £100  N/A   Overnight tour

Edinburgh-Edinburgh      £75    £115  N/A

Edinburgh-Reading         £75    £115  N/A

GBRf15 Whole tour        £300  £450  £500 

Panel

GBRf 15 traction plans 

Day 1

Traction features a pair of Class 20s and a pair of Class 73/1s working top-and-tail for the duration.

London Victoria (depart 0945)-Fratton: ‘20’x2

Fratton-Destination TBC (arrive 1500):        ‘73/1’x2

Destination TBC (depart 1545)-Hornsey Signal K440: ‘20’x2

Hornsey Signal K440-London King’s Cross (arrive 2145): ‘73/1’x2

Day 2

GBRf takes a trip round its stomping ground of East Anglia, covering unusual routes and using some unusual traction in the process.

London King’s Cross (depart 0900)-Whitemoor Yard:     ‘73/9’x2, ‘09’ in Whitemoor Yard

Whitemoor Yard-Peterborough Virtual Quarry:      ‘66/7’x1

Peterborough Virtual Quarry-Great Yarmouth (arrive 1600): ‘73/9’x2

Great Yarmouth-Norwich: ‘66/7’x1

Norwich-Harwich International:         ‘73/9’x2

Harwich International-Stratford:         ‘86’x1

The European

In order to cover some distance, GBRf is running overnight to Scotland. This is a separate train, as far as fares are concerned.

Stratford (depart 2300)-Edinburgh (arrive 0615): ‘86’x1

Day 3

A circular trip around Scotland

Edinburgh Waverley (depart 0815)-Inverness via Aberdeen:      ‘20’x2

Inverness-Shields Junction:      ‘47’x1

Shields Junction-Edinburgh (arrive 2300):    ‘20’x2

Day4

Edinburgh (depart 0930)-Liverpool Lime Street:     ‘92’x1

Liverpool Lime Street-Doncaster:       59003

Doncaster-Wembley European Freight Operating Centre: 87002

Wembley European Freight Operating Centre-London Paddington (arrive 2145):     ‘66/7’x1

London Paddington-Reading:    ‘66/7’x1

Note: London-Reading is an add-on to the main tour as part of the move to take stock back to the depot.