Jonathan's Gen
Railtours, Preserved Railway Events, Ferries and Service Trains Gen List

New Year Steam Day1 January 2020 Steam into the Forest this New Years Day with our steam hauled services. Our main services to Ongar will be worked by steam locomotives today and connecting heritage buses will run between Epping Underground and North Weald stations. Epping Ongar Railway

KING ALFRED MINI RUNNING DAY: Wednesday 1st January 2020 Our next vintage bus Running Day will be on 1st January, based on the Broadway, Winchester. We will start at around 09:00 with the last trips departing at about 16:00. Approximately four vehicles will be in service operating most of the traditional King Alfred routes. All journeys will be entirely free of charge. More details will be available in due course. Our major event for 2020 will be The Original King Alfred Running Day on Sunday 3rd May. As well as free bus services over the King Alfred routes with former King Alfred vehicles, the event will feature many visiting vehicles and a Transport Bazaar at the Guildhall. May 2020 is also the centenary of the first King Alfred excursion, so keep an eye open for events to mark this anniversary! Friends of King Alfred Buses

1988 - 2 January 2020 WESTMINSTER The Speaker, 46 Great Peter St, SW1P 2HA We last visited The Speaker 18 months ago shortly before the lease with Pleisure expired. Following a brief closure last summer for refurbishment, which preserved the character and enhanced the decor, it re-opened under Bermondsey Pub Company management. Still popular and hence busy, this is probably the best time of year for our group to visit ! There are five hand pumps dispensing real ale, amongst which there is always a dark beer, and the landlord is aware that will be our preference ! Note that food is no longer available. The pub is situated near St James's Park station.

Wind Up North #156 The Cuckoo's Nest 2nd Januray 2020 111 Market Street, Chorley, PR7 2SQ One of the town's growing number of micropubs the Cuckoo's Nest (previously known as the ''D'Owd Inn' and 'Toastie Tavern') opened its doors in March 2019. Situated in a corner shop unit on Market Street, the pub is on a split level, with comfortable seating on the upper level and a more 'public bar' feel to the lower level. Up to three changing real ales are available with an emphasis on sourcing from local microbreweries with plans to expand the range to four and an additional real cider in the near future. The house beer is an amber ale, One Brew over the Cuckoo's Nest, and is usually available. 8 minutes walk from Chorley Station.

Thursday 16 January 2020 'NI Railways - Fleet Engineering' by Richard Noble Former Head of Rail Fleet Engineering for NI Railways, Richard is now Project Manager for the forthcoming introduction of additional rolling stock. His presentation will cover the challenges of maintaining the various types and ages of rolling stock on NIR and the challenges of integrating new carriages into existing Class 4000 trains to create permanent six car sets. Richard will also share some current thinking on the future rolling stock strategies for NIR and potential maintenance implications as passenger growth continues Meetings are from 19.00 - 21.45 in Central London in the Function Room, Calthorpe Arms, 252 Gray's Inn Road, LONDON WC1X 8JR The room is accessible by stairs only and a selection of Irish transport books is usually on sale. Entry is GBP3 members, GBP5 non-members. The non-member entry fee is refunded if you join the Society on the night. Irish Railway Record Society

The DRS Class 20 Farewell 18 January 2020 Join Pathfinder for this 'AU REVOIR' to DRS Class 20s. Joining Stations: Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Cheltenham Spa, Bromsgrove, Birmingham New Street, Tamworth High Level & Derby DRS came into being during 1995, with five former B.R. Class 20s forming the initial locomotive fleet. For the next 20 years up to 15 class members were kept busy on various freight flows, but then came rationalisation and a reduction to just the handful remaining today for a soon to finish Network Rail contract. This railtour marks the end of an era finale for the DRS Class 20s, with a last run from York to Crewe, but as is usual with Pathfinder not by a direct route! The day starts off with a cross country routing from Bristol to York, with a pair of Class 57s (Os requested) heading. At York the Class 20s* take over for, firstly, a trip around the Harrogate circle to Leeds, arriving around 1300 for a two hour break. Underway again our special mark1 carriaged train heads to Huddersfield for traversal of the Penistone line to Barnsley and Sheffield, then Derby and onward to Crewe, via Uttoxeter and Stoke for a final flourish from our 60 ish year old machines. A modern Class 68 will work the train back to our originating stations to complete the day. Pathfinder Tours

Winter Gold 2020 Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours

Sale of Railwayana

Winter Gold 2020 Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours

Winter Steam Gala - 24th to 26th January 2020 Our Winter Steam Gala takes place from 24th to 26th January 2020. We are expecting at least one guest locomotive, with up to 9 locomotives in steam. More details will be available soon. Great Central Railway

The Robert Burns Saturday 25 January 2020 The anniversary of the birth of the renowned Scottish poet Robert Burns on 25 January 1759 is celebrated worldwide as Burns Night. Despite his short life of just 37 years, his evocative verses and heart rending songs like Auld Lang Syne earned him recognition as the greatest Scot of all time in a television survey in 2009. With Burns Night falling on a Saturday, it seems only right to dedicate an excursion train to the memory of the great man. So here is a 'Winter Wonderland' excursion designed to lift you out of the winter blues. Take a trip over the Pennine Hills where arguably the scenery is at its most dramatic in winter, complete with some snow on the hills (not guaranteed, but very probable!). Starting at Euston and calling at Watford, Milton Keynes and Northampton, our journey takes us via Stockport. Here we veer right, taking a route that was once an important passenger-carrying link towards Guide Bridge. Changes in the pattern of train services mean that this today is a freight line, with local stations enjoying (?) just a nominal service of one or two trains a week, retained to avoid the time-consuming and expensive closure procedure. At Stalybridge the gradients begin as we experience views across the wild terrain for which the Pennine Hills are famous. Climbing past Diggle we reach the summit at Standedge and enter the West Riding of Yorkshire. The views continue through Slaithwaite to Huddersfield. We gaze out across the wasteland that was once the extensive Healey Mills marshalling yards before passing Wakefield Kirkgate and Castleford, reaching the great city of York at lunchtime. York is a destination that makes perfect sense at any time of year. Obviously the National Railway Museum (free of charge) is right next to the station, while on the opposite side the city walls, the Minster, the little shopping streets of the Shambles and plenty besides are just a few minutes' walk away. A portrait of our immortal bard hangs outside the Burns Hotel, a welcoming little pub at 23 Market Street. You have around three and a half hours in York before rejoining the train for the homeward journey. UK Railtours

Winter Steam Gala - 24th to 26th January 2020 Our Winter Steam Gala takes place from 24th to 26th January 2020. We are expecting at least one guest locomotive, with up to 9 locomotives in steam. More details will be available soon. Great Central Railway

The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express Saturday 25th January 2020 Travelling outwards over the West Coast Main Line via Shap to Carlisle, time will be available to explore this historic border city. In the afternoon, we head southwards again, but via the highly scenic Settle & Carlisle line. This will be even more special if there is snow about to enhance the breathtaking scenery of the Pennines. The train will be hauled by either steam locomotive no. 45699 Galatea or 45690 Leander. Our special train will depart from Manchester Victoria at about 07:00 stopping to collect passengers at Bolton and Preston. We enjoy a fast run along the West Coast Main Line (WCML) to Carnforth where we stop for our locomotive to take on water. We climb the first severe gradient up to Grayrigg and then travel through the beautiful Lune Gorge, gaining speed for the ascent to Shap. This well-known section of the WCML has a gradient of 1 in 75 and, in the former days of steam locomotives, banking engines from Tebay were used to assist trains. After crossing the Cumbrian Fells we descend to Penrith, and then head for Carlisle. We stay in the Border City for over two hours, providing ample time to visit the castle, cathedral, museum and shops, or just to relax in one of the many fine coffee shops, restaurants or bars. We leave Carlisle and begin to climb as soon as we join the Settle & Carlisle Line, one of the best known and best loved stretches of railway line in Britain. We stop at Appleby, for our steam locomotive to take on water. The route then climbs through Kirkby Stephen towards the highest railway summit in England at Ais Gill, 1,169 feet above sea level. We pass over tall viaducts, including the famous one at Ribblehead, and through tunnels. There are magnificent views across the Fells and to the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. We should have a fast run out of the hills through to Settle before we stop for our steam locomotive to take on water. We continue through Hellifield and Clitheroe to Blackburn, where we stop to set down passengers. We then head for Bamber Bridge and join the WCML at Farington Junction and make our way towards Bolton, where we stop to set down passengers. Shortly after 19:00, we arrive at our final destination of Manchester Victoria, and the end of a truly marvellous day. *Passengers for Preston travel by service train from Blackburn on the return journey. Railway Touring Company

Winter Steam Gala - 24th to 26th January 2020 Our Winter Steam Gala takes place from 24th to 26th January 2020. We are expecting at least one guest locomotive, with up to 9 locomotives in steam. More details will be available soon. Great Central Railway