The South Wales Industrial Explorer Take 2

Our adventure starts and finishes in Derby, and initially heads south, with pick up opportunities at East Midlands Parkway and Leicester, before heading west with further stops at Nuneaton and Coleshill Parkway to then arrive at Birmingham New Street. From here our  train calls at Worcestershire Parkway, Gloucester and finally Cardiff. And so, to our expected route:

With both the magnificent Hanson & Hall owned 50008 ‘Thunderer’ and a classmate provided by the Class 50 Alliance at the helm, we make rapid progress south-westwards to our final pick-up point in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff before pushing on to the proud industrial centre of South Wales. Now it will be time for those with interest in rare track to reach for their atlas as we enter Margam Knuckle Yard where Road No.9 or No.10 has been requested.  Here we will split our class 50 locomotives and they will operate in Top and Tail mode for the remainder of the day.

We briefly retrace our steps east in order to gain access to the remaining stub of the Ogmore Vale Extension Line and then progress west once again, through Port Talbot, and onto the Swansea District Line.  A Goods Line Authority will then be required to enable us to access the Llanelli Up Goods Loop for our reversal, thus concluding our passage west.

But the fun is far from over!  We now head back east to traverse the Swansea Avoiding Line.  Reversing at Landore Junction and thus  delivering us into the vibrant coastal city of Swansea for our break of around 90 minutes, recreating scenes of some four decades ago when Class 50s had booked passenger work here.

With everyone back onboard and fully refreshed, and with grateful thanks to our friends Chrysalis Rail, it is time for some extremely rare track and a highly prized opportunity to access the Landore Depot complex. It is here that 08795 will be bolted onto the train working its first passenger train for 36 years.

Rare track complete, sadly now it’s time for home as we begin our journey east at sunset. A four course dinner will be served in the dining cars during our journey home which has the added interest of being routed via the Severn Tunnel and Bristol Parkway before reversing at Gloucester, from where our accompanying class 50 locomotive  once again takes charge for the journey back to Derby.

Surely the fun must be over by now?  Or perhaps you have remembered that those staying onboard back to the Midlands have that little matter of the Lickey Incline with over 2 miles at a gradient of 1 in 37 still to come, which will surely test the capabilities of our locomotives and serve as a reminder to local residents of years gone by.

We are very grateful to Hanson & Hall Rail, The Class 50 Alliance, DB Cargo, Chrysalis Rail and Network Rail for their kind assistance in facilitating this tour.

All timings are provisional and intended only as a guide.