Vintage Trains has announced additional stops for its special train on Saturday 30th September from King's Cross to Lincoln hauled by Castle Class No. 7029 Clun Castle to celebrate the introduction of the class by the Great Western Railway.
It is believed this will only be the fourth time that a Castle Class will have departed from King's Cross, and the first one with a public charter from King's Cross since 1967.
The first appearance of a Castle at King's Cross was No. 4079 Pendennis Castle during the locomotive exchanges in 1925.
The tour to Lincoln is steam hauled throughout, but to get Clun Castle in the right place there will be a number of positioning moves.
These will be diesel assisted with the diesel on the front and 7029 coupled behind, except that 7029 will be on the front from Wembley to Finsbury Park.
Here, passengers will need to alight from the train whilst Clun Castle is serviced, and it will be at the front of the train on the East Coast Main Line.
The tour will leave plenty of time to discover Lincoln while Clun Castle and the train are serviced. Among the city's attractions are the castle, cathedral with one of the few remaining copies of the original, and the revised, Magna Carta.
The additional stops have been added to help anyone who wishes to travel on the train but does not wish to make their own way to London. Times for the tour including departure and arrival times for the additional stops are now:
- Coleshill Parkway 05:25 22:25
- Nuneaton 05:50 22:00
- Northampton 06:40 21:10
- Watford Junction 07:40 20:10
- London Kings Cross 10:00 18:05
- Lincoln 12:25 15:25
Further details about the tour can be found on Vintage Trains' website at Express Train from Kings Cross to Lincoln | Vintage Trains
https://vintagetrains.co.uk/express-train-from-kings-cross-to-lincoln/
1925 arrangement was between Gresley and Collett only. The extensive “locomotive exchanges” were in 1948.