Vintage Trains has announced that steam locomotive 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe will haul its ‘Shap Mountaineer' tour over Shap Fell in March.
5043 is a Castle-type express steam locomotive designed by the Great Western Railway, and will climb the northern hills to Carlisle without assistance from a diesel locomotive.
It was built in 1936 at Swindon Works and was originally given the name Barbury Castle, after an iron age hilltop fort five miles south of Swindon, until being renamed Earl of Mount Edgcumbe the following year. It frequently hauled the GWR's Cheltenham Flyer, which at that time was the fastest train in the world.
The trip will take place on Saturday 16 March 2024, starting at Birmingham New Street and picking up at Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Preston. A diesel locomotive will haul the train to Carnforth, where 5043 will take over haulage to Carlisle and back to Crewe. Vintage Trains expects this to be 5043's only solo excursion in 2024.
Ticket prices are:
- Pullman class £299
- First class £149
- Tourist Class £99 if booked before 31 January (otherwise £129)
Vintage Trains Charitable Trust is based at Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham, where it runs a heritage engineering workshop, preserving steam-age skills and training young people in manufacturing. In 2017, Vintage Trains set up a Community Benefit Society to run its own train operating company, licensed to run express steam trains nationwide. Its tours include:
- the Shakespeare Express in Shakespeare's County between Birmingham and Stratford
- the Polar Express Train Ride from Birmingham at Christmas
- Diesel Explorers to popular tourist destinations and seaside towns
- Express Steam Trains running at up to 75 mph on the main line railway
- private special trains offering tailor-made tours.
2024 sees the 60th anniversary of the famous run on 9 May 1964, which was itself the 60th anniversary of the famous run with City of Truro on 9 May 1904. I was on the run in 1964 as a 16-year-old. Can something be run at around the date of the anniversary for those from the London area who would like some sort of meaningful commemorative event tha would do justice to the memory of that wonderful day? Events planned so far for this year assume that only people from the Birmingham area would be interested. The same mistake was made in 2014 for the 50th anniversary. Some sort of co-ordination is needed between PTR, UKR and Patthfinder.