To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Class 52 No. D1015 Western Champion, it will be operating its last trains for British Railways on Saturday, 23rd May. It will haul a special Vintage Trains rail tour, The Golden Hind, from Birmingham to Plymouth via Paddington.

The Golden Hind will recreate the working life of Western Class diesel hydraulics across the routes they made their own in the 1960s and 1970s. Western Champion itself operated one of the last trains of its British Railways career 50 years ago, bringing to a close 13 years of service across the Western Region.

During their BR service, Western Class diesels were based at Old Oak Common in London and Laira in Plymouth.

Just over 12 months after Western Champion, one of two Class 52s to be preserved, hauled The South Devon Explorer from Birmingham to Plymouth, it will recreate the journey again. Starting from Birmingham Snow Hill, the rail tour will follow the former Western Region route to London Paddington, and after reversal, it will haul the train unassisted from Paddington to Plymouth and back via Westbury.

En route, the tour will travel via “Brunel’s Billiard Table” across the flat plains of Berkshire and Wiltshire, ascend the steep banks at Dainton and Rattery in South Devon, and provide passengers with sea views as it travels along the Teignmouth estuary and the Dawlish Sea wall.

The train will depart from Birmingham Snow Hill at 05:48, and stop to pick up passengers at Widney Manor, Warwick Parkway, Banbury, Oxford, and London Paddington at 09:55, and arrive in Plymouth at 14.30. Return departure from Plymouth is at 17.09, with an arrival at Paddington at 21.43 and Birmingham Snow Hill at 00.30.

Further information and ticket booking details are online at https://vintagetrains.co.uk/the-golden-hind/

Western Champion was also at the helm on 20th December last year, when it hauled the last rail tour to be operated by tour promoter Pathfinder Railtours, The Pathfinder Finale, from Salisbury to Manchester and northwest England.

“Western Champion is one of the great survivors of British railway history, and this journey is our chance to mark 50 years since its final BR service in the proper way. The Golden Hind puts this remarkable locomotive back where it belongs.”

Nick Ralls, Managing Director, Vintage Trains: