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The Branch Line Society, in partnership with the Class 50 Alliance, The Fifty Fund and GB Railfreight, are pleased to offer you this opportunity to Hoover your way up to Scotland for an exploration of numerous lines not covered regularly by loco hauled trains, never mind trains hauled by Class 50s!The British Rail Class 50 was designed to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph, and were built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968. They were regularly found hauling express passenger trains on the then non-electrified section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland. The class gained the nickname "Hoovers" because of the noise made by the clean air plant at the No. 2 end, prior to refurbishment, which was likened to that of a vacuum cleaner, a name believed given to them by the staff at Paddington Station. Once the electrification from Crewe to Glasgow was completed the locomotives were moved to the Great Western Main Line (GWML) out of Paddington to allow the retirement of most of the remaining diesel-hydraulic locomotives then in use. As trains on the GWML steadily moved to High Speed Train operation from 1976, the Class 50s moved to hauling trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids, and also trains from London Paddington to Hereford and Worcester via Oxford until the majority of those trains too were taken over by IC125 operation. The class was steadily retired from service in the late 1980s and early 1990s as their services moved to operation by second-generation DMUs.
The Fifty Fund and the Class 50 Alliance are two interrelated organisations that work together to look after six class 50 locomotives. The Alliance owns and maintains the locomotives, and The Fifty Fund supports the work of the Alliance through fund raising and promoting the locomotives' and their operation. Following the hard work started by Dave Keogh and Jonathan "Gus" Dunster, the group were able to secure 50035 as their first loco in August 1991, and the new chapter in the story of Class 50 preservation had started.
And so we come to 2026, and what a few days we have in store for you. We start early on Saturday morning at the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) station in Kidderminster, where a resident SVR Class 50 will take us forward to the Reverse Point, before our double headed Class 50's will take us out onto the mainline as we start our journey to Polmont in Scotland... the long way! Our route takes us through Birmingham New Street to pick up passengers, then onwards through Stafford, Crewe and Wigan for more pick-ups, before we veer right at Lostock Hall Junction and head for the spectacular Settle & Carlisle Railway via Blackburn and Clitheroe. This most famous of lines, which crosses the remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, runs between Settle Junction, on the Leeds-Morecambe line, and Carlisle, near the English-Scottish borders. The historic line was constructed in the 1870s and has several notable tunnels and viaducts, and we are sure it will bring out the photographers to see us passing. After a further pick up and short break in Carlisle to take some precious photos of our locos, we head North via a number of rare loops before our arrival at Motherwell for our first set-down. Onwards via Mossend and Cumbernauld before we set down at Falkirk Grahamston and Polmont in the early evening to allow you to retire to your accommodation and/or the pub to reflect on an amazing day and look forward to what is to come on day 2!
Sunday... Day 2... and what a day in store. With our Class 50's now in top and tail formation, our early start from Polmont takes us via Falkirk Grahamston for a pick-up, before onwards to Cowlairs East Jn/North Jn, before we head North via Dumbarton Central, Crianlarich and finally arriving in the breath-taking town of Oban. Oban is a resort town, and despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, the town can have a temporary population of over 24,000 people. The attractive bay forms a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera; and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. With a break of around 3 hours, you will have time to explore this lovely town, have a meal and drinks with friends, or if you are feeling fit, head up to McCraig's Tower, the most prominent attraction in Oban.
Once back on board, we head back South to Glasgow Central High Level, via Dalmuir, Westerton, Glasgow Central Low Level, and Rutherglen West Curve. A very quick break here for a leg stretch and more photos, before we return out of Glasgow and head for Wemyss Bay via Paisley Gilmour Street. Another short break, then its onwards back to our base with set downs at Falkirk Grahamston and Polmont again.
And after all the excitement of the last 2 days, it's time to head back to Kidderminster... the interesting way! After a leisurely breakfast at your accommodation, we leave Polmont and Falkirk Grahamston at a respectable time in top and tail formation, before heading for Carlisle via Larkfield Jn and Kilmarnock. A set down and 45 minute break at Carlisle, allows us to run our 2nd loco round to then double head Southbound to tackle the gradients over Shap before we set down at Wigan North Western, Crewe, Stafford and Birmingham New Street. Our final few miles takes us to Stourbridge Junction and Kidderminster for final set downs before we cover the heritage line connection onto the Severn Valley Railway and finish our epic few days away in Kidderminster SVR.
As you would expect from a BLS tour, we expect to cover a number of rare and interesting bits of track over the 3 days... highlights will include: Lockerbie DPL, Beattock Summit DPL and Law DPL on day 1; Down Greenhill Branch Loop, Craigendoran WH Loop, Dumbarton Goods, Rutherglen West Curve and Dunrod Loop on Day 2, and finally Larkfield Curve, Kilmarnock Through Line, New Cumnock UGL, Thornhill UPL and Oxenholme UGL on day 3.
On board we will have a buffet serving a selection of hot and cold drinks and snacks, and we will be running our very successful on board charity raffle.
All profits raised from this fixture will be for the Class 50 Alliance.
All times and routing are indicative until confirmed by Network Rail. Final routing and timings are usually confirmed by Network Rail five days before travel and will be enclosed with your e-ticket.
Day One - Saturday:
Kidderminster SVR (PU 07:00) - Kidderminster U&D (RM) - Kidderminster P1 (PU 07:30) - Stourbridge Junction (PU 07:40) - Galton Jn - Birmingham New Street (PU 08:10) - Aston - Tame Bridge Parkway - Bushbury Jn - Stafford (PU 09:15) - Crewe (PU 10:00) - Wigan North Western (PU 10:45) - Lostock Hall Junction - Blackburn - Clitheroe - Hellifield - Settle - Appleby - Carlisle (PU 14:00 / 30 min break) - Lockerbie DPL - Beattock Summit DPL - Carstairs - Law DPL - Wishaw - Motherwell (SD 16:00) - Mossend - Coatbridge Central - Cumbernauld - Falkirk Grahamston (SD 17:30) - Polmont (SD 18:00)
Day Two - Sunday:
Polmont (PU 07:00) - Falkirk Grahamston (PU 07:15) - Down Greenhill Branch Loop - Cowlairs East Jn - Cowlairs North Jn - Westerton (PU 09:17) - Dalmuir (PU 09:32) - Dumbarton Central P3 - Craigendoran WH Loop - Crianlarich - Oban (SD 13:16)
Oban (PU 16:40) - Crianlarich - Craigendoran Jn - Dumbarton Goods - Dalmuir (SD 20:20) - Westerton (SD 20:31) - Exhibition Centre - Glasgow Central Low Level - Rutherglen West Curve - Glasgow Central High Level (20 min Break / RM) - Paisley Gilmour Street - Dunrod Loop - Wemyss Bay (20 min Break / RM) - Paisley Gilmour Street - Up Clydesdale - Larkfield Jn - Carmyle - Coatbridge Central - Cumbernauld - Falkirk Grahamston (SD 21:45) - Polmont (SD 22:00)
Day Three - Monday:
Polmont (PU 09:00) - Falkirk Grahamston (PU 09:15) - Cumbernauld - Coatbridge Central - Carmyle - Larkfield Jn - Barrhead P1 - Kilmarnock Through Line - New Cumnock UGL - Thornhill UPL - Carlisle (SD 12:00 / 45 min break) - Oxenholme UGL - Preston P7 - Wigan North Western (SD 14:00) - Crewe (SD 15:00) - Stafford (SD 15:45) - Tame Bridge Parkway - Birmingham New Street (SD 17:00) - Galton Jn - Stourbridge Junction (SD 17:45) - Kidderminster (SD 18:30) - Kidderminster SVR (SD 18:45)
Passengers will be required to arrange their own overnight accommodation. You will be allocated a specific seat for the duration of the journey.
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