This Pathfinder Railtours outing should be interest to certain individuals on this forum............
The Western ChallengerSaturday 7th May, 2016
PADDINGTON TO PLYMOUTH NON-STOP IS THE PRINCIPLE AIM OF THIS LANDMARK EXCURSION, WITH D1015 ^WESTERN CHAMPION^ AS THE STAR.
Back in 1966 Ian Allan Ltd sponsored a very special excursion out of London Paddington featuring British Rail Western Region hydraulic diesel locomotives. The aim - a ground breaking non-stop run!
D1010 ^Western Campaigner^ departed Paddington at 07:35, with arrival into Penzance at 12:50. The run was logged as non-stop. Success!
After a break the excursion returned to Plymouth, where D823 ^Hermes^ backed on for another non-stop run attempt back to London, but this time the Southern way via Okehampton and Yeovil to Waterloo. This was again successful save for a very brief signal stop at Keyham.
50 years on to the day, D1015 ^Western Champion^ is being put in the spotlight to achieve a non-stop run, but over a railway system so much busier and with less flexibility. Therefore, with the support of DB» Cargo and Network Rail, we are to attempt London Paddington to Plymouth non-stop. Then, after reversal, we head to Okehampton via Exeter for an afternoon break at the Dartmoor Railway, where Meldon Shuttles may be running. A shuttle bus service will run betweeen the station and town.
Leaving around 17:00 D1015 will re-trace the ^Warship^ routing via Yeovil to London Waterloo. Unfortunately a non-stop run is not achievable but the sight and sound of a pair of Maybach engines working hard over ex-LSWR▸ metals is rare enough to relish.
MOTIVE POWER IS EXPECTED TO BE D1015 'WESTERN CHAMPION' THROUGHOUT.
My only regret with this tour is the inability (through no fault of their own) to be able to replicate the second part of the original special
