East Coast Main Line UK Railtours 'The Last Chance' Finsbury Park - Barnetby Saturday 8th April 2023

Standing at track level on the East Coast Main Line the Class 90 plunges out of the gloom hauling 'The Last Chance' Railtour.
This classic Forgotten Tracks special charter, designed by Ian Loveday, may become more significant than most. This is because, sadly, there are a certain number of freight lines in the UK which are going to be almost impossible to visit in the future due to either a lack of Train Crew route knowledge or a lack of traffic resulting in no justification for the infrastructure to be maintained to the standard required for a passenger train. We have therefore been working with our operator DB Cargo to provide UK Railtours customers with an opportunity to ride over these tracks whilst we still can.
Daylight will already have broken by the time we leave London and race north along the East Coast Main Line, hauled by a Class 90 electric locomotive. On arrival in the Doncaster Area we will change traction from our high speed electric locomotive to powerful diesel freight locomotives. We have requested DBC to supply both a Class 60 and a Class 66 to haul the train. In addition, we will request that the Class 60 hauls the train throughout our freight line exploration with exception of the Class 66 acting as a drag back loco on the Deepcar branch for operational reasons.
We will start our adventure as we mean to go on by turning left north of Doncaster, rather than the direct route right, to enable us to run over the non-passenger line via Skellow. We can expect that more unusual lines will be covered as we head east via Scunthorpe before arriving at the popular railway photographer’s location of Barnetby. We will even let the pub next door to the station know that we are coming whilst everyone enjoys a leg stretch and perhaps a pint!
With everyone back onboard we continue further east for what will be the highlight of the tour for many; a trip along the route of the old Grimsby and Immingham Electric Railway, built to transfer hundreds of Dockers between work and home each day. Subject to obtaining the necessary permissions we will traverse the extremely rare route via Pyewipe Road which is now retained as an emergency connection only and indeed the signal boxes enroute will need to be opened specially just for our train. As we navigate our way through the sea of industrial lines in the area we will have fascinating views of Britain’s largest port.
Once out on the mainline the Class 60 locomotive will power up and take us back west by a different route. This time we will be routed via Gainsborough Central, where if time permits, we hope to enjoy a photo stop and another brief leg stretch break. We continue towards the once busy coal yards of Worksop, used nowadays for stock storage, where if you are lucky you will spot everything from a Class 08 to a Class 92 and many things in-between! We head on to Sheffield and take the Deepcar freight branch line towards the Stockbridge Steel Works. With freight traffic having now ceased, this branch unfortunately faces a very uncertain future. We expect to travel all the way up the branch to the Network Rail limit.
Our route back to Doncaster affords the opportunity to travel over yet another line that no longer has regular traffic; the South Yorkshire Joint Line. This 16 mile long freight line used to serve numerous collieries in the area, all long since closed, is often requested by our customers.
The clocks will have sprung forward by early April so all of the unusual lines today will be covered during daylight hours, an essential requirement with so much to see through the train window. Once back amongst the freight trains of Doncaster Yard we change back to electric traction before heading south speeding for home after what we are sure will have been a fascinating day out. So join us as we explore these Forgotten Tracks and please don’t miss it, as this could possibly be our last chance.
First Class Dining includes The Great British Breakfast, a light lunch and a four course dinner. Dining is not available from or back to Retford. A buffet car is available.
(Info from UK Railtours Website)