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Pathfinder Tours Railtour Programme 2022

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Iskra

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The full programme is still to be announced, but the first tours are announced. I will update this post when more are announced:


And there is also the traditional Scottish landcruise multi day tour- has anyone ever done one of these and are they worthwhile?

 
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cambsy

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The Land cruises are really good, and reasonable value, I did one a few years ago to ForWilliam, and surrounding area, it was a great trip, and made even better for a pair of 37’s for the whole trip. The food was great too, and lots of it, I’d recommend doing one.
 

Iskra

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Another tour has been announced, a South Wales freight tour featuring a class 60 and a 66. Pathfinder have confirmed that they are ‘drip feeding’ their 2022 tours so I will keep updating the thread

 

fgwrich

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Another tour has been announced, a South Wales freight tour featuring a class 60 and a 66. Pathfinder have confirmed that they are ‘drip feeding’ their 2022 tours so I will keep updating the thread


Fairly rare track (for a rail tour) in the outbound and return to Cardiff in itself. Not many tours from Memory have traversed the Snow Hill lines direct through Moor Street / Snow Hill!
 

Kite159

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Another tour has been announced, a South Wales freight tour featuring a class 60 and a 66. Pathfinder have confirmed that they are ‘drip feeding’ their 2022 tours so I will keep updating the thread

Now that sounds like an interesting tour. Time to look at prices of hotels in the Birmingham area (to make the most of the railtour rather than just boarding at Newport!)
 

ABB125

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Another tour has been announced, a South Wales freight tour featuring a class 60 and a 66. Pathfinder have confirmed that they are ‘drip feeding’ their 2022 tours so I will keep updating the thread

Sounds interesting. Unfortunately it's also the UniBrass competition in Sheffield on that Saturday... :(
 

Iskra

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Fairly rare track (for a rail tour) in the outbound and return to Cardiff in itself. Not many tours from Memory have traversed the Snow Hill lines direct through Moor Street / Snow Hill!
Yes, that’s very true.
Now that sounds like an interesting tour. Time to look at prices of hotels in the Birmingham area (to make the most of the railtour rather than just boarding at Newport!)
It’s tempting isn’t it, but personally I will see what their other tours are like first before committing. I’d hate to book and then find something even better gets announced! I agree about gaining maximum mileage from tours though!
Sounds interesting. Unfortunately it's also the UniBrass competition in Sheffield on that Saturday... :(
Always the way isnt it! I’ve got to plan around football fixtures too, but this one doesn’t land on any luckily :)
 

LA50041

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Yes, that’s very true.

It’s tempting isn’t it, but personally I will see what their other tours are like first before committing. I’d hate to book and then find something even better gets announced! I agree about gaining maximum mileage from tours though!

Always the way isnt it! I’ve got to plan around football fixtures too, but this one doesn’t land on any luckily :)
Ah, you’re assuming Leeds are not getting to the 4th round of the FA Cup?
 

Iskra

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or that their match is moved to the Friday or Sunday.
Being a Yorkshireman, it’s much more pertinent that I’ve already paid for the league games through my season ticket. Whereas I’m much less fussed about missing cup matches that I haven’t paid for…

You are however correct that there is a good chance that any match involving Leeds won’t be on the Saturday.
 

Iskra

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Pathfinder have announced another tour:


It's a DRS spin and win, with some unusual route thrown in. Interestingly for a spin and win tour, the traction is all pretty modern and does not feature any 37's, or indeed anything else of such vintage.

SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2022

A “BLUE BOYS” MULTI-TRACTION TOUR TO LINCOLN, OUT AND BACK BY DEVIOUS ROUTES, LINKS AND CHORDS

A tour with much to offer for track and locomotive ‘bashers’, featuring four different traction types and around a dozen sections of track that are either ‘goods lines’ or are otherwise difficult to cover.

Straightforward enough to Leicester, with just a couple of chords and a goods line to get in the book, then three goods loops to Leicester, via New England Yard Reception to a reversal in the Peterborough area and north via the new dive-under onto the Joint Line through to Lincoln, for a 90 minute break while the carriages are serviced.

Restarting we head across to Newark and south to Grantham Goods Loop, where another locomotive is attached at the rear, and we head back north double-headed.

A couple of passenger loops feature on the way north to Retford, where the train turns west to Worksop and down the ‘Robin Hood’ line to Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The next section to Ironville Junction now sees passenger trains once again, but not at the most convenient times! Southward then to Toton, where we enter the yard from the south after routing via the Lenton Curve and the Trent High Level lines.

A last locomotive change and the return journey starts, setting down as outward from Leicester, but with an additional stop at Birmingham New Street after forced routing via Sutton Park due to an engineering possession.

REQUESTED ROUTE:

Class 68 As per the joining stations to Dorridge, then Bordesley Jn – Up Washwood Heath Goods Loop – Coleshill Parkway – Abbey Jn – Up Nuneaton Chord – Wigston North Chord – Leicester – Humberstone Road Up/Down Goods – Melton Mowbray Up Goods Loop – Oakham Up Goods – New England North Jn – Up Arrival / South Departure – Peterborough (Rev), Class 66 – Werrington Diveunder – Spalding – Sleaford Avoider – Lincoln (break) – Newark North Gate Down/Up Goods Loop – Claypole Up Passenger Loop – Grantham Down/Up Goods (Rev), Class 88 + Class 68 – Claypole Down Passenger Loop – Carlton Down Passenger Loop – Retford – Worksop – Mansfield – Ironville Junction – Up & Down Erewash Slow – Trowell Jn – Lenton Curve – Attenborough Jn – Meadow Lane Jn – Toton Yard (Rev), Class 57 – Meadow Lane Jn – Leicester – Water Orton – Sutton Park – Bescot Stadium – Soho Loop – Birmingham New Street – Bordesley Jn and as outward.
 

Iskra

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Pathfinder have announced four tours down the Cambrian Coast to Pwllheli with class 97's leading, the tours run on different dates and have slightly different pick up points. It's interesting to see an operator put so much faith in one line!


I'm hoping to travel on one of them, as I was meant to do last years tour but sadly was unable to do so.
 

ABB125

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Pathfinder have announced four tours down the Cambrian Coast to Pwllheli with class 97's leading, the tours run on different dates and have slightly different pick up points. It's interesting to see an operator put so much faith in one line!


I'm hoping to travel on one of them, as I was meant to do last years tour but sadly was unable to do so.
FOUR tours?! That's... extensive, to say the least. A bit pricey, though, at £129.
Nevertheless, if I find the time, I may well go on one!
 

43 302

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The Pennine Wayfarer tour has been redated to March 12th too.
 

The exile

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Searching in vain for the re-run of the South Wales / Bristol area tours that were “postponed” in July last year.
 

Iskra

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FOUR tours?! That's... extensive, to say the least. A bit pricey, though, at £129.
Nevertheless, if I find the time, I may well go on one!
I agree with all of that. ...still going to end up doing it- I'd much rather do the Cambrian in a Mk1 than on a unit! I will books first class though as it's an extremely long day (including driving Sheffield-Bromsgrove and back), so I always appreciate the extra space and comfort.

The Pennine Wayfarer tour has been redated to March 12th too.

Thanks for the update!

Searching in vain for the re-run of the South Wales / Bristol area tours that were “postponed” in July last year.

Yes, I was booked on that one but I've heard nothing about it since. However, Pathfinder have asked for railtour destination suggestions in their 24th December newsletter, so perhaps drop them an email to [email protected] with your suggestion :)
 

43 302

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Searching in vain for the re-run of the South Wales / Bristol area tours that were “postponed” in July last year.
There's one from Cardiff and one from Bristol so take your pick.

Edit: Just realised you might be talking about the "Here, There & Everywhere" track tour. Definitely looking out for that one!
 

The exile

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There's one from Cardiff and one from Bristol so take your pick.

Edit: Just realised you might be talking about the "Here, There & Everywhere" track tour. Definitely looking out for that one!
Those are the ones!
 

47827

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Mk1 set moved to Burton now so likely to be less tours starting south of Bristol and London now as a result, but potentially more chance of stuff from very slightly north of the Midlands too.
 

JonathanH

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Doesn't seem to have been any buffer puffer tours lately, are these still a thing ?
They are still a thing but I suspect the problem with them at the moment is that they are very resource intensive to find drivers who sign all the routes involved.
 

bleeder4

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The other potential problem is that DRS are considering pulling out of operating charters, and they operate a lot of the Pathfinder trips. You can read the article here: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/railways-illustrated/20220104/281745567706587
It also says that both GBRF and DBC are trimming down their charter operations as well, and they are both operators that Pathfinder use.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
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47827

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The other potential problem is that DRS are considering pulling out of operating charters, and they operate a lot of the Pathfinder trips. You can read the article here: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/railways-illustrated/20220104/281745567706587
It also says that both GBRF and DBC are trimming down their charter operations as well, and they are both operators that Pathfinder use.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

GBRF barely do any charters anyway beyond their Royal Scotsman circuits and I think DBC just wants shut of most of the stuff they see as too complex so that means some of the steam, most/all of the stuff that doesn't utilise 66s/67s/90s (and requires a smaller pool of trained drivers or refreshing traction in the case of heritage ops) and any of the trickier (often freight only) routes or itineraries that are difficult to plan and resource, or use bigger staff volumes in the one day.
 

43 302

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GBRF barely do any charters anyway beyond their Royal Scotsman circuits and I think DBC just wants shut of most of the stuff they see as too complex so that means some of the steam, most/all of the stuff that doesn't utilise 66s/67s/90s (and requires a smaller pool of trained drivers or refreshing traction in the case of heritage ops) and any of the trickier (often freight only) routes or itineraries that are difficult to plan and resource, or use bigger staff volumes in the one day.
Can't speak for anyone else but I travelled over 2000 miles on GB tours in 2021, and only about half of that was the Charity tour. I'll be on another in a couple of months too ;)
 

Iskra

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Is this FOC's just (understandably) prioritising currently scarce resources during a period of high isolations on their bread and butter operations? If so it's a bit of a non story.
 
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31160

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If DRS are doing what they said and not bothering and GBRF scale down Rivera/chingfinder will lose big time and LSL will be rubbing there hands and smiling, about 15 years back DRS didnt supply pathfinder with locos and they were left with 1015 and EWS stuff so its happened before, no sign of 1015 being ready 9009 will be back at some point but people may put off booking on that and just wait for 9000, interesting times ahead, and who will come out the other side?
 
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