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On Easter Monday 9th April, Green Express Railtours ran a special train from Spondon, a ‘ghost station’ two miles from Derby, to Ravenglass and Sellafield. The Green Express is a practical example of ‘Green Tourism’ taking people away for the day and leaving the car at home, bringing almost 700 people to the village with no car parking problems.
Passengers leaving the train had almost 5 hours to look round Muncaster Castle, take a trip on the 'Ratty', or visit the Sellafield visitor centre.
The train comprised 13 heritage coaches from the 1950’s and 60’s, including Pullman coaches, and is operated by West Coast Railways of Carnforth, Britain’s smallest independent train operating company. West Coast Railways used two diesel locomotives from their fleet of heritage traction based at their Lancashire depot, also from the 60's - BR class 47 - 47854 and BR class 57 - 57601.
The unusual route of some 700 miles round trip, was from the East Midlands via Wakefield and up the Calder Valley through the quiet town of Hebden Bridge. Then over the Pennines by way of Copy Pit Summit, through Preston and into rural Lancashire, over the River Lune at Lancaster with views to the castle, to take the old Furness Railway line to this remote corner of England. Continuing right round Morecambe Bay, clattering across the Kent Estuary - the first of four great expanses of water - then through Barrow, once famed for its shipyards, mile after mile of unspoilt coastline with the Lakeland fells on one side, the Irish Sea on the other.
Pulling into Sellafield station from the sidings - by Jan Fialkowski
Leaving Sellafield - by Jan Fialkowski
Leaving Sellafield - by Jan Fialkowski
At Ravenglass station, by Julian Thurgood
At Ravenglass station, by Julian Thurgood
Leaving Ravenglass station, by Julian Thurgood
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Page created 9 Apr 2007. Last changed 10 Apr 2007.