Home»All Photographs»Mainline Railtours»Stratford Flyer»2024_03_09

West Coast Railway Company operated “The Stratford Flyer” excursion for The Railway Touring Company on Saturday 9th March 2024. The train was hauled by Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 44871 throughout, supported when required by Brush Class 47 815 GREAT WESTERN. The train operated without problems but the timings generated by Network Rail were not fit for purpose and were not of use to either the general public or lineside photographers watching or hoping to see a steam hauled excursion. Particularly misleading was the public timetable showing the train would remain after arrival in Platform One at Stratford for over an hour and a half before leaving to turn and for servicing the steam locomotive. This required all normal services to switch platforms to 2 and/or 3! No surprise then when the excursion departed 82 minutes early ensuring that many observers missed the best photo opportunities of the day. They can’t blame WCRC for that issue. The weather was not great but it remined dry, just, and was overall successful and enjoyable.