Just like last year, the Belmond British Pullman to Belmond's Oxfordshire hotel was the first Pullman of the year.
The outbound trip of this Pullman was hauled by Royal Train locomotive 67006 "Royal Sovereign" with 67024 on the rear of the train.
For the return, I headed to Longcross, a few stops up from Egham and used to be Surrey's least used station. The station used to have an infrequent service but in the last few years the station has had the same service as the rest of the stations on the line between Virginia Water and Bracknell due to a new housing development nearby. This doesn't stop the station being very dark and feeling like its in the middle of nowhere at night.
The second Belmond British Pullman of the week was to Bath Spa leaving London via Brixton, Wimbledon and Woking and the return was via Woking, Staines and Clapham Junction.
Departing from Bristol Temple Meads picking up stations to Birmingham New Street and Nuneaton, Pathfinder Tours "The Verney Venturer" tour was the first train to pass over the new East West rail link between Bletchley and Bicester Village. A few days before a smaller tour operated by West Coast Railways took members of the East West Rail project over the line but the Verney Venturer was the first with fare paying passengers. After using the new East West Rail link, the tour visited some of the lines around the north west of London that are not used by passenger services.
This was also the first tour for a while for West Coast Railways Class 33s, 029 and 207, which have had some work done on them including a repaint.
The first place visited to see this tour was Milton Keynes Central. This was the last station the tour would pass through before using the link to the high level platforms at Bletchley where trains using East West Rail will call.
After a break at Bicester Village for the Class 33 locomotives to run around the train, the tour then continued into London on the Great Central Mainline as far as Neasden where the freight only link to Acton Canal Wharf would allow the train to access the Midland Mainline. At Acton Canal Wharf, there was another short break while the Class 33s returned to the front of the train.
47802 did not change ends of the train so this leg was a triple header with the Class 33s ahead of 47802.
After departing Acton Canal Wharf, the tour used Dudding Hill and Brent Curve to continue on to the Midland Mainline for the return to Nuneaton for the first drop off of the return. The train would use the Midland Mainline to Kettering where it then used the line through Corby, Oakham and Melton Mowbray to get to Leicester and then to Nuneaton via Narborough. Following the first drop off at Nuneaton the train followed its outbound route through Birmingham New Street to return to Bristol Temple Meads.
I had hoped to be able to overtake this leg of the tour at Wellingborough and see it again at Kettering before sunset. The tour was booked to use the loop to the north of the station to allow a number of fast East Midlands Railway services to pass. However the East Midlands Railway service I was on was a few minutes late and the tour was allowed to leave the loop and to pass through Kettering just before we arrived. I therefore continued to Leicester where the train passed only a few minutes after the hourly CrossCountry service that I needed to get to Peterborough for the Valentines White Rose tour. So I saw the tour on this leg for a second time passing it around Syston.
The Valentines White Rose tour was the first steam hauled tour of the year. The departure from London in the morning was far too early to get across London for, but the evening return and change of locomotive at Peterborough lined up well with my visit to Kettering to see the Verney Venturer, even if it didn't work out. The steam hauled section of the tour was done by 45212, an LMS Black 5 owned by Riley & Son E Ltd. It is reportedly due for withdrawal for overhaul later in the year so this tour was possibly one its last mainline appearances for a while. This was my first time properly seeing 45212 and Riley & Son E Ltd's other Black 5s are 44871, which I have seen a number of times, and 45407 "The Lancashire Fusilier", one I have not seen.
While the journey back from York to London King's Cross was operated as 1Z14, 45212 only operated from York to Peterborough with one of West Coast Railways Class 47 locomotives taking the train the rest of the way.
After stopping, 45212 was prepared to detach from the train so it could continue on to the Nene Valley Railway for the night. On the rear of the train was 47848, which acted as the support locomotive for 45212 throughout the tour and would also haul the train back out of Kings Cross to Wembley Receptions after the tour finished.
After being prepared, 45212 departed Platform 1 at Peterborough to head to Peterborough Sig P423 before reversing back into the station.
After about 10 minutes, 45212 returned to Peterborough on Platform 4 to wait for permission to access the Nene Valley Railway, just to the south of the station.
After a few minutes wait, 45212 then departed Peterborough again for the Nene Valley Railway.
Before 45212's arrival at Peterborough, 47746 had departed from Peterborough Shunt Spur at the north of the station near DB and GBRf's depots and worked to Conington Loop to the south of the station. After 45212 had detached from the train and shunted into platform 4 at Peterborough ready to move onto the Nene Valley Railway, it then worked back to Peterborough to lead the tour on the remaining journey to London Kings Cross.
Another Belmond British Pullman to Bath via Brixton, Wimbledon, Woking and Salisbury and returning to London via Salisbury, Woking and Staines. 67021 was hauling the Pullman for this trip. This means that three of the five usual Pullman locomotives (005, 006, 007, 021 and 024) to have operated along the Windsor/Reading lines this year.
The Belmond tours pass through many stations on the Windsor/Reading lines, so for some variety I went to Richmond to see the tour on the return to London Victoria.
