Branch Line Society announces August charity charters

The Branch Line Society has advertised a series of charity fundraising trains for Martin House Hospice, with the first a railtour for August 3 using GB Railfreight as operator and with traction provided by GBRf and DC Rail.

The ‘Cappagh Capital Campaigner’ starts at Derby behind a GBRf Class 69. It heads first to Chaddesden Yard, before then heading south along the Midland Main Line to Bedford, and west along the Marston Vale Line to Forders Sidings.

Next stop is Wembley Yard, where top-and-tail DC Rail Class 60s take over to Waterloo. Then it’s off to Chessington South Coal Depot and then Brighton for a 90-minute break.

The Class 60s then head back to Waterloo, where they are replaced by a pair of DC Rail Class 56s for a return trip north (via the East Coast Main Line) to Leicester, where the Class 69 will work back to Derby.

On August 17-18, three trains run to tie in with an open weekend at Drax Power Station.

The ‘Cooling Tower Choppers’ on Saturday August 17 starts at Derby behind a GBRf Class 69, which works to Leicester.

Here, the train reverses and two Class 20s provided by Locomotive Services Limited take over to Peterborough, where the ‘69’ works forward via the Great Northern/Great Eastern Joint Line to Boultham Junction for another reversal. The ‘20s’ then work to the Ardagh Glass Monk Bretton railhead.

The ‘69’ will then work to York, with the ‘20s’ being detached at Knottingley. The train will be operated by GBRf with Riviera Trains providing the Mk 2 stock.

On August 18, there will be three trips to Drax Power station using DB Cargo, GB Railfreight and Freightliner locomotives of Classes 66 and ‘70’, and taking in three different routes through the Drax Power Station complex.

After arrival back at York, the Class 20s take the train back to Derby as the ‘Merry go Round’ with the Class 69 on the rear.

This will leave York and run via Doncaster, Maltby Colliery, Shireoaks, the Robin Hood line, and the Lenton Curve.