Tel: 01453 834477 / 835414
Departing from Bristol Temple Meads, Yatton, Weston-super-Mare, & Taunton
Departing from Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Trowbridge, Westbury & Taunton
Unfortunately the end of last week (9 August 2019) proved to be a problematic time for us! Not only did the steam locomotive scheduled to haul the Torbay Express on Sunday, 11 August (No. 60009 'Union of South Africa') fail its Fitness To Run (FTR) test prior to being moved from Southall to Bristol because of leaky boiler pipes, BUT also our website went down - never a good thing at any time, but as far as we were concerned the timing couldn't have been worse!
Friday afternoon and evening saw 'all hands on deck' in the Booking Office to contact every passenger by phone and/or email to let them know what had happened. Where possible people are transferring to one of the other dates, with discount or having full refunds, and we are currently in the process of actioning these.
We would like to thank everyone for their understanding and patience.
We have just received the confirmed timings for the first Torbay Express of this summer, so the Boarding Passes will be posted by First Class mail to passengers tomorrow.
The website has been updated to show the confirmed timings for Sunday, not for the rest of the season, as these are still awaited.
it is now less than a week until the first Torbay Express of this summer and final preparations are almost complete. The stewards' green shirts have been taken out of storage and are pressed and ready to go. We are just waiting for the confirmed timings to arrive from Network Rail and then we will be able to post the Boarding Passes to all the passengers who are waiting for them.
There are seats available in Premier Dining, First Class Plus and Standard Class on the last Torbay Express of this summer. Why not join us for a lovely steam hauled day out behind N0. 35018 Clan Line - subject, of course to all the relevant tests being passed and nothing untoward happening!
The photo of Clan Line is by Glen Batten.
On Sunday, 15 July No. 60009 Union of South Africa will be hauling The Torbay Express (subject to all the usual provisos regarding passing FTR tests and nothing untoward happening) . The locomotive is also booked to haul the Torbay Express on 29 July and 19 August. These will be the only opportunity to travel behind No. 9 along this route as the locomotive is being retired next year and will then go into a museum in Scotland.
Just announced the provisional dates for the Torbay Express on Sundays in 2018:
3 June - via Bath Spa
17 June - via Weston-super-Mare,
15 July - via Bath Spa
29 July - via Weston-super-Mare
19 August - via Bath Spa,
2 September - via Weston-super-Mare
16 September - via Bath Spa
Full details will follow in October.
COMING SHORTLY - Dates for the Torbay Express in 2018
Watch this space for details.
There are no seats left for this Sunday, but there are some available on 3 September, when Clan Line is also booked to haul the train (subject to all the usual provisos).
It is now less than four weeks until the first Torbay Express of this summer on Sunday 18 June - getting very close now!
We are delighted that Clan Line No. 35028 had a test run on Thursday 18 May. She hauled one carriage and a 'dead' class 66 locomotive from Crewe to Chester and back, twice. The speed was gradually increased to around 65 mph and the test was a complete success. The next step will be visiting the paint shop, then a loaded test run with a full length train.
We have heard that steam locomotive Clan Line Number 35028 is due to have a test run in the next couple of weeks, so we are keeping our fingers firmly crossed!
Image courtesy of Paul Blowfield.
Click here to reserve your seat on the Torbay Express