News

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 now received the confirmed timings for Sunday's train from Network Rail, so the Boarding Passes will be posted to passengers by first class mail this afternoon.

Please note that these are CONFIRMED TIMINGS for Sunday 11 August only, not for other dates.

	WESTON SUPER MARE ROUTE CONFIRMED FOR 11 AUGUST
	Joining Station		Depart		Arrive
	Bristol Temple Meads		09:10		20:15
	Yatton		09:25		19:55
	Weston-super-Mare		09:40		19:35
	Taunton		10:40		18:30
			Arrive		Depart
	Paignton		12.00		17:15
	Kingswear for Dartmouth		12:35		16:45

Image courtesy of Colin Campbell.

This year there has been a change of arrangements for Torbay Express passengers wishing to take a harbour cruise on  the River Dart aboard paddle steamer Kingswear Castle - the last remaining coal-fired paddle steamer in operation in the UK today - Places no longer need to be booked in advance, but instead there will be a discount of 20% when they present their Torbay Express Boarding Passes at the Booking Kiosk on the Dartmouth side of the river  (N.B. Limited availability on a first come first served basis). 

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.

It is only eight weeks today until the first Torbay Express of Summer 2019 on Sunday 28 July. Have you booked your seats yet?

Image of No 6233 Duchess of Sutherland courtesy of JP Media.

The early booking discount of 5% off the first two Torbay Express trains of summer 2019 (28 July via Bath Spa & 11 August via Weston-super-Mare) finishes tonight (30 April). Have you booked your seats yet? Don't miss out - book your seats now!

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.

Unfortunately, the locomotive booked to haul The Torbay Express on Sunday, 2 September, No. 60163 ‘Tornado’, is not available because of on-going repair issues.

The directors of The Torbay Express, the A1 Trust (the owners of ‘Tornado’) and DB Cargo (the train operator) have made every effort to source another suitable locomotive without success.  However, No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ is available the following week and therefore, subject to sufficient support from passengers, it is proposed to re-date the train to run on Sunday, 9 September. All passengers have been contacted by email/letter.

Photo of Clan Line by Paul Blowfield.

There are just a few seats left on the train.

Photo courtesy of Paul Blowfield.