WEST Coast Railways ran an empty stock train in the path of its 1015 Fort William-Mallaig ‘Jacobite’ on April 8, returning as the 1410 from Mallaig.
The working followed Locomotive Services Limited saying that it would run an 0852 Fort William-Mallaig and 1132 return passenger trains on April 8/9, with 37409 Loch Awe and 37667 Flopsie.
WCR had hastily sent for the two ‘37s’ (37676 and 37685), with seven coaches and general utility van (GUV), to run empty from Carnforth to Fort William on April 5. WCR 37518 Fort William was already there, having moved north two days earlier.
The private operator usually runs the ‘Jacobite’ with steam traction throughout the summer, and it is a hugely successful operation because the train featured in the Harry Potter films.
However, because WCR has (so far) refused to fit now mandatory Central Door Locking (CDL) to its
Mk 1 coaches, the Office of Rail and Road has stopped it running the train. It has had to suspend the ‘Jacobite’ and is no longer taking bookings (RAIL 1006).
Although WCR retains these paths, if they are not used for a given period then they can be opened up to other operators. They could also be used under a Very Short Term Planning (VSTP) arrangement on a day-to-day basis.
Using them for empty stock workings could therefore prevent WCR losing out to another operator.
The first run of the LSL train attracted about 70 passengers, many of them Class 37 followers. But given it was only announced in the previous week, LSL said it was happy with those numbers. It is now looking at options for running the train on more dates over the summer season.
Meanwhile, local Scottish tourist organisations have criticised WCR for its failure to comply with CDL fitment regulations, thereby causing the ‘Jacobite’ to be suspended, and for it to be stopped at what they say was ‘short notice”.
Speaking to The Herald newspaper, Sine Davis, who chairs the
