Up the Settle and Carlisle

North Wales is a popular destination for railtours but a very rare starting area. So we weren't going to miss the chance of a loco hauled ride up one of Britain's most scenic lines, the Settle and Carlisle, organised by Green Express Railtours. The trip started from Llandudno Junction at 08:10. We allowed time for photographs and found the station hosting Fragonset locomotives 31 459 Cerberus and 31 602 Chimaera, twelve coaches and lots of passengers.

In Greek legend, Cerberus was the monstrous dog which guarded the entrance to the underworld and usually portrayed with three heads and a dragon's neck and tail. The final task of Hercules was to overpower this monster. Chimaera was a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail.

The twelve coach set comprised

Number	Built
3143	1963	Mk 1	FO	Inter City grey
99125	1962/3	Mk 1	FO	Maroon
99371	1962/3	Mk 1	FO	Maroon
99127	1962/3	Mk 1	FO	Maroon
4940	1961/2	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon
99311	1962	Mk 1	RMB	Maroon
99680	1968	Mk 2A	BFK	Maroon
4951	1961/2	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon
99327	1961/2	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon
99317	1953	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon
99328	1961/2	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon
5035	1961/2	Mk 1	TSO	Maroon

FO First Open
TSO Tourist Standard Open
RMB Miniature Buffet Car
BFK Brake Corridor First (with compartments)

We were in the oldest and probably the most interesting and least comfortable coach, built 1953 in my home city of York. Number 99317 is fitted with narrower seats than later builds and makes more use of wood panelling. The interior was festooned with posters.

Antimacassars added a touch of class to a vintage vehicle of style and character

With a general election just weeks away, Green Party posters adorned the windows above the disused centre doors of the stock.

At 08:10 the Brush Type 2 locomotives accelerated us along the coast. Colwyn Bay and Abergele supplied large contingents of passengers but stops to the east were much quieter with hardly anyone boarding at Chester, possibly losing customers to the Llandrindod Wells to Carlisle tour a couple of weeks previously. The train was almost full, the twelfth coach being a late addition to the booked set to cope with demand for first class seats. There was an efficient and friendly trolley service and rubbish collections which separated recyclable materials from the rest.

This was our first coast ride in a non-airconditioned coach since class 37 hauled services ended in February.

The locomotive graveyard