Xbox The 12 Hour Track Bash Railtour For Crewe/preston/carlisle

I've double checked to make sure that I wasn't imagining this but it was mentioned in the JT development blog and the DtG roadmap article.

And yet I just cannot find it anywhere. Not in the timetables, or scenarios. Nothing at all. There's a couple of odd small railtours here and there, but nothing that goes over an hour.

Am I just outright missing something?

 

The only long Railtour that comes to mind is the Preston Docker on Blackpool Branches but even that is broken down into several segments.

 

If you go into the last chapter of the Journey Mode on Crewe - Preston - "A grand day out", there is a whole series of linked rail tour services where you visit all of the industrial locations. 47's on one end 20's on the other.

 

I can't access my PC to check but iirc it's split between the Class 20 and 47. The services don't have any special names, you have to select them to see their descriptions where it tells you that they are a railtour.

 

Found it! Only issue as that the first class 20 it puts you in refuses to move. Typical.

 

I am on Pc and I've not had any issues. You might need to key in on the other desk and also there are 2 AWS/change end levers on the floor you need to switch before the 20 will take power

 

This. Something about how JT does their trains means you have to activate the AWS Change Ends lever in order to draw power. If you don't want to use AWS then just don't pull the other lever with it.

 

Sounds like a great way to do the Monthly mastery, after finishing up a run on Medway Valley!

 

I’m guessing this is a fictional tour created by JT specifically for the route, rather than one which operated in reality? I certainly can’t see anything on the Six Bells website on or around the date it’s set on.

I ignored the first light engine move and set off with the first part of the tour proper from Preston to Crewe. Nice Duff thrash up the WCML. However a couple of detail points occur to me. It is extremely unlikely a Railtour in 1986 would have been formed by anything other than a Mark One charter set. Highly unlikely it would have been a Mark 2 aircon rake. Tha being the case, the tour organiser who knows his market would have requested some rare traction, either a 47/3 not a 47/4 or if train heat was required and the coaches appropriately fitted a boiler fitted Class 47/0 to provide steam heat.

The Railtour is great but a little more attention to detail would have achieved perfection.