Tsc - Sr V Schools Class Out Now!

In the description/spiel it states that the Schools were used all over the country; this is not so. They were used all over the Southern Region although rarely beyond Salisbury on the Exeter line. One did reach Nottingham and stayed there for about 2 weeks.
There was a regular service Bournemouth to York using SR coaches and with an SR loco as far north as Oxford. It was usually a King Arthur or later a Bulleid light pacific. The engine was usually changed for a WR 4-6-0 (usually a Hall) and this took the train to Leicester GC where an ER loco (usually a B17 or B1) took the train to York. In 1962 (iirc) a Schools (30925 Cheltenham) arrived from Bournemouth at Oxford - no WR engine available (due to a late failure) - send it on to Leicester GC was decided and so it went. On arrival at Leicester GC for some reason (I can't remember why) the train was sent on to Nottingham Victoria behind the Schools. Leicester did what Oxford didn't and called ahead and loco was sent to Nottingham Victoria from Colwick to take the train forward.
Strange as it seems today although the Schools had come all the way from Oxford to Nottingham with no clearance problems the loco was made to remain in the Nottingham area for 2 weeks while "clearance" was obtained to send it back!! It then found itself on a York to Bournemouth. This iirc is the only time (other than the 1948 engine exchanges) that a Southern Railway or Southern Region engine ever hauled trains in the Nottingham area. It is possible that SR locos passed through en route to the Sheffield area scrapyards in the mid 60s but a Schools never again visited Nottingham Victoria.