The first visit by a Class 40 to Skegness since September 15 1984 is planned for July 27, when the Class 40 Preservation Society’s D345 will arrive at the Lincolnshire resort on a charter train from Crewe.
The ‘Jolly Whistler’ special, promoted by Pathfinder Railtours and operated by West Coast Railways, will start at Burton with an unspecified WCR locomotive working via Birmingham New Street to Crewe, where the ‘40’ will take over.
It will then run to Stockport and Guide Bridge, before heading east along the Hope Valley line to re-create the route of the old Summer Saturdays Manchester to Skegness holiday train, running via Sheffield, Retford, Lincoln and Sleaford.
After a three-hour break, the train will return hauled by D345 throughout, via Sleaford, Nottingham, Burton, and back to…