Don Benn tells the stories of LMS Royal Scot 7P 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman on the Railway Touring Company’s ‘The Cumbrian Mountain Express’ on March 18, and a struggle north from Carlisle in July 1965, plus another very fast run with a Class 47, this time from Paddington to Reading in 1974.
I WOULD like to have been on the RailwayTouring Company’s‘The Cumbrian Mountain Express’on March 18, but as very few other trains were running due to strike action, I could only access the train by undertaking a long drive – an unattractive proposition for me nowadays. Due to the strike, the‘CME’was retimed to leave Euston earlier than normal and arrive back earlier too, with a change in stopping pattern on the return. However, Alan Rawlings was on the train, and his account of the day is shown in tables one, two and three, and his description is set out below.
“Nowadays, there are few main line steam
