A PHRASE often said in hindsight is: “If I knew then what I know now, I may not have bothered.” And that could apply when looking at how the railtour and charter train industry – and its customers – have changed since the 1970s.
At a time when the majority of excursions were run by British Rail, often under the day excursion or Merrymaker banner, a handful of special trains were run by groups affiliated to specific steam locos (A4 Locomotive Society, 6000 Locomotive Association) or heritage groups such as the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society and Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Society. A few tours were also run by dedicated enthusiast organisations, such as the Locomotive Club of Great Britain jointly with the RCTS.
At the time Peter Watts ran his first railtour, he was working in the Gloucester warehouse of a well known ice cream company. But in his spare time he was part of a group located in the South West and South Wales who were fundraising for the Welsh Highland Railway (1964) Company, so the proceeds could be used to build carriages. With Peter’s friend Tony Fielding, they hit upon the idea of chartering a train from BR to run their own ‘Merrymaker’ style trip. It was a bold and ambitious move.
The first tour
After some back-and-forth with BR, the ‘Snowdonian’ was planned for June 10, 1973 from Gloucester Eastgate to Pwllheli via Toddington, Honeybourne and Worcester Shrub Hill.
The tour, described by Peter as a ‘do it yourself ’ type, was a sellout – 514 seats in 11 carriages hauled by Brush Type 4 No. 1644 (later No. 47060) carrying a home-made headboard. The Brush was replaced at New St by a pair of BR Sulzer Type 2s, Nos. 24079 and 24087, which were worked hard over the Cambrian route to Pwllheli.
Keeping overheads to a minimum, an on board buffet was set up in the brake van – although the use of a portable stove powered by a gas cylinder for hot drinks did result in a melted floor!
Buoyed by the success of this train, Peter and Tony embarked on a second tour the
