THE Class 50 Alliance has won the Heritage Railway Association Mortons Media Rail Express Modern Traction Award.
The C50A has been chosen by this magazine in recognition of the 100 main line tours the organisation has supplied locomotives for. Editor Richard Clinnick said: “This award recognises the sheer scale of the achievement of a small number of volunteers who have consistently made Class 50s available for main line duties for more than 20 years. For any preservation group to achieve 100 tours is worth celebrating.”
The award will be presented at an HRA awards dinner in Brighton on February 10.
Pathfinder Tours’ ‘The Pilgrim Centurion’, which ran from Swindon to Edinburgh Waverley on September 16 was the 100th tour. The train was powered by Nos. 50007 Hercules (carrying No. 50034 Furious on one side) and 50049 Defiance.
The first train, Past-Time Rail’s ‘The between Birmingham International and Penzance, ran on November 1, 1997.
