WITH several railtour promoters still considering options for excursions next year and yet to finalise programmes, the Railway Touring Company (RTC) has published details of 53 planned tours up until next autumn. The National Railway Museum’s ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman, which will be celebrating its centenary, will feature in more than 10 of these tours. RTC is planning to take the legendary loco to such destinations as Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chester, Cardiff, Carlisle and Great Yarmouth between April and October. Despite tickets for some of these trains having only gone on sale in early November, the tours to Great Yarmouth and Plymouth have already sold out. It is likely the other tours will prove equally popular.
RTC’s full programme from late January to October is available online and features tried and tested itineraries such as the ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’, as well as trips to Edinburgh, Devon, Tyneside and Wales. The company is also marking the anniversary of the end of steam on the Southern with a special hauled by Merchant Navy No.