AN express steam train will leave Bolton on a mission to break speed records for climbing some of the toughest gradients on Britain’s railway network.
Rail enthusiasts are expected to try to get a glimpse of the Pacific locomotive 6233 Duchess of Sutherland hauling the Cumbrian Mountain Express on a return trip to Carlisle on Saturday, August 8.
Many passengers are expected to board at Crewe for departure at 7.30am, but a large number of people are scheduled to join it at Bolton at 9.15am.
A spokesman for the organisers, the Railway Touring Company, said: “Bolton will be our last pick-up point before we head North.
“With luck, we’ll have a fast run along the West Coast Main Line to Carnforth where our locomotive takes water. We’ll climb the first severe gradient up to Grayrigg, then travel through the Lune Valley, gaining speed for the ascent up Shap. There’s a chance we’ll beat these gradients’ record times. After crossing the fells of Cumbria, we descend to Penrith, then head for Carlisle.”
The train is expected to arrive back at Bolton at 7.30pm.
The locomotive is one of two members of the Coronation class to have been preserved. They were first introduced on the former London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1933.
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