A ride from Crewe on one of the fanciest trains in the world has been postponed – because organizers can’t find a working steam locomotive to pull it.
The purple Princess Elizabeth, built on the city’s railroad works in 1933, was to pull the Northern Belle over the Settle-Carlisle line.
But the famous locomotive, which still holds the record for the fastest steam journey between London and Glasgow, blew its top in the summer.
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A leak in her boiler means she needs a major repair before returning to haul historic trains over the main rail network.
Yorkshire businessman David Pitts, who bought the luxurious Northern Belle from the legendary Orient Express group, had to postpone his trip on Saturday (September 11th).
He said, “We rearranged it for October 7th. Hopefully Princess Elizabeth – or Lizzie as she is affectionately known – will be fixed by then.
“We are very sorry to let passengers down at such short notice, but unfortunately we had no alternative. You have to keep in mind that while still a great engine, Lizzie is 88 years old. “
Actor Bill Nighy described the Northern Belle as the “Grand Duchess of Luxury Trains” after a Lizzie-drawn trip that was shown on Channel 5’s “World’s Most Scenic Railways” earlier this year.
He said of the ride on the Settle-Carlisle Line: “Our plush Grand Tour was the experience of a lifetime.”
The former Lizzie locomotive from London, Scotland and Midland cost only £ 11,675 to build, numbered 6201 (later 46201 after the nationalization of the railways) and named after the future Queen at the time.
Three years later, at an average speed of 68.2 mph, the engine broke non-stop times in both directions between London and Glasgow, earning its driver Tom Clark an OBE.
The seven umber-cream colored Pullman cars of the Northern Belle in the style of the 1930s were once part of the legendary Orient Express group. One named Duart used to run on the Queen’s Royal Train.
Lizzie is expected to return the train on Saturday October 16, and the Northern Belle will be making two trips to Crewe in November for trips to Edinburgh and Oxford, with a visit to the spectacular Christmas market at Waddesdon Manor, the French castle -stall home of the fabulously wealthy Rothschild family.
Then in December there will be two slap-up Christmas dinner trips from Crewe.
