It is with great regret that we have had to take the difficult decision to cancel ‘The Peppercorn Phoenix’ which was due to run on New Year’s Eve commemorating No. 60145 Saint Mungo’s historic run from York to Newcastle 50 years ago. Although this railtour had been heavily promoted, it failed to attract sufficient passengers and at current booking rates The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust – a registered charity – was  faced with a five figure loss. We therefore had no alternative but to cancel this train and give our passengers sufficient time to make alternative New Year’s Eve arrangements.

 

Whilst we all very much wanted ‘The Peppercorn Phoenix’ to run for historical reasons, it has proved to be a stark reminder that the Trust’s  railtours have to be commercially viable in order to generate sufficient profit to keep Tornado operating on the main line and that this will focus our choice of starting points, routes and destinations to those that will generate a sufficient return.

 

The next two Trust promoted railtours are ‘The Red Rose’ from London Paddington to Worcester on Sunday 14^th February 2016 and ‘The Devon Belle’ on Saturday 2^nd April 2016 from London to Exeter. Others will be announced shortly and details of the trains will appear on www.a1steam.com as soon as each railtour is finalised.