Great Central Railway News and Updates

[Keet]

5Z64 is now listed for Friday, York NRM to Toton TMD 1432 dep

 

[yorkshirerail]

5Z64 is now listed for Friday, York NRM to Toton TMD 1432 dep

Any confirmation as to whether this will definitely be both Scotsman and Tornado

 

[Amos390]

Any confirmation as to whether this will definitely be both Scotsman and Tornado

It will definitely be both, Tornado runs to NRM under 5Z63 on the Friday, 5 indicating it'll have it's support coach, Z being freight, and 63 indicating 60163, it's what Tornado usually runs under. I wonder whether DB are holding back the timetable until tonight or tomorrow just to reduce the amount of people who will see it, therefore reducing risk (I think this may have been done before), just a theory though.

 

[yorkshirerail]

It will definitely be both, Tornado runs to NRM under 5Z63 on the Friday, 5 indicating it'll have it's support coach, Z being freight, and 63 indicating 60163, it's what Tornado usually runs under. I wonder whether DB are holding back the timetable until tonight or tomorrow just to reduce the amount of people who will see it, therefore reducing risk (I think this may have been done before), just a theory though

Timings now on

Realtime Trains | 5Z64 1432 York N.R.M. to Toton T.M.D. | 15/05/2026

Real-time train running information for 5Z64 1432 departure from York N.R.M. to Toton T.M.D. on 15/05/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 5Z65 1735 Toton T.M.D. to Hotchley Hill (East Leake) | 15/05/2026

Real-time train running information for 5Z65 1735 departure from Toton T.M.D. to Hotchley Hill (East Leake) on 15/05/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Keet]

Ok so I tried checking Toton TMD now and there's 5Z65 at 1735 going to Hotchley Hill (East Leake) - near Loughborough.

Then there's that journey in reverse 0Z65
1940 to 2113.

I'm very new to this, so is that ditching the support engine at East Leake then returning to Toton without it?

 

[Amos390]

Ok so I tried checking Toton TMD now and there's 5Z65 at 1735 going to Hotchley Hill (East Leake) - near Loughborough.

Then there's that journey in reverse 0Z65
1940 to 2113.

I'm very new to this, so is that ditching the support engine at East Leake then returning to Toton without it?

Most likely DB are attaching a 66 (or other support loco) onto the consist at Toton to assist with the many changing ends between Loughborough and Rudddington

 

[yorkshirerail]

Most likely DB are attaching a 66 (or other support loco) onto the consist at Toton to assist with the many changing ends between Loughborough and Rudddington

Yeah that would make sense. Better not be anything in front of the double header before that

 

[Amos390]

Now that we have the timetable, at what time can we expect the consist to arrive into Ruddington platform, presuming it goes straight from East Leake.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==

Yeah that would make sense. Better not be anything in front of the double header before that

Hopefully not, hopefully it is just stuck on the back to help with the Loughborough -> 50-steps leg of the journey, might be considered a bit far for FS and Torndado to run tender first, not to mention the poor visibility you would get from the cab

 

[yorkshirerail]

Now that we have the timetable, at what time can we expect the consist to arrive into Ruddington platform, presuming it goes straight from East Leake.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==


Hopefully not, hopefully it is just stuck on the back to help with the Loughborough -> 50-steps leg of the journey, might be considered a bit far for FS and Torndado to run tender first, not to mention the poor visibility you would get from the cab

.

Now that we have the timetable, at what time can we expect the consist to arrive into Ruddington platform, presuming it goes straight from East Leake.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 May 2026 ==


Hopefully not, hopefully it is just stuck on the back to help with the Loughborough -> 50-steps leg of the journey, might be considered a bit far for FS and Torndado to run tender first, not to mention the poor visibility you would get from the cab

Yeah I think you’ll be right about that

 

[Amos390]

I also wonder which steamer will be leading, I don’t really mind which one, but I would quite like to know if anyone has any ideas.

 

[yorkshirerail]

I also wonder which steamer will be leading, I don’t really mind which one, but I would quite like to know if anyone has any ideas.

If would make sense for Scotsman to be leading as they would couple that on to the front of Tornado at the NRM. But the headcode suggest that Tornado will be leading. If it was Scotsman leading I would have expected 5Z72

 

[43096]

It will definitely be both, Tornado runs to NRM under 5Z63 on the Friday, 5 indicating it'll have it's support coach, Z being freight, and 63 indicating 60163, it's what Tornado usually runs under. I wonder whether DB are holding back the timetable until tonight or tomorrow just to reduce the amount of people who will see it, therefore reducing risk (I think this may have been done before), just a theory though.

Z does not mean freight. It’s used for special movements / moves outside of the normal timetable. There’s plenty of passenger trains that run as 1Z or 2Z.

 

[Amos390]

If would make sense for Scotsman to be leading as they would couple that on to the front of Tornado at the NRM. But the headcode suggest that Tornado will be leading. If it was Scotsman leading I would have expected 5Z72

Yeah and I suppose it makes the coupling at York easier, set up Scotsman and Support in the entrance, back Tornado and support onto that, call it a day. If all this speculation is the case, the consist will be:

NRM -> Toton: 60163 + 99249 (Tornado support coach) + 60103 + 99953 (FS Support coach)
Toton -> GCRN: 60163 + 99249 + 60103 + 99953 + Cl.66

However that relies on everything mentioned so far being true, so don’t bank on it.

 

[yorkshirerail]

Yeah and I suppose it makes the coupling at York easier, set up Scotsman and Support in the entrance, back Tornado and support onto that, call it a day. If all this speculation is the case, the consist will be:

NRM -> Toton: 60163 + 99249 (Tornado support coach) + 60103 + 99953 (FS Support coach)
Toton -> GCRN: 60163 + 99249 + 60103 + 99953 + Cl.66

However that relies on everything mentioned so far being true, so don’t bank on it.

I would expect them to double head not have a coach between the locos. Make it much easier at the other end to get the support coaches out of the way. Also would be line of sight issues for the crew of the rear engine if they had a coach in front of them

 

[Amos390]

I would expect them to double head not have a coach between the locos. Make it much easier at the other end to get the support coaches out of the way. Also would be line of sight issues for the crew of the rear engine if they had a coach in front of them

Would the line of sight not be an issue anyways with a Scotsman + 2 support coaches on the back, hence the need for the shed from Toton

 

[yorkshirerail]

Would the line of sight not be an issue anyways with a Scotsman + 2 support coaches on the back, hence the need for the shed from Toton

Yeah that’s why they need the diesel but for when they are running to Toton you have it as having tornado support coach Scotsman support coach in that order when I’m fairly certain they will double head and have 2 support coaches behind them

 

[Flying Phil]

There is good news re the "Gap" project, that the ground investigations have confirmed that there are no significant problems along the route with good ground rock 15 - 20m below the alluvial deposits.

 

[yorkshirerail]

Convoy on its way Tornado leading Flying Scotsman

 

[WesternLancer]

I see plenty of tickets to travel behind Tornado still available for this Sat and Sunday (on line booking form)

Steam Celebration Tornado Flying Scotsman Ruddington Nottingham

Steam Celebration Tornado Flying Scotsman Ruddington Nottingham

www.foxandedwards.com

eg over 150 tickets available at the moment on 3 listed departures on Sunday for example

These may or may not sell out before the day in question of course.

This isn't bad value at all as for £29.50 (+ a £2.95 booking fee...) you get Tornado haulage on a round trip, and £8 worth of model railway exhibition, and access to the rest of the site I think plus some sort of ability to get on footplate of Flying Scotsman - in my view better value than the trips behind Scotsman the following weekend priced at £60 IIRC

My issue is I can't predict my timings yet due to other commitments

Is it likely to be possible to pay on the door if tickets available on the day?

Would they even have tickets held back from on line sale to sell on the gate? - it occurs to me to wonder

It would seem odd to me to run it with empty seats and not take last minute in person bookings on the gate - but these days stranger things have happened.

anyone happen to know?

 

[Amos390]

Convoy on its way Tornado leading Flying Scotsman

Yup, good to see NRM Have organised it to be Torndado, Scotsman, Support coaches, awaiting news on what red shed is on the rear from Toton

Edit: Just got news the Shed on the back should be 66190.

 

[bilboschwagins]

just gone through trent junction according to traksy

 

[Amos390]

Got to see the consist at Ruddington, the shed was left at 50 steps in the end, and the 2 steamers did lead the 2 supports. Glad they opened up the heritage centre to let people in, Tornado sat in the middle road for a bit with Scotsman on the smaller platform, the 20 was stabled on the main platform with a long rake of stock, stretching from the runaround points to the bottom of the platform. Asked some of the people there, they said that the stock is on loan from a handful of groups around the area, and the 20 will be the support loco for all services.

Edit: Also worth mentioning, it appears on the journeys the 20 will be leading out of Ruddington (cab end first) with the kettle on the back.

 

[WesternLancer]

Got to see the consist at Ruddington, the shed was left at 50 steps in the end, and the 2 steamers did lead the 2 supports. Glad they opened up the heritage centre to let people in, Tornado sat in the middle road for a bit with Scotsman on the smaller platform, the 20 was stabled on the main platform with a long rake of stock, stretching from the runaround points to the bottom of the platform. Asked some of the people there, they said that the stock is on loan from a handful of groups around the area, and the 20 will be the support loco for all services.

Edit: Also worth mentioning, it appears on the journeys the 20 will be leading out of Ruddington (cab end first) with the kettle on the back.

Will be great to get the 20 haulage!

 

[Amos390]

Will be great to get the 20 haulage!

Yeah, hoping to see Tornado on the 1100 tomorrow during the Model Rail show, maybe see it coming back too.

Another thing was that according to tie timetable, the consist arrived into Hotchley Hill on time at 1849, however the set arrived into Ruddington just gone 1900, does that mean the consist would’ve gone a tad over the 25mph speed limit along GCRN, and if so is this a frequent occurrence that trains along GCR and GCRN alike often go over the speed limit?

 

[matt]

Yeah, hoping to see Tornado on the 1100 tomorrow during the Model Rail show, maybe see it coming back too.

Another thing was that according to tie timetable, the consist arrived into Hotchley Hill on time at 1849, however the set arrived into Ruddington just gone 1900, does that mean the consist would’ve gone a tad over the 25mph speed limit along GCRN, and if so is this a frequent occurrence that trains along GCR and GCRN alike often go over the speed limit?

The Hotchley Hill would probably be a manual entry. It passed Loughborough South Junction at 1806 so 1900 sounds about right for Ruddington.

 

[WesternLancer]

Yeah, hoping to see Tornado on the 1100 tomorrow during the Model Rail show, maybe see it coming back too.

Another thing was that according to tie timetable, the consist arrived into Hotchley Hill on time at 1849, however the set arrived into Ruddington just gone 1900, does that mean the consist would’ve gone a tad over the 25mph speed limit along GCRN, and if so is this a frequent occurrence that trains along GCR and GCRN alike often go over the speed limit?

Don’t those 25mph speed limits only apply if public on board.

 

[Amos390]

Don’t those 25mph speed limits only apply if public on board.

I thought they were blanket due to the poor/lack of signalling.

The Hotchley Hill would probably be a manual entry. It passed Loughborough South Junction at 1806 so 1900 sounds about right for Ruddington.

Ah ok thanks, makes a little more sense then.

 

[Gwr12345]

Don’t those 25mph speed limits only apply if public on board.

No. 25 flat restriction on the Nottingham branch.
You may be getting confused with the Loughborough section that is permitted to run faster in special circumstances (testing, filming etc)

 

[Amos390]

No. 25 flat restriction on the Nottingham branch.
You may be getting confused with the Loughborough section that is permitted to run faster in special circumstances (testing, filming etc)

And according to many reports from diesel and steam galas over the months, any other time when the driver just wants to get the engine to do a little bit of work

 

[WesternLancer]

No. 25 flat restriction on the Nottingham branch.
You may be getting confused with the Loughborough section that is permitted to run faster in special circumstances (testing, filming etc)

Ok. Thanks.