Will we ever see a 'Motorail' tour

[NightatLaira]

It would cost a fair bit I'm sure, but can you imagine it? A sort of heritage journey from somewhere like Penzance to Inverness with 70s style open wagons for the cars, mk1 sleeper stock (if there is any), etc... Kind of like a reliving the golden age of BR Motorail.

I'd pay to go on it lol!

 

[scotsman]

Might get something with a few classic cars - if the owners were happy to put 'em on open wagons...

Mark I Sleepers aren't particularly common - they have asbestos in a cupboard in the Steward's room too, so they aren't fit (in the legal sense) for travel anyway. I doubt if there's a single example of a Mk1 sleeper that's fit to move...

Otherwise, I doubt it really.

 

[Nym]

Hmm, how about (if HS2 sees sense and 4 tracks with loops) a modern motorail?

I'm thinking shuttle-esk units running up and down HS2...?

 

[4SRKT]

Are there any locations still able to load cars onto Motorail flatbeds? The locations on the Motorail map in the 1985 book are 'London' (which IIRC means Kensington Olympia), Penzance, Bristol, Crewe, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness, so you'd have to have a look at whatever facilities remain at these places for a railtour itinerary. You'd probably have to accept mk III sleepers though, but the seated passengers used to travel in mk I FKs and BFKs. The SRPS tour train contains a number of really nice mk I FKs, which are presumably air braked, so if you could get yr hands on these.......

The up-to-date Quail book for the Western Region shows Motorail ramps still in situ at Penzance.

 

[A0]

Hmm, how about (if HS2 sees sense and 4 tracks with loops) a modern motorail?

I'm thinking shuttle-esk units running up and down HS2...?

There probably isn't the demand.

Motorail made alot of sense in the days when cars were less reliable over long distances and there wasn't a motorway network, which meant journeys to the places served e.g. Cornwall, Scotland were particularly protracted.

That's no longer the case, so the demand simply isn't there.

 

[scotsman]

The SRPS tour train contains a number of really nice mk I FKs, which are presumably air braked, so if you could get yr hands on these.......

SRPS has considerably more than a 'train!' There's around two complete sets, which are air braked (hard to get locos with vac brakes now) - the FKs are very nice indeed, although I'll settle for a seat in a BSK as well!
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Are there any locations still able to load cars onto Motorail flatbeds? The locations on the Motorail map in the 1985 book are 'London' (which IIRC means Kensington Olympia), Penzance, Bristol, Crewe, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness
The up-to-date Quail book for the Western Region shows Motorail ramps still in situ at Penzance.

I've seen motorail ramps in Inverness, Perth and Edinburgh

 

[DavidBrown]

The loading ramp at Newton Abbot remains virtually untouched, and even some road signs still exist at Exeter St Davids.

I think that there would be some demand for Motorail given how high fuel prices are now, but that demand would evaporate again when an alternative for petrol is found, and even now I wouldn't think that the existing demand would be enough to make a profitable service.

 

[NightatLaira]

Ironically, the future of electric cars may create a new market for Motorail.

If electric cars really are the stopgap for the intermediate-term future then journeys of 90miles+ may be prohibitively long with recharge times.

The old Motorail terminii could be resurrected at relatively small cost, closed wagons built, and charge points put in to charge up the cars during the journey. If the electricity was included as part of the ticket (bearing in mind the lower tariff rates electrified rail pays for its supply) it could end up being seen as a bit of a bargain by the car-drivers.


As for a heritage journey - how easy would it be to hook up with a Classic Cars club and do a tour with a few of the spare GUVs left over from FGW's 2005 cessation of Motorail, and some hired mk3s from FSR. Sleepers don't run on Saturdays so 2 tours (1 northbound and 1 southbound) could be organised from somewhere like Inverness to Kensington Olympia/Euston on a Saturday night into a Sunday morning and the Mk3s would still be more or less in their right places for the Sunday night scheduled service?

 

[GearJammer]

Hmm, how about (if HS2 sees sense and 4 tracks with loops) a modern motorail?

I'm thinking shuttle-esk units running up and down HS2...?

Er, why has no one else thought of this idea? Its genious, probably means nothing will happen.

 

[scotsman]

As for a heritage journey - how easy would it be to hook up with a Classic Cars club and do a tour with a few of the spare GUVs left over from FGW's 2005 cessation of Motorail, and some hired mk3s from FSR. Sleepers don't run on Saturdays so 2 tours (1 northbound and 1 southbound) could be organised from somewhere like Inverness to Kensington Olympia/Euston on a Saturday night into a Sunday morning and the Mk3s would still be more or less in their right places for the Sunday night scheduled service?

The GUVs are likely in need of an overhaul. FSR's sleeper stock receives maintenance on Saturdays, although they do have spares undergoing work at IV.

 

[NightatLaira]

The GUVs are likely in need of an overhaul. FSR's sleeper stock receives maintenance on Saturdays, although they do have spares undergoing work at IV.

How many spares out of interest? Were these left over from the old Scotland to West Country sleepers that ran until the end of BR days?

 

[scotsman]

How many spares out of interest? Were these left over from the old Scotland to West Country sleepers that ran until the end of BR days?

No, as already mentioned, they were from FGW's former operation. As for how many, I haven't a clue.

 

[NightatLaira]

No, as already mentioned, they were from FGW's former operation. As for how many, I haven't a clue.

So where did the old mk3 sets from the South West to Scotland go to? Were they scrapped?

 

[ainsworth74]

So where did the old mk3 sets from the South West to Scotland go to? Were they scrapped?

I have a feeling a bunch of them have ended up with heritage lines to provide accommodation, some have been scrapped and I think a few are in storage but I dread to think what condition they're in.

 

[GNERman]

Are there any locations still able to load cars onto Motorail flatbeds? The locations on the Motorail map in the 1985 book are 'London' (which IIRC means Kensington Olympia), Penzance, Bristol, Crewe, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness, so you'd have to have a look at whatever facilities remain at these places for a railtour itinerary. You'd probably have to accept mk III sleepers though, but the seated passengers used to travel in mk I FKs and BFKs. The SRPS tour train contains a number of really nice mk I FKs, which are presumably air braked, so if you could get yr hands on these.......

The up-to-date Quail book for the Western Region shows Motorail ramps still in situ at Penzance.

Kenny O's are still in situ, albeit, I think, no track, or filled in with rubble, but very visible.

 

[NightatLaira]

Kenny O's are still in situ, albeit, I think, no track, or filled in with rubble, but very visible.

And Inverness, Perth, Penzance still have the head-on ramps in varying degrees of preservation.

Glasgow Central and York have been the main ones to completely rid themselves Motorail equipment although even these could probably be brought back into life if the will was there. Think Glasgow Central used a flatbed wagon with a fold down bit so car drivers could shimmy out rather than doing a head-on ramp bit over the top of a siding. See here: http://www.jhowie.force9.co.uk/centralother.html

Edinburgh's Motorail 'road' still sort of exists as the bit where RR buses and lorry deliveries enter the station from Waverley Bridge, it then used to continue over the mini-roundabout and past the back of by Marks and Spencer, Cafe Nero and Left Luggage coming out near Platform 7? or 4? iirc (where the sort stay car park used to be), this is were the bay terminal platforms for Motorail were, and the ramps, certainly until relatively recently were there. I think they've gone now though.

 

[Supersaint]

The loading ramp at Newton Abbot remains virtually untouched, and even some road signs still exist at Exeter St Davids.

I think that there would be some demand for Motorail given how high fuel prices are now, but that demand would evaporate again when an alternative for petrol is found, and even now I wouldn't think that the existing demand would be enough to make a profitable service.

Likewise with the Ramp at Brockenhurst (New Forest) although you would have to move the motorail coach thats there full of bikes to hire , was talk a few years ago of one starting up in Southampton !

 

[90019]

Edinburgh's Motorail 'road' still sort of exists as the bit where RR buses and lorry deliveries enter the station from Waverley Bridge, it then used to continue over the mini-roundabout and past the back of by Marks and Spencer, Cafe Nero and Left Luggage coming out near Platform 7? or 4? iirc (where the sort stay car park used to be), this is were the bay terminal platforms for Motorail were, and the ramps, certainly until relatively recently were there. I think they've gone now though.

I'd be surprised if the ramps have gone now, as they were there very recently, and there doesn't seem to be much point in removing them, as the tracks there are only used as sidings for stabling a 90 and a 67 usually. The platform faces are still there though, and there's a gap in the numbers for them still (currently no 5 or 6).
Certainly you could still drive up to them, I think you'd just have to remove the fence at the end of the car park.
It's been a few weeks since I was in there though, and the bit where they are/were was blocked off last time.

 

[NightatLaira]

I'd be surprised if the ramps have gone now, as they were there very recently, and there doesn't seem to be much point in removing them, as the tracks there are only used as sidings for stabling a 90 and a 67 usually. The platform faces are still there though, and there's a gap in the numbers for them still (currently no 5 or 6).
Certainly you could still drive up to them, I think you'd just have to remove the fence at the end of the car park.
It's been a few weeks since I was in there though, and the bit where they are/were was blocked off last time.

That's what I was thinking too - it's been a few weeks since I've properly looked at them too, and as you'll know - there's a heck of a lot of changes taking place at Waverley at the moment as well....

 

[90019]

That's what I was thinking too - it's been a few weeks since I've properly looked at them too, and as you'll know - there's a heck of a lot of changes taking place at Waverley at the moment as well....

I'll go and have a look next time I'm up that way, as that part may still be visible from platform 7, but that may not be for a while.