In May 2018, Midwest Rail Rangers President Robert Tabern and Midwest Rail Rangers Education Officer Kandace Tabern spent two
weeks exploring the various train lines of England, Scotland, and
Wales... everything from heritage steam locomotive trips... to taking the
Eurostar at nearly 200mph for a day trip to Paris, France. Robert and Kandace will be sharing their candid
experiences with you over the course of the next eight months in a
series of TrainWeb articles that document their journeys.
Hopefully this will inspire you to someday ride the rails of the United
Kingdom if you haven't got the chance yet. Below is a map of what railroad
routes the Tabern's were able to cover:
The
history of the railroad line, on which “The Jacobite” train operates
over today, actually dates back to 1901. This is when the West Highland
Railway built its Mallaig Extension. The railroad had hopes of opening
up the rural parts of the Scottish Atlantic coast around Mallaig.
Spurring new developments was also a goal of the British Government,
who heavily subsidized the building of the new train line from Fort
William to Mallaig. Under the Railways Act 1921, the majority of the
railway companies in Great Britain (along with a few in Northern
Ireland) were grouped into four main companies, often termed the Big
Four. Under this re-organization plan, the train line from Fort William
to Mallaig became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1923. Following
World War II, the railroads of Great Britain were nationalized, and the
railroad line that “The Jacobite” runs on today came under the
management of British Railways (in 1948). About 20 years later,
the British Rail Modernization Plan passed, which outlined the
replacement of all steam locomotives with more efficient and reliable
diesel locomotives. The West Highland Line finally lost its steam train
service in 1967. However, in 1984, British Railways re-introduced a
steam-hauled service over part of the line in an effort to encourage
tourism and boost income. Called the "West Highlander", it proved so
successful that it was continued for future years. It was later renamed
"The Lochaber". In 1995,
following the re-privatization of British Railways, the operating
license for West Highlander trains was granted to the West Coast
Railway Company--- while regular passenger service came under the
auspices of ScotRail. West Coast Railways began operating steam service
under the new name of "The Jacobite" (after the historic Jacobite
political movement which has many local connections). The daily service
departs Fort William at 10:15am and arrives at Mallaig at 12:25pm. The
return from Mallaig departs at 2:10pm, arriving back into Fort William
at 4:00pm. In recent years, West Coast Railway Company has added a
second daily Jacobite service from Fort William to Mallaig in the busy
summer months due to heavy demand. The additional service departs Fort
William at 2:40pm, with an arrival time back in Fort William at 8:30pm.
The afternoon/early evening train is the one we rode on the afternoon
of Thursday, May 24, 2018.
Before
we continue on with the article here, we definitely wanted to put out a
special ‘thank you’ to James Shuttleworth with the West Coast Railways
Company for helping to set up our visit last spring. James provided us
with a lot of information about “The Jacobite” for this piece. For
example, we were told that the afternoon train (which we rode on) out
of Fort William began operations in 2011. It uses Ian Riley's Black 5
44871 and a spare set of coaches that were formerly used for "The
Cambrian". What we found
interesting upon arrival at the Fort William station, is that the daily
"The Jacobite" steam train departure is actually listed on the
departure boards -- and is used by commuters! Even though the
afternoon departure of "The Jacobite" didn't leave until 2:30pm, we
arrived around Noon to check-in, get our tickets, and then wonder
around Fort William a bit to grab lunch. There was a regular ScotRail
train to Mallaig that left at 12:13pm. Just a few minutes after it
pulled out, a couple ran frantically up to the ticket counter and
explained they missed the 12:13pm and wanted the next train. Well, the
next ScotRail train to Mallaig wasn't going to leave until 4:19pm...
however they could (and did!) take "The Jacobite" and get there faster
than taking the next ScotRail train. There is truly nothing like this
in the United States is what we were thinking. The couple did get lucky
because you have to have reservations for "The Jacobite", which isn't
necessary for regular ScotRail trains... so you do take your chance.
Plus, the price has to be much higher for the steam train than the
regular ScotRail service. It should also be noted that ScotRail makes
the trip from Fort William to Mallaig in about 1 hour and 22 minutes...
while the steam train takes 1 hour and 59 minutes. (For more
information about ScotRail, click here to read our trip report about this service written in December 2018).
Departing the
Fort William station, we also saw a section of the Caledonian Sleeper
sitting in the yards awaiting its evening departure back to London. We
rode this a few days before between London and the company's
headquarters in Inverness. (For more information about the Caledonian
Sleeper, click here to read our trip report about this service written in October 2018). What is also
interesting is that the in-bound morning train and out-bound afternoon
steam trains actually meet one another at a location called Glenfinnan.
You are allowed to get off the train and walk the platform and even
look at the small railroad museum there. On our particular day... there
was a boy on the platform playing the bagpipes for money... not sure if
this was somehting he did every day for tourists or if this was
something officially arranged by the railroad... but it was pretty cool
none-the-less. By the way, Glenfinnan is the only place on the entire
national network where two steam trains regularly pass one another...
this is a big draw even for British railfans... let along us who came
from 4,000 miles away to ride the trains of the United Kingdom.
Moving on to the
route and the trip itself… it is a total of 41 miles one-way between
Fort William and Mallaig. Travelers seemed to be doing a variety of
different itineraries using the train. Some folks were doing the entire
afternoon round-trip (82 miles) like we were. Others were riding
one-way from Fort William to Mallaig, but then returning to Fort
William via ScotRail (either they were trying to save money… or perhaps
the return trip on “The Jacobite” was sold out we heard). Other
travelers were using “The Jacobite” as real transportation – spending
the night in Mallaig and perhaps moving up to some of the other
Scottish islands via a ferry the next morning. Regardless of your
itinerary, the entire journey passes through an area of great scenic
beauty… including alongside Loch Eil, Glenfinnan Viaduct, and Arisaig.
It should be
noted that some of the passengers also seemed to be riding just because
“The Jacobite” was made famous in the Harry Potter movie series. The
West Coast Railways Company provided Warner Brothers with the train
used as the “Hogwarts Express” in all of the movies and allowed them
use of the Jacobite's route for filming. The locomotive used to pull
the Hogwarts Express in the films, the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall,
is presently located at ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of
Harry Potter’ and can be seen during studio tours. Seats in the actual
compartment/car that was used in the Harry Potter movies can be
purchased by passengers; unfortunately, it happened to be on the
morning “Jacobite” train on the day we were riding (this is the case
most days we are told) – so we only saw it in passing. There was
however, a special Harry Potter section in the on-board gift shop and
concession car.
When booking “The
Jacobite”, you will have to decide whether you want to book a seat in
First Class or Standard Class. First Class has tables that are set as
either two or four… and it has much better décor. Just an FYI --- you
may have a very, very hard time getting one of the two-person tables in
First Class… depending on the time of the year you are booking. We were
watching the website several times a week – and between the time
tickets went on sale and when we checked back – all two-person First
Class tables were sold out. We’re talking in a manner of just 48 to 72
hours after they went on sale. This was partially due to us booking
this trip on a British Holiday weekend when a lot of people were going
to be off work. The only option left in First Class was one of the
four-person tables. Since we wanted a semi-private experience and
not having to sit next to strangers the whole ride… we opted to buy all
four seats at the table… except, of course, it was just the two of us
and the two other seats went un-occupied. The railroad will let you do
this and was even willing to charge us the “child price” for the two
un-occupied seats to make it more affordable. This is not advertised
anywhere – so you have to ask them to do this. Another reason you want
to try and get the two-person tables in First Class if you can is the
fact you will be on the correct side of the train to get the best views
of the very scenic Glenfinnan Viaduct in BOTH directions if you are
doing the round-trip. This isn’t a factor in Standard Class because
passengers are asked to switch sides of the train for the return trip –
so you get the views one way. Luckily, we have a lovely mother and
daughter sitting across the aisle and took pitty on us and let us sit
in their seats on the return trip so we could get some photos from the
viaduct. First Class is DEFINITELY the way to go though. You get
tea/coffee and snacks each way included in your fare and it’s just a
lot more pleasant of an atmosphere. Pricing can be a factor for some…
so this is how it shapes up (as of our trip in Spring 2018 and using
the conversion rate from that period): A round-trip ticket for
two people in Standard Class was $97. A round-trip ticket for two
people with a two-person table in First Class was $158. A round-trip
ticket for two people with a private table for four (two un-occupied
child seats) was $239.
This article marks the end of our 8-month-long series on trains of
England, Scotland, and Wales! We hope you enjoyed our
articles! So far, we have no more international train trips
planned... but we would consider a similar trip someday soon.
