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Northern Belle (train)

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Northern Belle
The Northern Belle in April 2012 hauled by a Direct Rail Services Class 47
Franchise(s)Railtour operator
Fleet size13 rail carriages
Parent companyDavid Smith (50%)
David Pitts (50%)
Other
Websitewww.northernbelle.co.uk

The Northern Belle is a luxury train that operates day and weekend journeys around Britain from many different departure points. The train is named to recall the Belle trains of the 1930s, such as the weekly Northern Belle land cruise; operated by the London and North Eastern Railway every June from 1933 to 1939.

It was launched on 31 May 2000 with a journey from Liverpool Lime Street to Grantham. The carriages had been restored by the Venice-Simplon Orient Express which became Belmond Limited in 2014.[1][2][3]

Services

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Northern Belle visits places of interest throughout Britain such as castles, country houses, cities, sporting occasions and events including the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. There are also weekend journeys to destinations including Inverness, with overnight hotel accommodation, and non-stop round trips with dining on board.

Northern Belle operates mainly throughout northern Britain, with destinations ranging from Edinburgh, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Chester and Harrogate to as far south as London and Bristol.[4]

Carriages

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The Northern Belle consists of 13 coaches: seven converted Mark 2 coaches as crew and dining carriages, two Mark 3 staff sleepers, two Mark 1 service and kitchen cars, a Mark 1 baggage car, and a Mark 1 Pullman parlour car Duart, which was added to the train in 2012. The carriages were re-engineered by LNWR at Crewe, in the style of Pullman coaches.

The dining car interiors are decorated with artwork, mosaics and wooden panels. Some of the marquetry was created by A Dunn and Son, a family firm that dates from 1895 and which created panels for carriages that ran on the historic Northern Belle services.[5]

Image Number Name Design Type Built Notes
3273[6] Alnwick Mark 2e FO Dining car 1974 Marquetry motif of Alnwick Castle, inlaid with oak, boxwood, yew, sycamore and walnut.
10734[3] Balmoral Mark 3a SLE Staff sleeper 1984 Built as staff sleeper car for the Royal Train, coach number 2914.[3] Named for the Royal residence of Balmoral Castle.
3267[7] Belvoir Mark 2e FO Dining car 1974 Marquetry motif of honeybees and flowers inlaid with Indian rosewood, oak, pomelle, sycamore, madrona burr and walnut. Named for Belvoir Castle.
1566[8] Caerdydd Mark 1 RKB Kitchen car 1961 Caerdydd is the Welsh name for Cardiff.
3247[9] Chatsworth Mark 2e FO Dining car 1972 Marquetry motif of the façade of stately home Chatsworth House, inlaid with yew-tree burr, sycamore, walnut, maple and satinwood.
10729[10] Crewe Mark 3a SLE Staff sleeper 1980 Crewe is an important railway town in Cheshire and used to be the base for the Northern Belle,
325[11] Duart Mark 1 Pullman Dining car 1960 Marquetry motif of Duart Castle and pink heather, on walnut. Ceiling painted with mural of Scottish flora and fauna by artist Chris Shields.
3174[12] Glamis Mark 2d FO Dining car 1971 Marquetry motif of Glamis Castle, inlaid with sycamore, madrona burr, yew, peartree and boxwood.
3275[13] Harlech Mark 2e FO Dining car 1974 Marquetry motif of Harlech Castle and daffodils, inlaid with maple, boxwood, sycamore and European walnut.
17167[14] Mow Cop Mark 2d BFK Service car 1972 Named for Mow Cop Castle in Cheshire.
3182[15] Warwick Mark 2d FO Dining car 1971 Marquetry motif of Warwick Castle, inlaid with walnut, boxwood, satinwood and maple.
1953[16] — Mark 1 RU Kitchen car 1960
92904[17] — Mark 1 BG Baggage car 1956 Original number 80867.[17]

Locomotives and operation

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The Northern Belle was originally hauled by English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS) Class 67s. EWS was bought by DB Schenker in 2007 and then in 2011, Direct Rail Services (DRS) started a five-year contract to operate the service with Class 47s and later Class 57s.[18][19] In 2011, preparation of the carriages moved from Arriva TrainCare to the Severn Valley Railway.[20]

The Northern Belle was sold to West Coast Railways proprietor David Smith and businessman David Pitts in November 2017.[21] Since April 2018 the train has been hauled by West Coast Railways' (WCR) class 57s. Carriage preparation was transferred to Carnforth at the same time.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ VSOE launches Northern Belle The Railway Magazine issue 1188 April 2000 page 84
  2. ^ VSOE's Northern Belle is added to the menu The Railway Magazine issue 1192 August 2000 page 17
  3. ^ a b c "BR 2914 Mk 3a Royal Train Staff Sleeper built 1984". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Luxury Train Tickets". luxurytraintickets.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Welcome to A Dunn & Son". adunnandson.com.
  6. ^ "BR 3273 Mk 2e First Open built 1974". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. ^ "BR 3267 Mk 2e First Open built 1974". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  8. ^ "BR 1566 Mk 1 Buffet Kitchen built 1961". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  9. ^ "BR 3247 Mk 2e First Open built 1972". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. ^ "BR 10729 Mk 3a Convertible Sleeper built 1980". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Pullman BRE 325 Pullman Parlour First built 1960". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  12. ^ "BR 3174 Mk 2d First Open built 1971". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  13. ^ "BR 3275 Mk 2e First Open built 1974". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  14. ^ "BR 14167 Mk 2d Brake Corridor First built 1972". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  15. ^ "BR 3182 Mk 2d First Open built 1971". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  16. ^ "BR 1953 Mk 1 Unclassed Restaurant Car built 1960". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  17. ^ a b "BR 80867 Mk 1 Gangwayed Full Brake built 1956". Railway Heritage Register. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  18. ^ DRS bolsters Class 47 fleet for passenger work Rail Express issue 181 June 2011 page 42
  19. ^ Northern Belle colours for 47790 Today's Railways UK issue 115 July 2011 page 61
  20. ^ Northern Belle stock moves to its new home at Severn Valley Rail issue 821 1 March 2017 page 16
  21. ^ Belmond sells Northern Belle shares Rail issue 840 22 November 2017 page 25
  22. ^ Northern Belle now has West Coast power Rail Express issue 265 June 2018 page 71
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