The Cumbrian Boat Train
Will be running on the third Sunday of each month from April to October again this year. The dates are further down this page.
Amongst the motive power and rolling stock at Warcop are two Southern Region Motor Luggage Vans (MLVs) and two 4-CEPs. The MLVs were used in the early days at Warcop (2003 – 2005) on brake van rides from Warcop to the headshunt at Flitholme. When the line heading towards Appleby was back in use from 2006 the MLVs were used on battery power with one of the 4-CEPs on passenger trains from Warcop to the Sandford road bridge, a distance of about one and three quarter miles, sharing duties with DEMU 205009. Due to the deteriorating condition of the batteries this ceased in either 2010 or 2011, the only use on passenger work since then having been a trip to Flitholme for the Branch Line Society and a similar trip for trust members after the 2014 AGM.
In 2017 and 2018 new batteries were procured for the MLVs and it was hoped that they could be returned to passenger use, but electrical problems prevented this from happening. In February 2019 two successful trial runs were made over the extended running line to Southfields (almost two and a quarter miles): these were recorded on video: