RAILS across the North-East will soon pound and vibrate to the song of a half-forgotten time; an era when train travel was reliable, each journey an adventure and locomotives oozed character.
Two treats hit the tracks over the next three weeks. The saddest will probably be the swan song of the steam engine Blue Peter, lovingly restored on Teesside, in 1992.
Railway regulations dictate that the locomotive must be withdrawn from mainline use for a further full overhaul.
Enthusiasts say the engine is unlikely to re-emerge from such an overhaul, which will take a number of years.
There must be uncertainty as to whether it will be allowed to work again in view of the changing climate with strict rules and legislation coming into force on Britain's rail network.
Built at Doncaster in 1948 and withdrawn from service in 1966, Blue Peter was restored by the North Eastern Locomotive Group. Based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, it has pulled train loads of enthusiasts on excursions to Aberdeen, Plymouth, Skegness and Holyhead.
For all its years, Blue Peter - the name was borrowed from the 1933 Derby winner - displays phenomenal climbing abilities on gradients such as the Settle to Carlisle line.
The group has organised a farewell run on June 9, with a train being linked up to Blue Peter at Crewe, after being hauled by diesel, which will pick up passengers at Darlington, Northallerton and York.
From Crewe, and with Blue Peter at its head, the train will head up the West Coast Main Line over the Shap gradient and on to Carlisle, through the Tyne Valley to Newcastle, with a high-speed run to Darlington.
Two vintage 1950s Class 31 diesels, one called Gryphon, the other Chimera (but nicknamed Brian, after the snail on Magic Roundabout) will leave Yarm on Bank Holiday Monday, May 28, for the scenic Settle and Carlisle railway.
The line, saved from closure after a community-led campaign, was opened 125 years ago, the reason for the 12-coach special, bristling with 600 camera-clicking enthusiasts from across Teesside and the rest of the region.
The train, organised by Green Express Railtours of Huddersfield, will pick up passengers at Yarm, Eaglescliffe, Stockton, Billingham, Hartlepool, Seaham, Sunderland and Newcastle
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