Following one year on from the epic nine-day Great Britain railtour, the five-day North Briton, once again organised by the Railway Touring Company, conveyed passengers from London to Scotland. Four different locomotives were used to haul the train, which commenced its journey from Kings Cross at 6.48 am on Saturday 12th April 2008. Newly restored A4 Pacific number 60019 Bittern took the helm for the first leg along the East Coast main line from the Capital to York. Here number 71000 Duke of Gloucester took over the reins for the remainder of the first day, which finished in Edinburgh. Another A4, number 60009 Union of South Africa worked the train northwards to Dundee on day two, where it joined forces with Stanier Class Five number 45407 for the journey on to Perth and Inverness. An out and back trip to the Kyle of Lochalsh was worked by number 45407 on the tours third day. Day four saw the start of the long journey south with Union of South Africa and the Class Five double heading over the Highland main line to Perth. Here number 45407 was detached and number 60009 progressed alone to Glasgow. There was a change of motive power again on the fifth and final day as number 71000 headed for the English border from Glasgow. Working via Carlisle and Durham, Duke of Gloucester was used as far as York, where number 60019 Bittern took over for the last steam hauled section of the tour, as far as Peterborough. Action is seen from all five days of the tour with all four locomotives featuring. Sequences show the train in locations as diverse as the busy East Coast main line and the remote Scottish West Highlands, complete with snow capped mountains. Testing gradients, such as the climbs to Drumochter summit and Slochd summit provide a challenge to man and machine on the Highland main line, as the North Britons progress is followed day by day.

£14.95

Format: PAL DVD -R 4:3| Region: 0 | Reference No: CMV 7082 | Running Time: Approx. 45 Minutes |