One of Britain’s most celebrated trains made a scheduled stop at Kemble during a luxury day trip from London to Worcester, creating an unusual railway sight in Gloucestershire.
The train was the Belmond British Pullman Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, described by the source article as “the crème de la crème of all British trains”. It travelled through the county on Saturday, 26 September, after London-based tour operator UK Railtours chartered it for a Worcester excursion.
The charter departed London Victoria at 08:15 under the name “The Worcester Pullman”. Its Network Rail reporting number was 1Z82. Steam locomotive 35028 hauled the train, which consisted of 14 coaches and weighed more than 500 tons. There was no diesel locomotive at the rear.
A 20-minute Kemble stop
The train’s route took it through several parts of London, including Shepherd’s Bush, Kensington Olympia and Willesden. It then joined the western main line at Acton Wells before continuing through Swindon, Standish Junction and Cheltenham on the way to Worcester.
Passengers and onlookers were not certain at first whether the booked stop at Kemble would take place. The train was scheduled to remain there for 20 minutes, and it ultimately did stop. That gave passengers an opportunity to stretch their legs and gave visitors time to photograph the long steam-hauled formation.
The Stroud Times account says Ian Thomas attended with Rich Kelsey and their wives, Jill and Debbie. The length of the journey allowed time for photographs and conversations with passengers and other visitors at Kemble.
The assistant train manager also invited Jill and Debbie aboard Pullman coach IBIS for a look around. The article highlights the coach’s high-quality finish and marquetry, describing those details as particularly remarkable.
Railway history and a Cotswold outing
Once the train had left Kemble, the group visited Cotswold Airport, formerly known as Kemble Airfield, before stopping for lunch at the nearby Thames Head Inn. The account describes the full trip as a successful day out in the Cotswolds.
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express operates day tours from London, normally departing from Victoria or Waterloo, to destinations around England and Wales. It also runs circular dining journeys around Sussex and Kent. Those journeys often feature a steam locomotive, usually Southern Railway-built Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028, known as “Clan Line”.
The report also includes photographs from the Kemble visit and an image from an earlier Gloucestershire appearance. Thomas believes that may have been the train’s first visit to the county: a charter from London Victoria to Cheltenham for Gold Cup race day on 17 March 1983.
