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 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

every June from 1933 to 1939. It was launched on 31 May 2000 with a journey from to . The carriages had been restored by the Venice-Simplon Orient Express which became

Belmond Limited Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates hotels, train services and river cruises and safaris worldwide. In 2024, the company has 47 properties in 28 countries and territories, with ...

in 2014.

Services

''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 The Hampton Court Garden Festival (formerly The Hampton Court Flower Show) is an annual British flower show, held in early July of each year. The show is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough ...

and

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Ca ...

. There are also weekend journeys to destinations including

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, 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 Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

to as far south as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Carriages

The ''Northern Belle'' consists of 13 coaches: seven converted

Mark 2 Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, mee ...

coaches as crew and dining carriages, two

Mark 3 Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with the Jerusalem scribes and a meeting of ...

staff sleepers, two

Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It recounts the proclamation of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus Christ, his temptations and the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Text ...

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 The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

, in the style of Pullman coaches. The dining car interiors are decorated with artwork, mosaics and wooden panels. Some of the

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

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.

Locomotives and operation

The ''Northern Belle'' was originally hauled by

English, Welsh and Scottish Railway DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway) is a British rail freight company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Doncaster, England. The company was established by Wisconsin Central in early 1995 ...

(EWS) s. EWS was bought by DB Schenker in 2007 and then in 2011,

Direct Rail Services Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a rail freight company in Great Britain, and is one of the publicly owned railway companies in the United Kingdom. DRS was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) during late 19 ...

(DRS) started a five-year contract to operate the service with s and later s. In 2011, preparation of the carriages moved from

Arriva TrainCare Arriva TrainCare (formerly London & North Western Railway (LNWR)) is a railway rolling stock maintenance company. It is presently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. It was established as LNWR by Pete Waterman during 1993; in under a ...

to the

Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge, standard-gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The single-track line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, calling at four intermediate stations and three request stop ...

. The ''Northern Belle'' was sold to

West Coast Railways West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Carnforth MPD#Steamtown Carnforth, Steamtown Carnforth visito ...

proprietor David Smith and businessman David Pitts in November 2017. Since April 2018 the train has been hauled by West Coast Railways' (WCR) class 57s. Carriage preparation was transferred to

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

at the same time.Northern Belle now has West Coast power ''Rail Express'' issue 265 June 2018 page 71 File:67014 Castleton.jpg, EWS 67014 File:Hugh llewelyn 47 832 (6973070580).jpg, DRS 47832 ''Solway Princess'' File:Crewe DRS - 57312.JPG, DRS 57312 ''Solway Princess'' File:West Coast Railways 57601 at Norton Fitzwarren.JPG, WCR 57601

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Northern Belle (train)
Official siteThe Ultimate Guide to the Northern Belle
Luxury trains Named passenger trains of the United Kingdom Railway services introduced in 2000 2000 establishments in England

Services

Carriages

Locomotives and operation

See also

References

External links