Overview

When British Railways was privatised in 1994, much interest was generated by the franchise arrangements including the new operators and the specific requirements of the franchise agreements. The West Coast Main Line (WCML) was a major operation offered as two franchises covering Inter City and Cross-Country services, and both were initially won by Virgin Trains (albeit operated by separate companies within the Virgin group). The Inter City franchise was awarded to Virgin Trains West Coast (VTWC) and the Cross-Country franchise was awarded to Virgin Trains Cross Country (VTCC), but both franchise agreements were awarded on condition that the existing rolling stock was replaced. In the case of VTCC this meant replacing the mix of ageing locomotive-hauled train sets by a new fleet of diesel multiple unit train sets, leading to two designs being ordered in 1998 with deliveries beginning in 2001. The Class 220 ""Voyager"" was a 4-car train set specified for VTCC's Inter City services, whilst the Class 221 'Super Voyager' was a 5-car train set with tilting mechanism for Cross Country services; the 'Super Voyager' order also included four 4-car train sets for operation on Euston – Holyhead services. The Voyager Family covers the earliest days of operation whilst reflecting the many changes that have taken place, both in the franchisees who have operated them and in their spheres of operation. Despite the many criticisms, the train sets continue to provide an extensive range of services, all of which are celebrated in this book. AUTHOR: Fred Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1948 where he gained an interest in railway locomotives from both the LMSR and LNER companies whose services permeated the local network. When his parents moved to Corby in 1956 the interest in railway locomotives expanded with the experience of industrial locomotives operating in the nearby steelworks. Throughout the years since, Fred has continued his interest in railway motive power hence his interest in the operation of the Voyager train sets which were introduced to service by Virgin Trains as part of its Cross-Country franchise agreement during the early days of privatisation. That interest is reflected in this album, which illustrates images from his extensive photography collection and provides a brief history of the Voyager family and the operators of the various class members. 214 colour illustrations

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9781526731449

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Fred Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1948 where he gained an interest in railway locomotives from both the LMSR and LNER companies whose services permeated the local network. When his parents moved to Corby in 1956 the interest in railway locomotives expanded with the experience of industrial locomotives operating in the nearby steelworks. Throughout the years since, Fred has continued his interest in railway motive power hence his interest in the operation of the Voyager train sets which were introduced to service by Virgin Trains as part of its Cross-Country franchise agreement during the early days of privatisation. That interest is reflected in this album, which illustrates images from his extensive photography collection and provides a brief history of the Voyager family and the operators of the various class members.

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