A piece of locomotive history will be visiting the Stockport borough in just over one week. 

On Saturday 27 May, the Retro Devon Belle II will call at Reddish South and Stockport stations, pulled by a 1960s Class 50. 

The train will be picking up passengers in the north, before taking a scenic route south on a day trip to the English riviera.   

The final stop will be Paignton, although the train will also call at Exeter and Torquay should passengers wish to alight there. 

According to the Retro Railtours website: "The train will skirt the coast along the Dawlish sea wall, before arriving into Paignton just after midday. 

"You will have around 4 hours to explore Paignton, with its delightful beaches and steam railway. 

"You may also alight at Exeter or Torquay, with the train picking up at these stations on the return to take you back north.

"If you want to re-create the golden age of train travel, this is certainly your opportunity."

The carriages feature "a mixture of airline and table seats", and "large panoramic windows for an excellent view of the scenery", and there is also a 'real ale' bar serving drinks and hot snacks. 

The service is bound for Paignton, where passengers will have the chance to alight and explore for a few hours (Image - Simon Cobb / CC Zero)

The schedule is as follows:

OUTWARD (Departure)

• Huddersfield - 06.00
• Stalybridge - 06.15
• Reddish South - 06.38
• Stockport - 06.50
• Wilmslow - 07.02
• Crewe - 07.26
• Paignton (Arr) - 12.30

RETURN (Arrival)

• Paignton (Dep) - 16.30
• Crewe - 22.02
• Wilmslow - 22.25
• Stockport - 22.43
• Reddish South - 22.51
• Stalybridge - 23.17
• Huddersfield - 23.50

The Class 50 is a diesel locomotive designed to haul passenger carriages at 100 miles per hour, built in Lancashire between 1967-68.  

Although initially employed on the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland, the Class 50s later spent many years of service in the West Country, which is why this locomotive was selected for this particular trip.  

Those who wish to purchase tickets can do so HERE, although readers should be aware that first class tickets have sold out. 

Class 50 image by David Ingham, licensed under Creative Commons  Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

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