It left London Paddington at 10:20 with calls at Leamington Spa, Birmingham Snow Hill, and Wolverhampton Low Level which was reached at 12:44.
Beyond Welshpool, calls were made at Machynlleth, Dovey Junction and Borth to reach Aberystwyth at 15:55, a total of 5 hours 35 minutes for the 235-mile (378 km) journey from London.
In the reverse direction the journey was 25 minutes longer, at six hours; departing Aberystwyth at 10:00 with an additional stop at Newtown, but with otherwise unchanged station calls, and locomotive change at Wolverhampton.
[1] After World War II, the Cambrian Coast Express was re-introduced on Saturdays only and its seasonal operation continued under British Rail, usually with through coaches to both Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.
[3] The Cambrian Coast Express name was revived in summer 2006 by Arriva Trains Wales, as a tourist steam service which ran from Machynlleth to Porthmadog or Pwllheli.