Train from London to Glasgow- Help!

1. We don’t see a direct train from London to Glasgow

There are engineering works that day so you will need to travel via Edinburgh

We have never been to Edinburgh, so not sure if we can make a short connection. (10 minutes)

10 minutes is plenty of time but if your incoming train is late there are regular trains to Glasgow from Edinburgh so just get the next one.

1. When purchasing our tickets, if we indicate a Senior fare do we need to purchase a Senior fare card? Or is that included in the train price when we indicate ‘add a card’?

If you are buying a ticket with a discount card you must have the card when you travel. If you don’t have it now and select a discount card that’s okay, get it later, at least before you travel.

1. Do we each need our own Senior or Two Together cards?

Senior yes, if you are buying two senior rail card discounted tickets, don’t know about two together.

Or fly. But factor in the time to get to whichever airport you choose.

You need to ask this question later in the week.
The obvious answer is to take a train straight from London Euston to Glasgow Central in under 4 1/2 hours.
However this is Bank Holiday Sunday. The Avanti timetable for London to Glasgow is not yet available- it is due for issue on 5 April. But, and it's a big but, it is a reasonable expectation that trains will be heavily disrupted due to engineering work. The high expectation is that London Euston will be entirely closed for construction work for HS2- the new high speed railway, with complex diversions.
Also the line is closed entirely north of Carlisle- with replacement buses running- taking an extra hour. There may or may not also be trains running Carlisle to Glasgow via the alternative Dumfries route.
So it may be better to route via Edinburgh.
Don't worry about connections at Edinburgh for Glasgow- there must be 7 or 8 trains per hour between the various routes- most to Glasgow Queen Street, a few to Central. The two stations are both very Central and a less than 10 minute walk from each other, so which you use is immaterial.
You would need to buy railcards separately- they cost £30- one each for a Senior Railcard, one for the two of you for Two Togetherr- so the latter is the better.

So hold on a week and see what happens with the Glasgow direct line.

Those train ticket prices are horrendous - I'd consider flying EasyJet from Gatwick/Luton/Stansted for half the price

Two people with Railcard is £83.50 if on the 1122 train.

Find that price for two people flying, including baggage fees and costs to and from the airport. You won't.

Even with the £92 or £96 trains the same is true.

Thank you so very much for all your help and great information! Truly appreciated! I never anticipated it would be so difficult. :0) Lucinda

PS- What time do you meet the tour at the Glasgow Hotel?

I believe we meet at 4:00pm (16:00).

Well that is the decision made for you.
If you are going by train the west coast is unable to get you there on time. We know the line is blocked beyond Carlisle. The first train arrives at Carlisle at 1351. It takes 10 minutes at least to transfer to the bus, which takes 2 hours to reach Glasgow. If a diverted train runs it will also take 2 hours.
The only LNER train which can get you there on time is the 0835 which gets you there at 1444 if the connection is made, 1500 if you miss the connection. The fare for two is £114.40 with a Two Together Railcard.
If you fly up-
Easyjet leaves Luton at 0710 (which would need an ungodly early start from London) or Gatwick at 0820 (another very very early start).
Ryanair leave Stansted to Edinburgh at 0720.
BA leaves LHR at 1010, arrive 1140 but at the astounding price of £267 each.

So I think it is book that 0835 train now.

Is it too late for you to change plans and leave London on Saturday 27 May and overnight in Glasgow? I am just concerned that it doesn't need much to go wrong on that train and you miss your welcome meeting.
There are several PI's available in Glasgow that night, or were 6 hrs ago when I looked.
If it is too late then the calculated risk has to be taken.
I know you don't leave Glasgow until Monday morning, but would hate you to miss what I gather is an integral part of a RS tour.
But nor do I really want to see you get up in the middle of the night to catch a Red Eye flight.

EasyJet from Luton:

• Base fare £32.99
• 23kg hold luggage, large hand luggage, priority boarding £34.48

Total £67.47 - in Glasgow City centre before lunch.

Thank you very much for your efforts on our behalf! What I thought would be the easiest part of our trip - booking a train ticket - has turned out to be the hardest. Trying to follow RS advice to ‘stay flexible!’ :0) You have been very kind and very helpful! Thank you again! Lucinda

The flight Laughing Spam Fritter mentions is the 0710 which I mentioned. You have to get to Luton first from London, which is what had already been said.
There isn't the overnight train service from St Pancras in the early hours of Sunday which there is on the 6 other days of the week, so you have to catch a coach from London Victoria (and various other points on it's journey) which takes three times as long.
So you are leaving London at around 3.30 to 4.00 am., out of your hotel sooner to reach a departure point.
Not my own personal idea of how to start a tour, hence why I dismissed the notion.
At least Gatwick has an overnight train service- for an 8 am flight leaving Victoria at 5am or 5.30am. And, guess what, there is a warning note of potential engineering work, so could be earlier!

There isn't the overnight train service from St Pancras in the early hours of Sunday

The Caledonian Sleeper leaves from Euston, but doesn’t go on Saturday nights.

There is the Ibis Hotel at Luton Airport for £78 and the Holiday Inn Express for £108 that night, both within walking distance. It'd still be an early start, out of the hotel at 5am, but a bit less pain, and the ease of not worrying about transit there.
Several companies run an overnight coach at between 2230 and 2330 the previous night for £20 or less, but that's hardly a relaxing start to your vacation, as you won't get much sleep- National Express, Flixbus and Megabus- all into Glasgow around 0700, although there is one which runs via Edinburgh, arrives around 0900.
Maybe, or maybe not, worth a thought- but throwing the idea in the ring.

Holiday Inn Express for £108 that night, both within walking distance

that's a fair old hike to be fair

If I had overnighted in Glasgow (or arrived by overnight train or coach) and had most of a day to fill I would go out to one of the Clyde Islands on a train/ferry combo- Great Cumbrae (via Largs), or Rothesay (Isle of Bute) via Wemyss Bay.
I might even go over to Arran for a quick trip, and have Sunday Lunch on the ferry back, even as a non landing cruise that is a nice outing.
I'm doing the same a fortnight earlier, arriving on the overnight coach to a Sunday event at Gourock starting at 12.30. I'm probably going to go over to Dunoon on Cowal- not an island, but it's a ferry ride and the Cowal peninsula feels like an island. And I like Dunoon as a town.
One of those would make a nice start to your vacation.

Thank you all so very much! Happy April- Happy Spring! 😊 Lucinda

For completeness Avanti have now released their timetable today for 28 May. As expected the first arrival from Euston, via Carlisle, is on a diverted train (change at Carlisle), rather than a Coach, at 1605, so too late for you.
But at least that is the confirmed timing.

I'd love to know what you ended up doing! 😊