'The Dalesman' - Summer 2015

Possibly Long Preston like the Fellsman?

 

Pity they could not pick up at Hellifield, could get extra customers from Burnley and Blackburn areas.
But I am sure they will have considered this.
The problem I suspect is that half of the platform is uneven, and therefore a health and safety risk, but they could use the other half, but would involve the main line being blocked for a longer period of dwell time.
The old Dalesmans that used to start from Hellifield, did allow passengers to board using the full platform length, and I remember that the cafe staff used to put table and chairs out on the platform, so that the passengers could have refreshments before the journey.
Parking at Hellifield can be a problem, but if they open the WCRC "yard", which they often unlock the gates for when a steam locomotive is on a changeover, for people to park, there is plenty of room. Alternative is to park in the village centre car park and walk up to the station - 15 minutes.

 

Highly unlikely, IMHO. This is a WCRC in-house venture, so unless there are maintenance issues, it will be worked by the Carnforth home fleet, with a L/E move from Carnforth to Hellifield each morning and back in the evening. I'd also expect The Fellsman to use the same loco, and possibly The Waverley if they run them on Sundays next year with steam coming on at Hellifield. That would make quite a reasonable diagram: light up on Friday, FTR and other checks on Saturday, work trains Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The ideal from WCRC's PoV must be to have the same loco in use for several days at a time, reducing "cooling cycles" and generating revenue for as much of the time that they are in steam as possible.

The promise of 46115, 45690 or even 35018 working over the S&C on 4 days in a week would have me booking a B&B in Settle with no hesitation (even if it was "only" a Black 5 or 8F that actually showed up)!

 

In my strictly humble view, there's too much steam over the S&C these days - it's not special anymore and has become ten a penny and commonplace. It is fast becoming a glorified preserved line, full of trains of people who don't really appreciate what it is, so long as the vino is flowing, 'The Ribblehead Viaduct' is announced, and autographed pieces of Michael Portillo memorabilia are available to purchase.

I do, however, wish all promoters of steam over the route well in their business ventures - without steam's comeback it is arguable that the line may have closed, and you cannot blame anyone for developing business in what appears to be a profitable area; these are 'market forces' at work, after all. Steam must also contribute significantly to the line's economic performance, but personally I'd like to see a better balance, and the route developed more for freight and cross country journeys, whilst allowing for steam, but on a smaller scale.

 

Why when Carnforth is almost as close and has 46115,48151,45690,45699 etc.and crews to work them based there, would WCRC want to consider using other locos and bases.?Not to mention potential issues in getting a steam loco from Keighley platform 4 to Hellifield.
Surely one of the benefits is of one pool of locos at one location to work Fellsman, Dalesman,Welsh Mountaineer etc. not to create new bases in the LNE zone,2014 issues with probably being the main reason for the new series.

 

Shame that the 'newly built' shed at Hellifield can't be used for overnight loco stabling, wasn't that the original intention for it some years back ?

I understand there were planning issues with it which were never resolved ?

 

I still think that if priced right there is a market for a round trip of the S&C. Although married for nearly 30 years my wife has yet to travel the full line behind steam because I choose to photograph from the lineside and I'm sure there are others who may wish to sample what their spouses constantly photograph. If a trip plus meal could be had for around £100:00 per head I'm sure that good marketing could make this a paying proposition. If WCRC can do it with the "Jacobite" why can't they repeat the success with the "Dalesman" ?

 

But apart from all that ........

 

I believe it's building regs, not planning.

 

I wonder if RTC will want to run the Waverley if it is up against two WCR trains a week on the same route. We shall see. I reckon Mr and Mrs Kerr may need to be cloned a few times to fill three a week from Yorkshire to Appleby and Carlisle. If the message is that steam in the summer in the LNE zone is going to be a rarity, it would be good for WCR if the situation at Sellafield could be sorted out. The Cumbrian Coast is the sort of line where there's enough line capacity and the pool of locos at Carnforth would be well suited.

 

Full dining for £100. Good luck with that one.

 

Surely that depends on how much is done in-house - or from Hellifield ? I presume that WCRC will need to identify demand before deciding if restaurant service is cost effective but that could appeal to enough customers to justify its provision.There is also the thought of detraining at Hellifield during the loco changeover and buying bacon rolls and tea from the cafe but could the cafe cope with such an influx ?

 

Looks like WCRC are planning on steam out of York.
http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/scarborough-spa-express/scarborough-spa-express-details.cfm

 

Let me float the idea of 4472 doing Sunday Waverley's should RTC still decide to do the Waverleys

I'm one of those from the non-money stand point that thinks it would be good for a couple of outside locomotives to power some of those since there is going to be a heavier work load overall in the Cumbrian Fells. Will they have enough people to sustain all of this workload as well.

Is 61994 going to still be in ticket for this upcoming Summer?

Well the West Coast Mainline could also be a selling point for CME's with all of the S&C trips . I really hope that things go well out of Crewe this year as well.

I just don't know how 44932,45690,45699,46115, 48151. The Scot is going to be a question mark isn;t it nearing the end of it's ticket in 2015 and 44932, 48151 in 2016?

 

Slightly OT, but let me recommend Vintage Trains' Shakespeare Express as an example of what can be done: a party of about 50 of us enjoyed a 3-course Sunday lunch while riding in a Pullman car behind Rood Ashton Hall from Stratford to Brum and back one Sunday afternoon this summer. The cost was a little over £50 each (not including drinks). The menu was limited but the quality and flavour of the food was pretty good (better than most pub Sunday carveries). So perhaps an S&C trip with either lunch or an early dinner for £100 is not so far-fetched.

 

The Waverley is promoted by RTC, not by WCRC themselves, so you are more likely to get a variety of locos on that series, especially when/if steam is used all the way from York.

WCRC's ability to keep on top of maintenance given all their commitments will remain an open question. So far, they've got it right more often than not, but their record is not as good as some other loco or rolling-stock operators.

 

I agree that WCRC has been doing much better. for a couple of years the Scot was having many problems and that really hamperred their ability to run tours. Now, I'm noticing that Scot Guardsmen is being checked on a more regular basis and they aren't taking any chances with her when she is out on tours. Excellent job with Galatea and the 8f as well.