Bluebell Diesel Gala 18-19th April

And as d7076 diesel fans are often wedded to one type of engine, so an English Electric fan will be very unlikely to attend a gathering of Sulzer engined locos.

It is a minefield and I would recommend that a railway like the bluebell gets someone in who understands all these niceties as it can make or break an event. I would add that I would not claim to be anywhere near an expert in the whys and wherefores of diesel fans but have seen enough discussions on the WNXX and fourfooteight forums to know that the choice of locos will heavily influence who does and doesn't turn up.

 

Given the following that Deltics have, I'm sure it will be a success. Heck, even I plan to go and I don't do diesel galas.

 

Was on that. Most red pens were there or at last years event for the 09.
Red pen market requires a loco that has never/or for years worked a passenger train, not one that has worked ten times last year at the xyz railway.
Bluebell could cater for that market with a GB 66 that has never worked(many of them have) or say a Yeoman 08 from Grain.
Afraid two deltics covers 15% of the potential market with I assume a five figure outlay with competing events at Barrow Hill and Epping the same weekend...

 

Since Deltics have never worked over the Bluebell they certainly meet the requirement of the EE and Deltic red pen brigades for that stretch of line. More locos = more movement costs and hire fees. Leave the hydraulics and Sulzers for future events. No point on putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

Agreed,that covers 64 passengers who do deltics for track-increased from the 62 who do deltics (class)for track to individual locos(9 and 19 ) for track. Had BR hired say 33108 and 55009 from Barrow Hill,then they would have covered a lot larger potential market than 55009 and 55019 for a similar or probably lower outlay and had a second SR loco to go with the 09.
Somehow I cannot see Bluebell hiring 2 A4s for Giants if Steam so why 2 deltics ?
When Bluebell lose £xxxx because they don't understand the market there won't be future events...

 

Two Deltics? BOGOF?

 

With all due respect I think you're talking rubbish. I suspect there will be far more than 64 people going to this event

 

What you don't seem to get is that I'm sure that there are many railway fans, not so much diseasel orientated, like myself, who will be going for the spectacle of such an event not just to 'spot' as it were.
Deltics, to us general/steam fans, do, I believe have a status above most other boxes, hence the pulling power

 

Yes, but only 64 specifically for deltics for the line, and most of them would be there whether there was one deltic or two.

If ,say, deltic 9 costs £8000 and deltic 19 costs an extra £3000 to hire ,will 19 generate in excess of £3000 extra revenue in excess of that 9 alone would generate?
Assuming there is generally a two train service with 9 on one train and 19 the other ,you may wish to, but cannot be on both trains at the same time.

I assume you attend 15 plus diesel galas a year and understand the market.

 

I'm not sure why you use the words "what you don't seem to get", I think I have a pretty good idea of what will make people attend such events. I don't support d7076s view that only 64 people will attend, but he is right about how diesel fans will react. They also seem to get upset if steam is out to play the same day, so it will be interesting to see what the timetable is for the two days.

 

It's incredible, after a one day event last year suddenly people seem to think the Bluebell should be an expert in holding diesel galas?

Yes, diesel fans are a tribal bunch in a way I don't think steam enthusiasts have really ever been, with maybe a few zealot exceptions along the lines of "I'll only go because they've got a GWR / LNER / BR Black locomotive running". But from where I'm sitting as a lay-man, two deltics seems to be a winner for a "first go" (and certainly a first "serious" go).

 

Aren't people suggesting the opposite, that the bluebell might be well advised to seek outside assistance in scoping it in order to maximise its potential.

 

I hope the Bluebell get a good attendance for this event. But diesel cranks are very unpredictable over galas which has been talked about on WNXX forum on the MHR diesel gala thread. The 2013 MHR diesel gala was well attended but last years gala was a bit of a let down because of low attendance. So there won't be a diesel gala at the MHR this year. If the wrong visiting locos are booked for the event or the loco roster doesn't work that well for the cranks they won't attend the gala. After seeing what happen at last years MHR diesel gala. It's a bit of a hit or miss affair.

 

How can you possibly tell that only 64 will be there specifically for the Deltics? That is arrant nonsense.

 

I know a number of steam fans who award Deltics "honorary steam" status and some will be up for this, myself included. I agree that diesel neds are a strange bunch and are very fickle but IMO Deltics are a bit special. The last Deltic only event I went was several years ago at the ELR and I don't recall that suffering from lack of visitors.

 

Sorry Simon got my quotes in a twist, reply was meant for D7076

 

I find it hard to believe that the organisers at the Bluebell haven't had some serious discussions with the DPS to determine whether the event is likely to be a success or not. Deltics have starred at quite a few galas at different lines in the past, sometimes one loco, sometimes more. There must be people in the DPS who will have a good idea as to what the ingredients for a successful (i.e., profitable) gala are. Also given that many Bluebell members - including some volunteers - dislike diesels, I can't imagine the Bluebell management sanctioning a diesel event if they felt it was gong to be a financial flop. It would be highly embarrasing for them.

 

Where does this number 64 come from? It seems impossibly precise - do you know every Deltic fan in the country?

To put it into context, if you do a crude calculation of (passenger numbers)/(operating days), we get an average of something like 700 people per day - probably slightly more on a weekend. That suggests that the baseline for success would be to have sufficient people to make at least equivalent revenue to 1400 regular passengers, plus sufficient extras to pay the hire fee (whatever that is). So I rather hope that the event will attract more than 64 people - if not questions should be asked!

With regard timetables, no idea at the moment. But our baseline weekend timetable sees three round trips for each train, and it is perfectly possible to do a complete round trip on each train within a day if you so desire - I can't imagine that the timetable will be any less, though equally, with only two engines, it can't actually be much more intense.

Tom

 

No problem, done it myself before now.

 

I am a member of the Bluebell and I'm looking forward to it, and TBH I consider it a significant step in the railways continuing development.