WSR Mixed Traction Weekend 10-12 June 2016

I've given up quite frankly, Il keep my money in my pocket,

 

One extra 66 is better than nothing...

66779 "evening star" in Brunswick green would be amazing.

 

Problem is instead of the railway enbracing a growning market like railways including the Bluebell have, The WSR are firmly stuck in the past, the event could be a success like Bluebell and Swanage, But they seem to be reliant on the money the hydraulic and s*lzer men bring in and to keep up the numbers it's just a pity to see the orgagnisers of such an event cut off the railway's proverbial nose to smite it's face with a 'this is how we've always done it.....' attitude that makes it feel as if they don't really care about catering for any new generation of enthusiasts, its this attitude which keeps my money in my pocket, I mean if the failures of the Grid and peak last year were the reason behind the 2 66s coming this year its a bit of an over reation, I mean manston failed during a gala a few years back and it was invited back this year.... the "timewarp" tag is justified about the WSR though and they need to accept that the Diesel Gala market is changing,the problem is withstanding the fact the Special Events Committee. Despite being chaired by the same man who chairs the DEPG,the rest are steam focused and quite frankly, don't have a clue, what Diesel enfusiasts would like out of the gala and arent inclined to listen to us either,

 

I tend to agree with 34098's comments about the MTW's seeming all to be the same. Generally there's the home-fleet and then you get a 59 or 66. Most of the guests have been the same classes as the railway's own locomotives. Odd occasion there has been something different like a peak or deltic 22, it was nice when they had the GWSR 24 & 37 pair. The highlight looking at this year's event seems to be the return of the full QB service.

Not sure why the railway has never hired in a 50, seeing as they were heavily used in the West Country I'm sure it would attract enthusiasts.

 

Quotes tidied up.
QUOTE="JBTEvans, post: 1485377, member: 2735"]I tend to agree with 34098's comments about the MTW's seeming all to be the same. Generally there's the home-fleet and then you get a 59 or 66. Most of the guests have been the same classes as the railway's own locomotives. Odd occasion there has been something different like a peak or deltic 22, it was nice when they had the GWSR 24 & 37 pair. The highlight looking at this year's event seems to be the return of the full QB service.

Not sure why the railway has never hired in a 50, seeing as they were heavily used in the West Country I'm sure it would attract enthusiasts.[/QUOTE]

It seems that locos of the ee type arent too welcome, specially 50s,
I mean pair of 20s a 31 and a 50 would sell,

Your right i've worked it out over last few years, my attendance and rating
2009 home fleet with D9520,D1062 ,tornado, Goods train no stupid double headers, 2 day rover 8/10
2010 home fleet with 9520,821,1062, no silly double headers 2 day rover 9/10
2011 home fleet with class 59s No rover 5/10
2012 Home fleet with 55022 and 73s 3day rover 7/10
2013 home fleet with class 24 and 37 one day rover 7/10
2014 Homefleet with 1015,821 onday rover 9/10
2015 home fleet with peak grid 59 one day 7 /10

Which isnt really a bad score overall considering the loss of the 08 and 25 over the years,lack of use of shunters on the line and incresed use of the dmu taking up a loco hauled path full line and using it on last train home on sunday.

But the diesel gala world is changing and if the highlight of this is the return of a full qb service shows how far removed from the real world the sept are.

 

I think the general lack of 50's MAY have something to do with what happened when 50017/49 were based there years ago added to the last time I remember a 50 going 007 I think it burst on the Sunday somewhere and that buggered everything else up
However that said I'm really pleasently surprised they seam to takeing notice of the wall of comments being fairly negative about the line up, the trouble is as I see it they keep using the argument that there diesil galas are not as busy as there steam ones but if you take the effort they put into a steam gala and compare it to the diesil gala it's clear to see why that's the case, I hope they throw caution to the wind and really go for it next year and spend the pennies bringing in a varied line up the way they do with the steam and if they pick a good line up they may just surprise themselves how successful they can be. If other lines can do why not them? Or is a case they really don't want to try because it's easier just to keep on doing the same things

 

thats gonna be the problem right there, and the fact they don't read this or wnxx or even have messages like this passed on, so we are stuck in a circle here,

 

Its just as well your messages are not passed on, or folk might decide that doing something to encourage objectionable folk to visit the Railway might not be a good idea.

However, the different nature of the diesel enthusiast market is something I am well aware of and I may be shortly in a position to make a difference, but sadly not for this year.

Those who are able to keep a civil tongue, do keep the suggestions coming. You ARE being listened to.

Robin

 

Love to see a HST at a gala one day. Maybe the prototype HST aswell.

 

Maybe 50050 etc from Boden rail, seemed to be successful when he taken to Norfolk diesel gala

 

Its snide remarks from people like you !
That cost the railway money.

Not just on galas but normal days as well,
But luckily other railways have benefited.

Good job I've just found the ignore feature wont have to read any of your remarks again.

 

Strange that - I 'have a different opinion and state it differently from how you would like' (to coin a phrase) and off you go in a huff.

'Snide' means 'degrogatory or mocking in an indirect way'. I have to say that I have been direct in suggesting that you will get your point over better if it is done without your trademark unpleasantness.

But you won't be reading this - sigh! We will just have to get on with improving the WSR without your help. I think we can manage that. 'Bye for now.

Robin

 

It's a shame you weren't around in May 2005 - an HST was used at the Gala that year!
http://www.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?h=Snapshot&p=2005/sdg/sun/hst_1_rg

 

At Bristol St Phillips Marsh open day the prototype HST looked superb, and I look forward to it making its debut in Somerset.

I started secondary school in 1975, right alongside the WR main line and in the following year watched the introduction of what seemed like futuristic beasts...

Robin

 

I am sure that was the same year the Class 50 failed at BA, I went for a ride on the reduced length HST, I caught the next Down and we were delayed at WN for a VERY long time!
Robin F.

 

I've missed so much.

 

Certainly did, only one power car so turning at minehead would be an issue I think, or can it run with something the other end?

 

well at the NVR gala the HST ran with another air braked loco the other end of the rake the trouble is as the HST at the moment has three MK3's to go with it passenger accommodation may be an issue although you could get a few MK2e's to go along with it i really dont think dual braked MK1's would look at all right, with all that said it really do think the attraction of the Prototype HST is a bit specific and may not bring in many people the way a loco would

 

Robin and other WSR-based thread-watchers: Ultimately I do think you need to be a bit wary of reading too much into specific requests on here and other forums as diesel enthusiasts can be so individual in their interests. Captain Fantastic has been a great advocate on this thread, but wonders if the prototype HST power car would be a draw - yet reading elsewhere many people cite it as the highlight of the MNR and NVR events (and for me personally, it's a massive draw - a hospitalised family member meant I couldn't be at the MNR event but the HST, 3 50s and 37/9 was a hugely appealing line-up there, to my tastes anyway).

Similarly you'll get people very vehemently arguing that a 'rare' shunter or 66-type modern engine is the absolute key to success for a diesel gala. I'll take a picture of something like that if it's in range, but personally would find it pretty boring to travel behind. And there seem to be as many who agree with me there as there are shouting for 'red pen' locos to be booked.

The SVR gala debate has been between people going 'way too many locos, I want maximum trips before my favourite class/engine type and don't care if it stays on the same set all day long' and those who are thrilled at the size of the line-up and are happy to spend all day on a short section of the line hopping from one train to the other to tick off as many locos as possible. Don't think I fall into either camp - I want to ensure I get the noisiest possible ride behind everything on a bill I really like, and to leave with a decent picture or two of everything that participated. I'd find shuttling between Kidderminster and Bewdley all day as unfulfilling as staying in my seat behind even one of my beloved class 50s for three straight complete round trips on the same line.

I also think there's a huge percentage of gala attendees who wouldn't make their feelings known on forums or elsewhere but who are pretty easy-going. I'm interested in steam and heritage diesel, and am pretty open to all forms of both - with a leaning towards GWR steam and EE/Hydraulic diesels. On here and WNXX, you feel like a bit of a leper at times and at best a minority for not being a strict steam or diesel (or EE or Sulzer or Hydraulic) loyalist. Yet just through observation at galas, there's a large silent percentage who just enjoy being at heritage railways with heritage traction and want a bit of everything. They do exist!

Ultimately I think you just have to go with the ticket sale data. You can adjust a bit for clashes, weather, pricing etc, but the bottom line is if a particular line-up attracted more visitors to the line than another line-up did, that ought to tell you something. While there will be personal circumstances like holiday allowance, family issues etc affecting some people, if something's a real attraction then a representative majority of its fanbase WILL find a way to be there.

Take the last few WSR galas - if 2014 did well that suggests a Hydraulic-heavy line-up is a winner, if 2015 was packed then you know Peaks/Type 5s/'rare' engines are worth seeking out, if 2013 did well then it suggests medium-sized preserved diesels from classes (one covering the EE base, one the Sulzer) not represented by the home fleet can bring a crowd even if they're not rare and are from a line only a short drive up the M5 away. If 2016 beats those three then... err... yeah, not sure on that one really.

Swanage is a bit of an exception: it has a lot of goodwill behind it regardless of the line-up because the organisers have earned that through creating a real all-round EVENT - the beer festival, the early-issued info and rosters, the line-ups that tick almost every box every year (bit of EE, bit of Sulzer, bit of Hydraulic, something rare).

There's no reason why every line can't aspire to that to an extent, but Swanage's shorter length and intensive timetable helps it make its line-ups work. Once you commit a loco to a train at Swanage, it's only just over 20 minutes before it's reached its destination and you can put something else on. Do that at Minehead, and that loco's on that train for an hour. Similarly it's about an hour for a Swanage round trip and about three hours for a WSR round trip. You can be more nimble in the planning and cater for more people's tastes. There are more limitations on what the WSR can do so it's better aiming for a smaller visitor line-up or pretty much parking the home fleet and leaving the visitors to it. Either way there should be enough evidence from the last few years' ticket revenue for the railway to know the sort of diesel gala line-ups it should prioritise - and what would be a mistake.