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LSL Ltd / Icons of Steam fleet

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by 26D_M, Jul 21, 2017.

  1. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    That's rather polite of you to put it that way.
     
  2. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

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  3. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    I am suprised that there are not more tours with 'heritage' diesels

    I'd love a Peak on Torbay Express
     
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  4. The Citadel

    The Citadel New Member

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    One step at a time. There will be much to do, just to get a train to Chester and back.
     
  5. Terribly sad that Trevor Dean didn't live to see his beloved 40 on the mainline. But what a tribute to the determination of the man and all those who did such a stunning restoration job on the loco.[/QUOTE]
     
  6. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    The paying public are not interested in diesels.
     
  7. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    You may not be but in the context of the 'paying public' that is rubbish. UKRT would fold tomorrow if diesel trips were not popular.
     
  8. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    Have you checked to see how many diesel hauled tours are being run by WCR this year, around 25, virtually every Wednesday from the 14th March to the end of October... Then there's Pathfinder with 19 at the moment, public not interested..:rolleyes:
     
  9. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    Forum rules prevent me from replying to that in the robust terms I would normally use in person, so I'll just stick with "ignorant and preposterous rubbish."
     
  10. Platform 3

    Platform 3 Member

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    The point being made was that there isn't sufficient interest in particular 'classic' diesels to justify keeping individual ones in main line standards. I would imagine that there aren't many people who book on WCR diesel tours because they particularly enjoy Class 47s...

    I would suspect that only Deltics and Westerns have sufficient following.

    Sent from my SM-J330FN using Tapatalk
     
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  11. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    I'm on thin ice with the mods over my more robust language.
     
  12. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    Nonsense. I'd suspect Peaks have their followers, and I'd certainly go for a tour behind D213.
     
  13. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    I would imagine the attraction is the journey and the destination , rather than whats powering the tour in the cases of the WCR tours, where as on a steam hauled tour, its the being hauled by steam, So the use of rare heritage deisel traction, and electric traction would also have its attraction, i would imagine taking a western back to penzance, or double headed 33's to Exeter, would have some attraction, its a pity the NMR's 71 isnt operational as 3rd rail electric loco haulage is extinct now.
     
  14. Platform 3

    Platform 3 Member

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    So, to return to the original question, why so few preserved diesels on the mainline?

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  15. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    I suppose that in the interest of balance, one could say "is it the loco or the destination they are interested in?"
     
  16. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    The cost of equipping them for main line running? I doubt the safety package is cheap and if you look, current main line steam also only has a few representatives.
     
  17. Platform 3

    Platform 3 Member

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    I don't deny that, but there seem to be very few diesel tours in which the traction is the attraction, and even fewer when a preserved locomotive is in charge. For the latter, are there even 10 in a year?

    Surely if demand existed then owners would invest, as they do for steam?

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  18. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Hastings Diesels on their own ran five last year, and I suspect that for many of their passengers, the traction was at least part of the attraction, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual number was higher than ten.

    Tom
     
  19. Platform 3

    Platform 3 Member

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    I will stand corrected - I had forgotten about the Hastings set which I would agree should be included in the figure. Other than that though - a handful of Deltic tours most years, but what else?

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  20. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    Has it not occurred that the owners may just simply not be bothered about main line running? Not every steam loco is passed for main line running...
     

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