Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Completely defeating the point of a gala weekend, terrible idea.

 

Tend to agree and it costs you another £1.50 because you are booking on line. Glad I was not planning to attend as it clashed with a gala 150 yards away from my house.

 

Bluebell Railway have replied on facebook that it is only two coaches that are pre-bookable.

 

So what's the point in charging then?...... except for making some extra dosh!

Stick it on a van train & charge for riding in the brake, oh hang on, I don't recall the BB having a van train at the mo.......

 

What is wrong with any heritage railway trying to make "some extra dosh"? I cannot think of a single one that does not need it. I hope you are not one of those enthusiasts who resent paying to be entertained. Just saying.

Peter

 

Where can old 'Bluebell News' magazines be purchased? I can't find any sign of them on the Bluebell's online shop, and sadly I'm currently not in a position to be able to travel to the Railway to look in the shop myself. Thanks

 

How about to guarantee yourself a seat!

If 60009 proves as popular as people make out then it the trains could become very crowded. By effectively reserving your seat through pre-booking you don't have to risk standing in corridors or not being able to board at all.

If you want to take your chances on the day then feel free to do so but there is no need for folk to throw their toys out the pram because the Bluebell is offering what the mainline has been recommending for decades on busy long distance services

 

Nope, I'm one of those that gives their time for free!!

 

Essentially it is a £1 supplement to guarantee a seat on a specific train, and as been pointed out above, only applies to a couple of carriages. The alternative is to pay a pound less and take a chance on whether it is busy or not with regard seats. Either way, all departures behind 60009 on all days are available to all ticket holders, as in any gala.

Tom

 

Even now it is not very clear from the website booking page that the seats on the A4 trips are not all prebooked only. But then there has been many years of discussion about the quality ( or lack of it) of the website on the Bluebell email group, so I guess I should not be suprised.

 

Heritage Railways need to be careful not to construct a fare structure which alienates the target audience. The "Flying Scotsman" galas seem to be breeding a thought that special events can be created that extract considerably more from the clientele than before (West Somerset ACE for example). This might be true, and all good if the target audience is the "ordinary public" (by which I mean non-enthusiast). Creation of a Ryanair style pricing matrix though is unlikely to endear a railway to the enthusiast market and may result in less money rather than more if the alienation slows the rate of donations.

 

Contact Bluebell Railway shop DIRECT

 

Thanks. Is there a direct email / phone number for the shop? I can't find anything listed anywhere, except for the main railway enquiries number.

 

Things change, but i have acquired BN backumbers and folders from the shop by email enquiry.Try “contact us” on company web site.
Roger H in NZ

 

Would 30506 be suitable (if finished)?

 

If you're taking about the S15 then surely this would be more appropriate for a Giants of steam than a branchline gala

 

It's not the Urie S15 that is being referenced ...

Possibly, but not this year. It would be nice to see 506 when it is complete running with 847, to compare Urie and Maunsell S15s - I wonder if they will overlap? (847 is already about half way through its current boiler ticket).

Tom

 

It would depend what time period was being represented At various points in time an M7, T9, Adams Radial etc wouldn't be considered to be 'branchline'.

My point about 506 was more that it is likely to be the next pre-grouping Southern loco that will steam.

499 will be the really interesting one, especially as they are going with a stovepipe chimney.

 

OK, so it's not in danger of appearing in steam any time soon, but could 488 (30583) be considered to have been 'mainline' at the start of it's life?

 

When did M7s stop hauling passenger services out of Waterloo?