West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Re First Class: It's a premium product, so like any such product, if you are going to do it at all, you've got to do it well (in terms of quality of restoration, interior and so on). Passengers using it have to feel special - it's more than just going from 2+2 to 2+1 seating.

That said - the WSR full fare is £20 on the day. If out of 250-ish passengers on each train, say a dozen or more people on every trip are prepared to pay around £28 for a service that basically costs the same to deliver, then why not? Not everyone visiting a heritage railway is price sensitive, and anything that diversifies the number of products on offer is a good thing, IMHO, because it helps provide some variation in the case of a downturn in individual market segments. It's not qualitatively different from offering footplate courses - not everyone will pay hundreds of pounds to drive a steam locomotive, but clearly the fact that a few people are willing to do so to makes it a viable revenue stream.

Tom

 

Don't bet on it! Not everyone is price sensitive, a family might decide that as a treat they'll go 1st class then what have you got? A family with 2 or 3 under 10's who are thoroughly enjoying themselves making steam engine whistle noises at the top of their voices (often with their parents encouragement) and disrupting the whole carriage.
And it's not just under 10's, I've known groups of 70+ year old gricers to be just as noisy.

 

It occurs to me that if a railway is going to offer 1st class then a per journey supplement is the way to do it. It avoids the potential problem of the booking office selling more 1st class tickets than there are 1st class seats on the train. I remember an occasion when a couple of friends and I debated buying 1st tickets but in the end didn't because not everyone wanted to pay the extra, we were glad we didn't, all the 1st class coaches were full and the other train we traveled on had no 1st class accommodation.

 

Ticket purchased for steam rally 13mins to spare before deadline. Can’t wait.

 

I agree. Now as you're a Bluebell man I must say I've had mixed experience of First Class at that line. Can't remember the exact figures but the First Class fares at the Bluebell are quite a bit more than Standard so you do expect something a bit special. I've had some very comfortable rides in First on some of the older stock and on gala days I've been able to ride in the Pullman coaches if they've been in service. However one day I turned up with my wife and mother in law and thought I'd treat them to First Class. The guy in the booking office at Horsted Keynes tried to dissuade me from buying First saying it really wasn't worth the extra as the coaches in service that day were nothing particularly special.! I bought First tickets anyway but actually he was right - the Mk1 FO and Maunsell compartment stock in service that day really weren't worth the extra fare.

Personally I like the one class approach at the West Somerset but if the Quantock Belle guys want to make a small charge for their FO at galas, I'm happy to pay it - as I have done on more than one occasion.

 

Please excuse my ignorance but what do the letters FO stand for , I can't help reading Foreign Office .I do hate TLAs (two letter anagrams ) Thank you .

 

First Open - a carriage with 2+1 seating luxuriously upholstered!

 

I thought that FO was where Carlton Brown came from.

 

Note the final 'e'. Plain Brown far to lower class.

 

Would that be the Men from the Ministry ?

 

No, Men from the Ministry was a BBC radio comedy series that followed the exploits and mishaps of a Civil Service department.
Rather like the later TV series "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister".

 

Incidentally No. W11 of the I.O.W.S.R appeared in this film renamed as "Anna Karenina" complete with cow catcher and balloon stack!

PH

 

Be nice if the S160 and military train was put on the rails near the army vehicles at the steam rally. Imagine the fantastic pictures one could get. Missed opportunity maybe.

 

Is the Bullied still visiting this month? not shown on the loco roster that is currently on the website.

 

Yes, still due to visit. Just waiting for confirmation of its planned duties before updating the published roster.

Steve

 

........and the official WSR website states that she will feature as a visiting loco at the Autumn Steam Gala which takes place on the last weekend in September.

Stef.

 

Thanks for that. Will not be able to get to the Gala so did hope to get down sometime this month.

 

Ahh, Anthony. If only we had a few more volunteers to organise such things then who knows what we might manage. It's already a major logistical problem to get all the stock to Norton and back again. But never say never as they say.
We have a big push on for volunteers at the moment with leaflet drops and posters. Let's hope it pays off and we get enough people to do all the things that are so often mentioned by fans of the railway.

On the subject of a first class offering. If it's done it has to be done properly. People will expect a premium experience and will vote with their feet if they don't get it. I've been very disappointed in the past when paying for "first" on a heritage line to find the experience anything but. However these are commercial matters for the railway to consider along with fine dining and much else.

 

I'm reasonably confid

I'm reasonably confident it will visit as planned judging by the jockeying going on for slots in the crew roster later this month. Due to my current rostered turns I'm everybody's best friend at the moment. Can't think why .