SVR General Discussion

But what would you make of 66783 (Biffa livery & aka The Flying Dustman) hauling something like the Tesco train

 

I think the Victorians had it right - goods engines would have names like 'Goliath" (*) and "Samson"; passenger engines would be "Etna", "Stromboli" and "Vesuvius"; and for the rest, you could indulge in some earnest education of your children in classical and Old Testament scholarship while waiting to board your train. (The LCDR had two small goods engines, acquired cheaply from Sharp Stewart stock after the original purchaser pulled out, called "Huz" and "Buz" who were, it turns out, the nephews of Abraham - though possibly the names were chosen to economise on the amount of material needed for the nameplates ...)

(*) Or "Goliah" in one case when the pattern maker in the brass foundry couldn't read properly ...

Tom

 

The Broad Gauge had a few howlers. I recall Sampson in particular. So far as 'economical' goes, didn't both Talyllyn and Dolgoch carried names painted on the platform side only? Certainly no brass name or number plates, pre-preservation.

I wish I could locate a decent photo of (the second) Schull & Skibereen Peckett 4-4-0T loco No.3, originally named Conciliation but later given the patriotic sobriquet Kent. Nameplate made locally, by SSLR fitter Paddy Murphy, who was obviously a native Gaeilge speaker, as there's no letter K in Irish .... nor was there anything all that close to a 'K' on the nameplate. To my mind, it looked more like an 'H' by a drunk five year old. There are way more photos of sister loco No.1 Gabriel (somehow and very unusually for the GSR, both kept their nameplates after grouping).

 

But even Huz and Buz can't quite compare with the two LCDR Martley express engines called Flirt and Frolic!

 

The GS&W wefen't big on names (which given the moniker of the Inchicore shunter probably isn't a bad thing!), but they did have Faery and Sprite, small tank locos with carriage section (a bit like Drummond's Bug), which did the rounds with the weekly pay packets, but the MGWR (which seem to have named every loco pre-WWI) has to win with their E class 0-6-0T (the 12 strong "Irish Terriers") Wasp and Gnat beaten in the shortest nameplate stakes by Fly and Bat, which sound like the sort of names you associate with the eccentric output from Lewin of Poole

 

Very very quiet here at the Diesel Gala compared to previous years. Where has the demand gone?

 

It is only Thursday, wait and see what tomorrow and Saturday bring. Speaking for myself the lineup isn’t that appealing to me.

 

When I read that, after the previous bunch of postings, I had to check the thread title to see that it's this one that is on topic.

 

Maybe it's not the demand that's gone but people's ability to pay for it given the current cost of living crisis...

 

I was at the steam gala the other weekend and it was quiet then as well, I had a table to myself on every train I went on. Normally SVR steam galas are standing room only!

 

Throw in things like Strikes as well, this isn’t a dig at anyone working on our railways but if your like me and use the likes of public transport rather than drive to get to somewhere like Kidderminster and you can’t be certain of getting there then certainly any special event is really not worth even considering at the moment.
And one last point as someone said to me some time ago unless you like 1000’s or Class 50’s what is there to make you go to an SVR diesel gala?

 

No 'Superpower' event at Dinas this year, but even accounting for that, the WHRSoc AGM weekend seemed quieter than one might expect. My suspicion is that there's simply too much general uncertainty and too little confidence. It seems unlikely things will pick up while that situation persists. Further uncertainty over the future security of fuel supplies scarcely helps the mood.

Our movement has been through the economic cycle many times and survived. Providing a sense of realism pervades boards and memberships, it'll weather the current storm and come back stronger. The only specific thing which is unarguable is that while there are undoubtedly measures which will help (e.g. if only four carriages are needed, why run six?) there's no one single broad brush solution .... well, not one within the combined powers of out movement to implement.

 

Due to other commitments, I cannot attend this time, but I've enjoyed several previous SVR diesel galas. I'm not a big diesel fan, but the attraction was the timetable with frequent services, enabling plenty of travel up and down the line and visits to most or all of the stations. And because keen diesel enthusiasts like to cluster in the front coach, there was usually plenty of space for everyone else to spread out in the rest of the train.

 

One of the best I’ve been to was in 2011 with the 25 from the South Devon, the 14 from the NVR, 40106 made its first visit and it was great on the Thursday, Friday, regarding having plenty of space plus it’s no secret I enjoy certain classes of modern traction, so for me and my mates we had a great 3 days.
Like yourself, I’ve other commitments this weekend and plus living a lot further away (I can’t exactly cadge a lift from my Dad for a lift down to Rowley Regis this time!)
But to make it worthwhile at the moment, I really can’t justify the expenditure for myself and my partner to attend, especially when I’m a bit meh about the lineup.

 

Obviously everyone went to the NYMR gala last weekend and spent their time and money there. It seems that it was both one of the best attended ever and with record takings. It's not all doom and gloom all the time.

 

I am sure that many are nervous of spending money at present.

Diesel galas have always needed a mix of loco types to attract numbers.

I also think that since the pandemic there has been a reduction in the number of steam enthusiasts coming out, and this means that the remaining ones are being choosy, or at least the fact that they are choosy is now exposed by the smaller overall market.

The days of two big steam galas per railway per year are possibly at an end.

 

Glad to hear it .... and add hopes for a decent Santa Season in a couple of months (and I won't say the C word, the S word or the X word again until we're well clear of the fireworks!!).

Not being given to believing in luck (yer makes yer own!), it's be interesting what factors played a part in the success. Timing? Attractions? Pricing? Publicity? Competing Events? Weather?

 

The NYMR used to have a spring gala but have only had an Autumn one now for sometime, and I can also see others will either have Spring or Autumn Gala. A combination of reduction in number of enthusiasts visiting , increase in costs , and a lack of availability of potential visiting locos due to overhauls being behind due to the last couple of years.

 

The new Kidderminster footbridge over the SVR/NR lines should be going up on Saturday night.

 

Surely, much will depend on what people visit various line's galas for. The NYMR is relatively well off for engines at the moment and might be even more so next year with 44806 and (possibly) 34101 and 75029 both due back at some point - with 10 or more engines available only a single -or even no - visiting engine could still represent an attractive gala line-up (and don't forget 45428 was temporarily oos this autumn and should back next year)