Steam Dreams 2024

Yes, and sound 'better' too.

 

Interesting unusual route from Paddington to Bath tomorrow.

 

Yes it is, also not sure I have ever heard of Ruislip Gardens Junction either.

 

My short film of yesterday evening's run:

 

Ruislip Gardens is the penultimate stop on the Central Line, there is no junction. The Junction with the line from Marylebone is Northolt Junction.

 

Ruislip Gardens Junction is a cross over to the West of South Ruislip, according to my Track Atlas.

 

It's not technically a junction - it's a crossover between the up and down line opposite Ruislip LUL depot to allow access to the Greenford branch. Northolt Junction is immediately east of South Ruislip station.

 

Indeed, and steam past the only remaining semaphore signals in the London area controlling passenger trains at Greenford?

 

70000 Britannia. Paddington to Bath. Out via Bicester, Oxford and Chippenham, return via Trowbridge and Newbury. <BJ>

Outbound 1Z46 https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U23268/2024-08-22/detailed

5Z46 Bath Spa to East Depot (turns en route) https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U23269/2024-08-22/detailed

5Z69 East Depot to Bath Spa https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U23270/2024-08-22/detailed

Return 1Z70 https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U23271/2024-08-22/detailed

UPDATE: Reported as load 12 + 47.810
98700 LSLO PADDINGTN 1Z46 BATH SPA

 

I had not really noticed the cost of dining on SD/Saphos before until someone a friend knows mentioned they had decided not to book due to it being a "£1000 day out" (£790 plus £100 for a table for two plus drinks).
I had not realised that dining was £200 over the cost of First. Most other tour companies seem to charge around £100 or £110 as the differential between First and Dining.
Anyone who has experienced it know why it is so much more on LSL tours and what makes the difference worth the money?

 

My version is a lot cheaper! A few slices off my weekly gammon joint, some lettuce and a sliced tomato all stuffed inside a Tesco Tiger Baton, and washed down with a bottle of finest Peckham Spring water - about 3 to 4 quid the lot. Oh, plus £3.50 for the car park. Only slight downside was that I couldn't get a space next to my car in the very busy car park to put my picnic rug on on, although the tarmac looked a bit to hard to sit on and eat my feast; so I enjoyed it in the car.

And I got an OK photo of the Brit.

Bryan B

 

I’ll likely be called out here for being “too LSL” or a “LSL Advert” but having exprienced Dining on WCR/VT and LSL I personally find the price paid for dining is about the right level. I’ll use my most recent trip on the English Riviera on August 3rd as my basis to explain -

£395 per ticket for the ERE. Kidderminster to Kingswear.

To do the same journey with National Rail/Paignton Steam services and give myself the same amount of time in Dartmouth costs £120 for the Off Peak return to Paignton and then £22.50 for the PDSR. So £142.50. That then brings the price down for me to £252.50.

Then looking at breakfast you get 4 courses in total. The food LSL produce is what I would call high standard. Not Whetherspoons style, but perhaps not Savoy Hotel either. But it’s closer to the latter than the former. I personally think the valuation of the breakfast courses is circa £45. That’s what I would pay in a restaurant for that standard of food and service. So now £207.50.

Evening Meal you get 4 courses, plus canapés (Or as a friend described them the other week, posh nibbly bits which made one of our stewards laugh). Taking what I had the other week on the ERE and putting it into restaurant prices I’d easily expect to pay £75 for a meal of that sort. So now £132.50.

In terms of complimentary drinks you get unlimited tea/coffee and water, a welcome Prosecco and half a bottle of win per person, of which the wine is of a good quality. We tried to buy the same wine online a couple of days later, and it’s £25 a bottle so it ain’t your Tesco £6 stuff (LSL charge £27 a bottle for reference). Anyhow added together you likely get an average of £25-30 worth of complimentary drinks through the day. So £102.50.

Now I can’t say that there is anything else you really get to value your £102.50 other than a very high standard of service from the start to the end (16 hours in our case), a very comfortable and luxurious setting with the MK1s having been done to a very high standard, some of the finest quality of food and drinks, and what I generally find to be a pleasent day out. You do get a nice complimentary chocolate box at the end of your day, which you could probably value at £5 in any good chocolate shop. But let’s say the £100 is for the standard of service, the quality of the train and tbh some of that is the added cost of using heritage traction on the mainline (After all that is worth something!).

16 of us went the other week on the ERE -

£395 x 16 gave Saphos £6320 before we set off.
Our 4 tables spent £800 on drinks on the day, and each person tipped £10, so £160 in tip. £7280 in total for a day out.

Was it worth it….I’d say so.

Would I pay similar to travel with VT or WCR….Personally no. I don’t find the standard of rolling stock and comfort to be the same, I don’t find the standard of service to be the same, and I generally find the food to be less of a high quality….That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t book with them, it just means I wouldn’t pay the same.

I think @Big Al has hit the nail on the head really….There is a range from WCR/RTC through to Belmond. Just like there is a range from Weatherspoons to the Savoy. Each has their merits, each is worth their own value.

 

I've taken two LSL premier dining trips this year—one on the Midland Pullman and the other with Saphos. As Harry mentioned above, the food, presentation, and so on were of a very high standard. What stood out to me from the trips, and the factor that will encourage me to book again, was the attentiveness and quality of service from the onboard staff. The shifts they work must be exhausting, yet the quality, friendliness, and overall service were second to none, whether it was 7am. or 10pm. Both trips this year were fantastic, and I would happily encourage others to experience it for themselves.

The only downside for me this year was advertising a departure at 7:15am. and then moving it to 5:15am. just a week before departure. (P.S. I do understand how the system works, but it was still quite annoying and off-putting for me personally.)

 

What is also quite an interesting comparison is first class.

Today's run with Steam Dreams is £195, Saturdays run to Worcester with RTC is £205. 70000 today and 35028 on Saturday so equally comparable motive power, both will have a 47 on the back, mileage is about the same on both trips however what you get within your MK1 carriage with Steam Dreams is significantly better than RTCs offering from within your MK2 coffin.

Just my thoughts and very much a case of you pays your money you make your choice......

Andrew

 

Thanks for the reply guys, I guess if you are into food then it is really worth the money. If like me you only eat to live then it sort of holds little appeal I guess.
One of the few perks I used to get when working was First Class travel on the aircraft if there was an empty seat. Worth it to be able to work and sleep on a flat bed, but the food offering (to me) was awful, of course the airline made it sound like fine dining. Often used to attempt to get the crew to get me something from Club or World Traveller. Most were good, some refused so then for me it was soup, salad bread roll and ice cream.

 

I thing Dudding Hill, Neasden is still semaphore

 

That's one way of looking at it, and it's a useful check. I also prefer it to the "what would I pay for the food" approach, that ignores the fact that pricing is (a) not just cost plus and (b) includes a load of fixed costs that aren't part of my "how much would it cost me to do a nice fried breakfast" calculation.

However, I would still look at it differently - would I pay that money for a day out in the first place? And the answer to that is that I wouldn't - it's just not my style, and the pricing puts me off.

And that's what concerns me - if these trips are becoming a luxury for those with a lot of disposable income, what does that do for the sustainability of the railtour market?