Great Britain XVIII: 18/4 -25/4/26

Maybe I've missed something up thread stating that RYTC are advertising a passenger cap, but otherwise I would imagine both RYTC and WCRC will gladly put on more coaches if the advanced bookings are so numerous. Otherwise, as Ralph mentions, why cart around a coach that is only seating the tumbleweed?

One caveat to the above could be network capacity. Network Rail can always turn around and say that because X route/loop/station can only facilitate X coaches plus POB and locomotive/s, that the length of train is thus dictated to WCRC.

 

Another reason for enthusiasts to avoid WCR's trips is their continued refusal to come into line with the other TOCs on door locking, forcing them to use aircon MkIIs. That could be an issue for everyone else as well if the aircon is unreliable.

 

I bumped into a day trip passenger this year (3 days for him altogether) at first light in Inverness

 

Remember the GB is not like a day tour where you can add extra coaches. It will come with the need for extra hotel rooms, which may or not be available once you have sold the initial capacity. Those hotel rooms, if you find them, are then possibly well removed from where the rest are staying leading to extra costs for ground arrangements etc. If they are diners that may well exceed the production capacity of the kitchen, so does that led to an extra kitchen car, chef etc. Maybe you even need more stewards (or reps if you want to call them that) to be with these guests at remote locations.
What do you do when all these extras increase your prices, do RTC just swallow that or do you try and charge extra for those booking later? I can hear the howls of outrage already if that was proposed.
Not sure the likes of TUI say we could sell extra seats to Malaga suddenly so we had better put on a B787 that day.
The only way I could see extra stock being of use if you decide to try to sell one day trips, but most of these would be one way, due to the nature of the GB, so again comes with its own set of problems.

 

Don't say that, you can't say negative things about WCR like that on here else the hounds will be after you.

WCR Mark 1's are not tired and it very easy to get a Mark 1 looking very nice indeed as has been proven by a particular heritage railway recently. I am not sure I would call Mark 2's 'better quality' compared to Mark 1's.

I know, but the way it was worded up thread suggested that the train had been reduced from 11 to 9 coaches that was the limit regardless.

 

I am simply talking about how it was worded, I was not implying that there was a limit or that I believed there to be one. The way it was worded suggested that 9 was a hard limit.

 

I think you have read far more into my mere observation than intended. Between 2007 and 2015, the train ran with two kitchen cars. Since 2016, it has been a single kitchen and a total of 9 vehicles (excluding loco support coaches), other than in 2018.

 

Perhaps I have, so it’s 10 including locomotive support.

 

Without searching the Train Planning Rules or Sectional Appendix entry for each stopping point, that should fit most if not all platforms being used.
Whatever "commercial" train load is requested, the operational constraints have to be considered otherwise the train won't fit! Being overloaded and stalling somewhere is probably a worse problem. ( As happened many years ago on the Climb from Exeter St Davids to Central.)

Cheers, Neil

 

If you're referring to the two 4MT's on their trip to Exmouth then that was fantastic, that video is always fantastic when it occasionally pops up on Youtube or Facebook and is always worth a watch. One of the many railway events in which I am jealous of my grandad for having witnessing in person long before I was born.

 

Thinking back there were two occasions when trains stalled on the climb to Exeter Central in preservation. One was with two standard 4 tanks which you mentioned and another was 76079 and (I think) 34067. ( Some people involved are still around on the edges of mainline steam operations.) Not surprisingly, some loco owners and TOC's are not happy with the idea of going uphill to Exeter Central in the modern blame culture of delay attribution and more frequent public services.

Cheers, Neil

 

I don't think that 34067 stalled did it, although it was very close I will admit. I am thinking off the run back in 2014. It's a shame that operators don't want to take a chance as it is a very challenging bit of track.

 

I think that qualifies as a stall. So near and yet so far.

 

2006 - 34067 and 76079 stalled on the approach to Central.

 

I would say so too, I forgot this video existed.

This is what I was thinking off Al, this is the attempt I can remember.