2010 Steam Tours

These are companies that value 100% of the customer base and are to be congratulated.

Some of the others just don't care the same. Surely if they have agreed with the owners, they know the dates of the specific locos and can give punters a chance to make the informed decision.

I know where my money is going to be spent.

 

The Shakespeare Express operates their own engines, and only once a week, making loco allocation much more reliable. Steam Dreams also dont operate a 'regular' service like the SSE, Fellsman etc and dont really have a pool of loco's - the engine tends to get specified many months in advance (and quite often changes at the last minute, much to people's annoyance).

In my opinion its horses for courses - one-off trips are usually marketed in advance and often need something unusual like a certain loco or a certain route to sell, but when your running a service two, three or even 7 days a week aimed at people on holiday its more akin to a preserved railway where the engines in use are rarely advertised more than a week in advance, if at all.

Chris

 

I agree. Multiple services in the same week carry a higher risk of engine failures too. It's unfair to expect a guarantee on a service running more than once a week. However some companies are planning weekly trips on the same route. I accept and understand that a pool of loco's will be used on these services. However to enable the "20%" to make in informed decision to book potentially multiple trips does require goodwill from the operator. It shouldn't be that difficult to list the dates and intended loco's. If at the last minute there is a change due to unforseen mechanical probles, we are all wise enough to understand.

On the 20%, don't forget that they may also bring part of the other 80% with them. I sometimes bring four or five with me for a "day out" thus boosting the numbers. My one enthusiast ticket buys a few more seats.

2010 will be interesting. I suspect some operators will be complacent as they had a success in 2009 perhaps due to the "staycationers." Will the same happen in 2010. Maybe the 20% will make the difference between profit and loss.

 

Has this been posted anywhere?If so sorry but just seen RTC site and the Great Britain 3 is being advertised.Some interesting locos to be used,especially 34067 and 30777 from Penzance!!!!!

http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/index.php/the-great-britain-iii---060410-140410.html

Nice to see Western Champion involved again.............

 

What's this - Southern loco's on GWR metals!!!
(now where's my tin hat)

 

6201 princess elizabeth is now down for this tour apparently.

 

Or vice versa!

Locos whose numbers are five digits long and begin with a 3 should work from Victoria, Waterloo etc.

Locos whose numbers start with with a 4 or 5 and are five digits long should work from Euston.

Locos whose numbers are five digits long and start with a 6 should work from Kings Cross.

And if those rumours I hear that there are some UK steam locos who have lots of copper and brass and numbers only FOUR digits long, (unbelievable), well than there is a strong case for casting some new numbers five digits long. And for melting down some brass and copper.

IMHO.

Wink, (the icon won't work. I think it failed because I mentioned then possibility of steam locos with numbers only 4 digits long. No one believes that. Surely?)

 

As I said on another thread I'm trying for the RTC trip from Cambridge to York behind Gresley, if not Kings Lynn to London. It's hard to beat a good run up the ECML behind an A4 near xmas.

The 34067 samey stuff I can relate too, as much as I love 70013 it would be nice to have tornado or scots guardsman coming to norwich.
all we have had is 70013, 34067,6233 60019,60007 and 60019

wouldn't mind some GWR stuff round here too

 

Well, there was the run down the GWML to Plymouth behind a certain 7MT in the Summer going up Hemerdon on the return. The sound from up front was fantastic.

 

Who needs long numbers, the performance says it all!

 

All credit to RTC for proposing a very interesting programme for 2010. Looking at the detail there are a few careless oddities in the outline programme which will need to be resolved before Train Planning at Leeds or Milton Keynes HQ start work.

The tour to Sheringham is shown to take about an hour from Ipswich to Norwich, which is as fast as some of the NXEA expresses. Also the train passes North Walsham at the same time as the booked passenger service crosses there.

The weekday Victoria - Margate and return trips have a very odd routing from London. Why run via Nunhead and Dartford at low speeds through an intensive suburban service when there would be a faster run via Kent House and Sole Street? Lewisham is an awful place to time additional trains. Arriving back at Victoria at 1620 via the Brighton Main line from Redhill won't be popular with Southern or NR and carries a high risk of causing delays (and therefore a bad press) to regular services. The only proven STP path is used by VSOE on Fridays for the "North Downs" with a 1605 arrival via Stewarts Lane Rvl.

The proposals are fine, but errors like these do reduce the credibility of charter operations with industry managers.

Regards, Neil

 

Is it possible it will run into the sidings at North Walsham and back out once the services have crossed? i.e. sevice train from norwich follows it up. Steam runs into sidings, up and down train cross as normal. Steam backs out, runs to cromer. train from sheringham runs into other platform and cromwell continues to sheringham. I don't know that is the only way I can see it working.

 

On a trip i had behind 70013 to Norwich in 2008, it took 61 minutes between Ipswich and Norwich.

 

I read in the latest Steam Railway that RTC proposes to run mid-week trips from London to Weymouth (a la Steam Dreams) next July & August. As part of these plans two locos are to be used with a fresh loco taking the afternoon return from Weymouth back to London being banked (by the loco that brought it from London) all the way back to Wareham.
The Down loco/support coach come off at Wareham, apparently, but I am intrigued as to the logistics involved after that.
a) Are these locos (and support coaches) to spend the following week at Swanage I wonder ? We have barely enough siding space as it is without a loco and support coach.
b) How will the loco be turned for it's trip back to London the following week. We have turned 76079 but Swanage has only a 50ft turntable. So an Engine and Tender split would seem to be required each time - is this OK for the OTMR equipment, etc. ?
c) Like most [all ?] heritage railways July & August are our peak periods for service intensity and sheer numbers of passengers [- and this year required 6 coach trains at times]. I suspect we would not want to interrupt/delay our trains [sometimes packed to standing room this Summer !] to cope incoming/outgoing locos and support coaches each week for eight weeks.
Perhaps I'm getting concerned needlessly and the locos and support coaches are planned to come off at Wareham, go back to Dorchester, run round the support coach and then up to Yeovil to be readied for the following week.
If anyone KNOWS what is being planned by RTC - I for one would love to know.

 

Excellent idea. All of us down south would love this to happen. Will try and ride on as many trips as poss.

 

Stabling at Yeovil sounds like a much more practical solution, but "bank" all the way to Wareham if that's the case. (Of course it could just be Steam Railway that has got it wrong just as they did for The Great Britain III in the last issue).

 

Unfortunately a proposed diesel-hauled railtour to Swanage was advertised earlier this year by both the intended operator and the diesel owning society - we knew nothing about it however. Needless to say it never ran.
In the present circumstances I suppose we'll just have to wait and see !

 

I think perhaps there may be another "at risk" trip. The Liverpool to Edinburgh Waverley is posted to run with 70013 on the 2nd April 2010. That is Good Friday. I think most of us will rejoice at the idea of a tour on a bank holiday but the risk is high due to NR's habit of closing down for Easter. Since Virgin can't be assured of paths twelve weeks out for weekend or bank holiday, I wonder just how confident RTC are all this way out.