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34046 Braunton

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by 92143, Oct 18, 2011.

  1. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Define "more and more" and "very few" in this context please ?
     
  2. Oakfield

    Oakfield Guest

    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check


    The interesting question would be what are the total number of passengers per year actually travelling, not the number of tours scheduled.
     
  3. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Quite right, that would be a lot more meaningful as after you subtract all the tours that don't run due to lack of bookings, (and we've discussed what might lie behind that in the RTC thread), many of those trains that do run could be carting "fresh air" around so this really is a far more complicated issue than others would have us believe !
     
  4. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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  5. Paul42

    Paul42 Part of the furniture

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  6. John Petley

    John Petley Part of the furniture

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Yes. I'll comment. Thank you for passing on David Randles' update. I'm glad that work on Braunton has resumed and hope it won't be too much longer to wait.
     
  7. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Thanks, that's very interesting, I'll have to do some number crunching with that lot. How it compares with 2011 and the year to date would also be good to know.

    Regardless of opinion on how successful the current set up is in winning new business and keeping it, it's a shame once again there isn't an umbrella organisation to keep an eye on stats like these for the greater good of all. My worry is that the current set up is more akin to a bear pit with everyone chasing after the same business which long ago reached it's capacity. There is still a real danger in my view that long term this short term way of profiterring will do irreparable damage to the scene.

    Also interesting to note is Shuttleworth's comment, (copied below) that a fair number of tours appearing on UK steam never get beyond the ideas stage or even past him and submitted to NR. Hardly the "joined up" way of operating we need to encourage ?

     
  8. guycarr360

    guycarr360 Part of the furniture

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    The problem with statistics, is you read into it, what you want, personally i think its sugar coated.
     
  9. KentYeti

    KentYeti Guest

    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    A bit harsh I would have thought. Be quiet normal for "people" to come forward with ideas that turn out to be impractical etc and get them binned at a fairly early stage? If I was into this in a big way I'd be constantly asking for a 75 minute Waterloo- Salisbury schedule with a MN on 11 cars and with 90 mph running!

    Cheers,

    Bryan - did Waterloo-Salisbury in 72 and a half minutes (net time) with 35028 on 11 cars and with a 90 mph maximum 48 years ago - B
     
  10. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    No, that's fine, but my point is that such "ideas" shouldn't be getting listed on UK Steam. It's misleading and the information can only come from tour promoters looking to enhance their profile in an ever competitive market chasing ever decreasing numbers of customers / passengers.
     
  11. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    I think you are making a big mistake if you use all of the tours which appear on UKsteam as a basis for study. As others have commented, may ideas are floated but not all come to fruition for a myriad of reasons.
     
  12. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Oh, don't worry, I hadn't planned any kind of serious study. For that we'd need definitive figures, and we all know they're kept under lock and key as well as the reasons why !
     
  13. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    I see that still nobody has picked up on this, and it's "ON TOPIC" !!
     
  14. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    To pick up on this...... I'm afraid it's a case of I'll believe it when I see it. I don't want to sound to cynical or criticise the hard work of those who are trying to get Braunton on the main line but experience tells me these things always take a lot longer than expected and it's best not to book any tours for a loco that hasn't yet got its main line certification. I do very much look forward to seeing 34046 on the main line though.


    One question though - if I recall correctly 34046 made its debut on the West Somerset railway in 2008. Does that mean the boiler certificate expires in 2015 for main line operations?
     
  15. John Petley

    John Petley Part of the furniture

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    I did! See previous page.

    One reason why 34046's return will be welcome is that now DBS have picked up quite a bit of charter work, almost everything running over Southern lines apart from the RTC trips and VSOE has recently had to rely on non-Southern motive power, as 34067 is very much locked into the West Coast operations. Steam Dreams have managed to secure 35028 occasionally, and it has performed very well for them, but its availability is limited due to VSOE commitments. With Steam Dreams in particular, this isquite an interesting situation bearing in mind the Southern roots of the company. There's nothing wrong with giving engines a run on lines where they never worked in BR days (I deliberately booked on an East Croydon-Oxford trip behind 6233 a few years ago as I had never been behind a "Duchess" before), but I guess that there would most likely be a demand for any main-line certified Bulleids to run in the South of England. Things will change with 34092 amd 35027 likely to be in action within a couple of years, although 35018, like 34067, will be tied to WCRC when it emerges.

    Regarding 34046's boiler certificate, it could be extended for main line use past 2015. 35028's has been given an extension to 2016 (10 years after being certified). Whether or not this happens is a decision for Mr Hosking and the custodians at the WSR. In view of having had at least two substantial periods of inactivity since first being steamed in 2008, I would not have thought it wildly optimistic to hope for an extension.
     
  16. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    When steam dreams started they not only had Southern "roots" but stuck to Southern "routes"! Now they seem to be happy to go anywhere and everywhere although it's interesting to hear that they plan that their new train when launched will be turned out in Southern Green. As for locos they did of course have a preference for Southern locos due to the fact they owned 35005 and had close ties with the Mid Hants. Now it almost seems that Tornado is their engine of choice - they seem to use it more than any other loco which I suppose is down to the Graeme Bunker connection.
     
  17. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Yes that's interesting re 60163. Could this have been a big part of why SD changed TOCs ? I'm sure I read on here somewhere that GB had a WCRC connection as well as a 60163 one but not sure whether that's right or wrong ?
     
  18. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    I do think SD's evolution has been very interesting. It was really only when GB came on board that they really started to develop as a business. In the early days I wasn't sure about them at all as following purchase of 35005, it wasn't long afterwards that it seemed to disappear from the main line with a whole host of technical problems. Wouldn't you have thought these would have been identified prior to funds exchanging hands ?

    Since GB's arrival however we've seen a wider choice of locos, (none of which are owned by SD, thus allowing them to concentrate on core activities), improved marketing and promotional material, a vastly improved website and online booking facility, and now the investment in dedicated rolling stock.

    They also seem to understand the marketing value of "returning to their roots", and being cleverly selective about which roots they revisit.
     
  19. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    GBs connection with West Coast was that he is a qualified main line fireman and used to fire the Cathedrals Express himself from time to time. Presumably he can't do that now as the firemen are all full time DBS men. Whether he still does any work for West Coast I don't know but somehow I doubt it.

    I suspect the Tornado issue with West Coast has a lot to do with the transfer of business to DBS........

    Incidentally 35005 disappeared from the main line following a single serious failure rather than a series of problems.
     
  20. eco082007

    eco082007 Member Account Suspended

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    Re: 34046 Braunton - Health check

    Ok, that's cleared that up, obviously no "business" connection with WCRC anymore you would think.

    Agree with you about Tornado issue with WCRC. I don't blame SD if moving to DBS did have a lot to do with this as I remember thinking at the time that WCRC's position was pretty indefensible. Not impressed with the management of WCRC generally though, as may have been picked up from my posts on other threads.

    I stand corrected on 35005. It's withdrawal followed the blowback incident at Headcorn wasn't it ? I think what I was talking about were the issues that had to be solved to get it running prior to that incident, i.e after it was purchased by MR for use on the CE.
     

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