Cathedrals Express to Yeovil 1-Jun-2014

I think you will find the reason West Coast bother is because it is their business.

What I wonder, when tours are changed and no one thinks the passengers deserve an explanation, is why anyone would bother booking on a steam charter, I know I don't anymore.

 

With a pushing Duff as has already been mentioned.

 

I'm not sure whether all of the passengers who are booked on this tour read this forum. Maybe SD will contact them by some other means to explain the situation.

 

So once again you leap in with both feet, OK so a diesel has been mentioned but for gods sake, contrary to the belief of some, they don't put one on the back for fun, they are trying to run a business and if business dictates that a diesel has to be on the back then who are you to tell them how to run that business.
Big Al is probably correct in saying that JS reads all these posts, and if I were him i don't think that I would have any patience left when reading such drivel.

 

Bit more than mentioned, read #14. How do you interpretate "assistance".

 

Now you are getting desperate splitting hairs like that.

 

Delicate balancing act. Been said before - does the organiser cancel and screw up the trip for every passenger including those celebrating special occasions, those who have booked hotels around the trip etc., or run with alternative traction. In most cases the latter traction change would be the less significant problem. If loco X on route Y is the be all and end all for your booking I guess you are in the minority but you have two choices - take the risk and book or make the same policy decision as Drysdale.

When my family shelled out for a major rail based buffet do for my mother's 90th birthday we went preserved line charter. The reason; because with people taking time off work and traveling long distances with overnight stays the risk of a date change on a mainline tour was too great. A summer event, possible steam bans etc, therefore we took the decision that although all diesel would have marred the day (but not ruined the event) a date change would have killed it stone dead and left people out of pocket so preserved it had to be as the complete cancellation risks were so much lower.

Surely a significant % of pax these days on charters are Joe public with an interest in a heritage day out rather than specialist enthusiasts therefore charters need to run at least with the day. start point and start times as advertised, traction is slightly less important although still highly significant.

If I'd booked the day out I'd rather go with a Black 5/diesel combo than not go at all.

 

No you are not the only one thinking about that comment, really some people on here don't deserve an answer from WCR/James , engines will fail at times and have to be replaced with whatever is available or cancelled or run with a diesel, nothing anyone can do about an engine failing.

 

What a brilliant post, steam on the mainline these days are not like it was 50 or 60 years when steam was the norm with plenty of engines available in reserve to replace breakdowns and failures, today there are only a small number of mainline registered engines compared to years ago, we should all just be grateful that we have mainline steam at all. Mainline steam will never be like it was in the old days so get used to it.

 

You are another one full of yourself & have an answer for everything. I have just had a quick look through some of your posts & many are putting others like myself down. I am sure you have had a dig at me previously.
Judging by your "what I say goes" attitude, I reckon you work in the field of railways in some shape or form. It seems that most people in the railway industry, whatever it is, seem totally dominant & think everyone else are thick plebs.
That doesn't cut any ice with me, not having worked for the railway at all doesn't make me thick.
Despite your username, I assume you are male.

Just looked again, It seems you give every "put mortal down" post by various people who dare to say anything anti-railway, especially regarding steam tours, a "like".

 

I know that I'm not a moderator. The negativity is getting a little unbearable at moments like these.
I do feel bad for the passengers who booked to ride behind a high speed loco such as Bittern etc to end up with a mixed traffic locomotive.
Again though, remember last year, There may or would not have been a loco in reserve and/or crew shortages would be the cause for trip cancellations.

 

I accept that failures etc., can and will happen. However people booking on these tours once this is known should be advised at the time of booking and passengers are due a reasonable explanation as to why this has happened, not left to find out on the day with a "take it or leave it" attitude.

Best practice here is Vintage Trains, if other operators followed their lead there would be far less unhappiness. If they can do it why not others? To be honest, with the exception noted, you often feel that the railtour industry is determined to "shoot itself in the foot".

 

It's wrong that "there are only a small number of mainline registered engines compared to years ago" if you are referring to the post BR steam era. Yes, we should be grateful that we have mainline steam but there are often mainline steam runs that are "like it was in the old days". The problem is trying to work out which ones they are likely to be.

 

Pot, kettle, black!

Once again buseng, someone who stands up to your "theories" is totally belittled by you so maybe, just maybe it would be worth with having a look in the mirror before you start shouting at people who disagree with you. If you claim to hold the higher ground all the time then maybe your replies should reflect this rather than sounding like something that came from the school playground, tit for tat and so forth....

You openly admit to not having worked on the railway, just please bear in mind that people with "insider knowledge of how things work" know the procedures and what has to happen nowadays, whether it pleases you or not!

Now then, let's wait for the "Ah I wondered when you would rise from under your rock" comment.....

 

There is a class 8 loco with time on its hands and if she was available it would avoid disappointments such as this for customers. Sadly the Chairman of the owning trust and the CEO of the operator used by SD just don't seem to able to get over themselves. Very sad indeed.

 

WRONG, WRONG,WRONG, I don't and never have worked in the railway industry, I have just as much right to give an opinion as you are and I'm female, I'm not stupid enough to use a female username if I was otherwise. So you assume wrong!

 

At the risk of dragging this back to the topic - the SD site has this running from Victoria, while UKSteam has Waterloo - do we have confirmation of which yet?

 

Victoria according to realtime trains : Outward http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U53134/2014/06/01/advanced and return http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U53135/2014/06/01/advanced