Fellsman 2009

Does anyone know the loco roster for this series of settle carlile runs? Crews etc must have been booked ages ago but no indication yet. Only two weeks away for the first outing...

 

check out this thread,

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=18409&start=45

someone mentions 48151 for the fellsman on it, also check out www.uksteam.info.

hope that helps.

 

Confirmed loco on Statesman Rail site for the first trip on 29th July is Leander. A further train has been added on 9th September due to all other trips being sold out.

Well done Statesman rail, a long trip, steam hauled at a competative price!! I guess it proves trips can sell. It will be interesting to see the loading, my guess would be 8 coaches plus support.

 

The load for all 'Fellsman' trains is 9 + Support coach and the additional train on 9th September is now also over half full so anyone interested in riding this popular train should not delay in making a booking as anyone turning up on the day of travel will not be accepted.

 

Kingfisher Railtours?

 

Very brave, naive or stupid? #-o ](*,)

 

:-k mmmm'

 

I have found a letter I had from Kingfisher in 2008, signed by Peter Watkinson Operations Manager

 

If i remember correctly, Statesman were very anxious to distance themselves from Kingfisher following comments made on this forum. Therefore it does seem a little curious that someone has decided to post here (presumably) on behalf on Statesman, with their local railway down as 'kingfisher railtours'....

Never a dull moment round here! :smt002

Chris

 

Or maybe 'someone' just cast a line and the 'bites' are coming thick and fast ? :-k

 

I have an email from a Peter Watkinson who styles himself Operations Director of Statesman Rail which is itself a subsidiary of Railfilms Ltd who although use St Erith as an adiministration address are registered at their accountants in Leyland. They seem to have some activity in Carnforth too. Mention of Kingfisher is scary... Has the veil slipped? :-k

 

8-[ 8-[ there website is similar to kingfisher as well and extremely strange in the way the confirmed locomotive is written in red just like kingfisher did last year with locomotives for the cumbrian coast trips & dalesman, strange but true.

 

Just been talking to someone who has booked on the first outing... a victim of Kingfisher last year... Terrified is not the word! 8-[

 

What veil ?? What are you trying to say?

 

dp266 continues with his harbinger of doom persona, the eternal pessimist, seeing trouble and problems where often none exist.. :-k

 

Website now says that all tours except the last one on 9th Sept are now fully booked. It looks to me as if Statesman Rail have got their pricing and marketing just right, especially the advice about NR connections to the different pick-up points, useful that.
Perhaps their info is a load of porky pies, and they'll end up being sued by hundreds, not least WCRC. Or perhaps dp266 had better get ready to come on here and apologise publicly, for behaviour prejudicial to Statesman's business and their good name. If NP member "watkinson" can link a rash of cancellations to the 18 July date of dp266's recent posts, dp266 might even get sued himself. Best stop digging, mate.

Well, we'll see. We await 29th July with interest.

 

Didn't it also look like Kingfisher had got their pricing and product spot-on? I recall most of their trains running full with very reasonable fares, yet they went down the pan. I'm not sure the mid-week trains booked so well last year, so perhaps that was their downfall? Anyhow, if this new company are indeed an offspring of Kingfisher, or at least involve some of the same team, let's hope they've learnt from their mistakes. From what I can see the product does look very similar to 'The Dalesman', but the Lancaster, Preston and Blackburn pick-ups should hopefully recruit more passengers than the Hellifield start. Offering a product at an apparently attractive price is only a good thing if the margins are sufficient for you to make you a profit and also provide a reserve for those trains that don't fill to capacity.

However, I do wish them every success as regular summer steam on the S&C is what we all want to see.

 

Quite.
But I think the problem with Kingfisher was due to their having already got a reputation for advertising lots of trains then pulling the plug when bookings didn't flood in.
If I recall correctly, the first year Hardingham attempted to run steam over the S&C on a regular basis, he pulled most of the programme well before the first train had run.
To get something like this running year on year you have to be in a position to stick with it.
Look at Fort William. That almost died for lack of passengers in the first few years but now is part of the landscape.
It's the same with any tourist train. People see it running the first year and think, 'We'll do that next year!', and passenger numbers grow.
I suspect that Hardingham was never in a position to stand making a loss in the first year with the expectation of being back in profit in year two or three.
It looks like there's no risk of a loss with Statesman's trains this year but I wonder how RTC's trains will do running from York & Liverpool/Crewe?

 

I think that's the point. My impression is that the fares offered are so reasonable compared to other operators that I can't believe there is much profit to be made unless the trains run fully booked. It's then a vicious circle as if the trains don't book and start being cancelled, people lose confidence and don't book. As you say, a good start this season may provide the cushion to run the occasional poorly loaded working in the future without having to cancel. The primary criticism of the Kingfisher itinery seemed to be the Hellifield start, so hopefully with that resolved, it will be a success.