The Cathedrals Express Sun 27th September

I doubt NR prevaricated although it is possible; I believe you mean procrastinate.

 

I'll take both. Prevaricate is to avoid giving a direct or truthful answer. And quite aptly from the Latin "to walk crookedly" whether the cap fits though is still conjecture. Anyway I'm off to Devon now for a three night stay, I believe my wife is secretly delighted that our break will not be interrupted by main line steam!

 

Kinlet Hall did run part of the route three years ago when running light engine from Paignton to Bishops Lydeard on 1st October 2012. A lot can change in that time though.

 

If I remember rightly though, were there not problems with getting Kinlet Hall in to the PDSR via rail due to gauging issues on the Down Line?

 

I am pretty sure you are right - which is why I doubted that these trips would be able to go ahead.

 

There is a comment on the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway thread back in 2012 that Kinlet was out of gauge going south to Paignton 2012 but may not be going north.

 

29 SEPTEMBER 2015: BANBURY TO EXETER, PAIGNTON & KINGSWEAR

It is with huge regret and profuse apologies that we advise you that we have been told we have to postpone this trip to Exeter & Kingswear.

We have been informed only this afternoon (Friday 25th) by Network Rail that our rostered steam locomotive for this trip, 4936 ‘Kinlet Hall’ has been failed on gauging (how the steam locomotive fits within the infrastructure of the network). Network Rail has come up with a number of restrictions along the booked route, including prohibits through station platforms (where the locomotive theoretically could not pass through the structure in question).

Charter operators like Steam Dreams are requested to submit timed bids for the trip 12 weeks in advance and Network Rail are, at the same time, issued with a planned locomotive and any potential reserves should the locomotive not be available. We feel we should have been made aware of these problems far earlier than today, which would have given us time to substitute and ready our back up locomotive, which is not possible at this late stage.

 

This is appalling. There ought to be agreed service standards in place between N R and TOCs, including provision for penalties/compensation when NR fail to meet the standards. At the moment the relationship appears to me to be completely one sided, and there seems to be no accountability or incentive for NR to act in a reasonable manner. There was a summit to discuss the safety of steam operations....there should be another to agree a sustainable operating environment where last minute cancellations can be minimised.

 

Would have been a nice day for a Hall in Devon.

 

There were problems she went down on a low loader there was and seems still is a problem at Torquay on the down side but coming back is ok, as she did go back to the WSR by rail.

 

I would pick all 3 - and make it 4 with a management problem.

 

Agree with all three, people continue to bury their heads in the sand that NR want steam off the network.

Episodes like this again, back up the thought that this is being done by the back door, and, as there is no way to complain en-mass, it will continue.

A organisation at which all charter operators, TOC's involved with steam, loco owners etc.., organised would stand a better chance of making the situation better.

At the moment nothing exists, surely it cannot be a hard thing to organise, I am sure if it happened we would applaud its formation..

 

That sounds like SLOA mark 2.

 

Been mentioned plenty of times, maybe the time is coming for a re-birth????

 

Can't see a certain autocratic Yorkshireman playing nicely.

 

At the risk of going off topic can someone remind me why SLOA got abandoned in the first place? As a retired professional manager experience proves having a single point for negotiations makes such obvious sense (for both sides) in any industry with multiple players why the beep beep was it ever abandoned!?

I got distanced from rail interests for a while and SLOA disappeared in that period.


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I'm not trying to defend NR, but wouldn't it be fairer if they had a mechanism allowing them to reply to the comments made against them here?

Anyone from the Nat Pres management team thought of contacting them and asking if they have someone in their PR Department who could occasionally post here and answer some of the more serious points made against them?

 

Its a nice thought, however can you imagine the storm if they put across a point of view at odds with a Tour Operator or other.

My view is they make a decision, and back the employee to the hilt, in response to any criticism they go temporarily deaf.

That is where an organisation like the one mentioned, and the comment about a autocratic yorkshireman, I think his company has the most to benefit from it???

 

Yet another disappointment for many would be travellers. What puzzles me is that many here on NP knew of probable 'out of gauge' issues so why did not the TOC and NR realize this much earlier? Both are equally to blame I feel.