Cathedrals Express to Minehead with 61306 on Thu 26 November

Whether the mechanical problems today were predictable or not WCRC needs to get out of this run of bad luck. Ultimately their business depends on the passengers on their trains having a good time. If not then that will very quickly make its way to places like Trip Advisor and will start to affect bookings - that may be indirect but if Steam Dreams etc don't get the bookings on their trains, WCRC won't get a booking to run the train. If that means they have to be doubly careful about checking mechanicals, providing spares, running lighter loads and sticking to rules then that is what needs to happen - more trips like todays and their client promoters will start to struggle for bookings from "normals" as well as the enthusiasts who are already avoiding taking the chance.

 

Tell me why, in your expert opinion, would the ORR be interested.
A coach with a defect which , unfortunatly, had to be removed. Story...end of!

 

Brakes not released, dragged, flattened wheels, human error as opposed to technical fault?

 

So that makes it alright then......

 

Makes what alright?

 

The ORR would be interested as they are keeping an eye on all aspects of WCRC operations since the earlier 34067 incidents which caused the initial ban.
Fair enough rolling stock fails but WCRC have had rather a lot of problems with their stock in my experience.
I have travelled on a lot of Rail Tours over the years since 1998. The occasions when I have encountered major problems on trips is when they have been operated by WCRC I am afraid.
The most disturbing incident was a major electrical problem when the tube light went bang over our heads on a CE trip. We then had to sit in the dark for the rest of the return journey. I have never encountered anything like this on DBS excursions.

 

I always see as I find, gave up UK tours after a sequence of unfortunate or preventable issues like :-

1. No Heat
2. Too much heat
3. No Lighting
4. Change of route at last minute.
5. No show of advertised motive power.
6. Shoveage up ECML, instead of unassisted, the most impressive A4 to 75mph, at least as fast as a 47.........
7. Steam Failure
8. Diesel Failure
9. Stuck in middle of nowhere, bus ride home by TOC, late night taxi ride home afterwards.

How many more are in the same boat would be interesting to find out, I simply lost faith in the product.

 

I assume on the basis of the majority of those points you refuse to travel anywhere with Northern Rail, although to be fair they just leave the stock in service in that condition.

 

I have a car, so rail is never used locally, if it is Inter City it is Virgin or Trans Pennine, who to be fair have never let me down.

Just because stock is from 1960, does not mean I want to put up with comfort, cleanliness, or conditions from that time, it can be done better, and, with my last trip with Tornado to Edinburgh and back, it was....

 

Yesterday I really felt sorry for the twenty or so passengers waiting two hours or more at Newbury Racecourse.
The steward managed to get them hot drinks etc. and was communicating with the broken down train staff at Reading. Dining passengers were told their seats were no longer available and could claim a refund. Other passengers were told the train was just leaving and would be there within half an hour to pick them up.
Most were happy with that until it arrived on the fast line going full pelt leaving them all in the cold to then find their way home.
No doubt on board passengers were given there seats after the faulty coaches were removed.
There were several angry faces that were disappointed not to be told the truth and were delayed further.

Mike

 

Looking at the updates on the WSR Org site earlier today there are pictures showing the Rail tour arriving at Minehead in the dark.
Also read that the passengers for the Dunster Carol Service had to leave the tour at Bishops Lydeard to catch the Buses taking them to the Carol Service.
I wonder what this cost to get them from Dunster to Bishops Lydeard as originally the Buses were only taking the passengers from Dunster station.

 

Very sad for those waiting. It's not the first time that has happened. I was on a CE with 30777 in charge and we hammered through a pick-up station in London at 60mph. I was talking to a CE steward at the time who was very shocked after stating a few minutes earlier that he would have to go and unbolt the doors. I never found out what happened to the passengers.

I have also been on the Platform when I thought a Railtour I was travelling on was going to go straight through.
We were waiting for a Daylight Railtour hauled by 60009 at Aldershot some years ago. Aldershot was always a popular pick-up point on the MHR trips so there was a fairly big crowd waiting on the Station.
A chime whistle in the distance told us that No. 9 was on her way up the hill to the station. Then around the bend she came, the regulator opened wide like the mouths of the passengers waiting on the platform as she stormed past us. Fortunately the guard alerted the driver in time and the train was stopped before the signal at the other end of the station and passengers boarded with much relief. Apparently the schedule given to the Driver didn't show Aldershot as a pick-up point.

 

Its not unknown for scheduled service trains to miss stops! In this case however its clearly a lack of communication between all parties, poor communication is something the tour operators and TOC are all equally guilty of in spades.

 

Trust you to know a 37 can't produce 17,500 hp Ralph! LOL!

 

Several years ago in the summer months, we were accelerating through Twyford on the up main, and we approached our booked stop to drop off passengers at Maidenhead at too high a speed under clear signals. The driver must have realised his mistake and the brakes were hastily applied and the train stopped but with only the last 2 coaches in the platform - eek!!

 

I was on that trip and I think you'll find it was the guard who applied the brakes,we were running neck & neck with a Freightliner on the slow line at the time.

Colin.

 

It would be very interesting to see what SD have said to the people who were left behind.