SVR Pacific Power 22nd-25th September 2016

While I fully sympathise with anyone disappointed by the lack of all-night running at September's event, I have to admit that, apart from that, I don;t see anything to dislike, except that the trains are likely to be rather full. If there was nothing else running apart frm 34027, 34053, 60103 and 60163, this alone would be sufficient to flag the weekend up as something worth visiting in my books - four magnificent engines by most people's reckoning, surely?

 

As @Sidmouth says above the enthusiast alone can no longer sustain railway preservation and the railway has to appeal to the general public and if bringing in 60103 and 60163 for the September event is the foundation for a financially successful weekend then we should all wish the railway every success.

As far as I can see there's nothing to dislike about the proposed event, which I view as aimed at the broader public most of whom will be on their way home around teatime. The only thing I'd find disappointing ( running for cover as I say this ) is that the railway's lovely set of teak coaches won't match the two locos, but I can live with that.

If you want to get away from what you think is the likeness to Alton Towers why not visit the railway on some of the quieter days when there's plenty branch line atmosphere around to appeal to the enthusiast in us all !

 

Part of the fun of the gala is travelling around the line, swapping trains, getting off here, getting on there. I don't see how ticket only trains fit into this.
I'm not stupid and I don't need people talking to me like I'm completely unaware of what it takes and costs to run preserved railways. If you'd actually read what I wrote you'd notice I never at any stage said that enthusiasts alone can sustain a railway. All I said was that the gala events were targeted at the enthusiast. I also get fed up with people assuming they know where and when I visit a railway just because I make a remark about a specific event, which I might add I very rarely do.
I will be there for the spring gala and am very much looking forward to that. I will also no doubt make several visits over the year on the "quieter days".
All that is irrelevant to this event though which can hardly be described as a gala. Yes I'm sure plenty of people, enthusiasts alike will turn up to see a replica loco and a waste of 4million quid running up down the valley. I wont be one of them and from the sound of things I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

 

the svr is not now calling it a gala but pacific power.i too am a bit disappointed but if the svr makes a good bit of money I can live with that and make do with other good events during 2016.

 

Very true... but missing my point. It is exactly the fact the that gala has effectively been cancelled/postponed or however you want to phrase it, to put on effectively a themed day(s) that has led me made me feel so let down.

FS will be around next year and the year after that and will prove to be just as much a crowed draw as it will this year. It seems the SVR has decided to put the "we must have it before everyone else" (yes I know its going to a couple of other places before the SVR before someone tries to throw that back at me too) ahead of a long standing traditional event.

 

Fully sympathise with those who have booked leave, accommodation etc. Being as 60103 seems to be a done deal over gala weekend is there any possibility of moving the gala one weekend either way?

 

I'm not surprised and I agree it's inevitable and needed and I have no issue with it in the main. I'm fully aware that in today's world preservation railways can't survive on the contributions of enthusiasts alone. I'm also aware the the railways original objective was to carry passengers which is what it's now doing with more success than ever before. But it's important not to forget who saved the railway and the tireless numbers of individuals who operate it today.... The enthusiast! I don't think it's much to ask for a couple of weekends a year to be targeted at this audience who also make valuable contributions to the upkeep of the railway both in terms of money and with the sacrifice of their time. I have no issues with the tourist attraction tag but I never want to see a preserved railway turning into a theme park type of operation.


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Rest assured the management do read these forums (Partly to check they are doing the right / wrong thing and partly to ensure we aren't dragging the railway into disrepute) and will certainly have noted the numbers of complaints about lack of overnight running on the Gala weekend. It was suggested by someone on the unofficial Facebook group, if the railway don't relent and run overnight trains on the Autumn gala, would anyone be interested in helping fund an overnight event with two sensible sized engines? For example a pair of 78xx's?

 

Good job the start of my Devon holiday is the same weekend, I would have been fuming to have booked time off work to accomodate the enjoyable overnighter again to find some joker at Bridgnorth decides to change it well after event has been set in stone for 2016, have many others have booked accomodation and leave on the basis of a now non existant multi day events ?, disgusting.

Given the contempt being shown for the ASG faithful by the managment, allow me to show them the same contempt by choosing to lineside instead of purchasing a two day rover ticket, getting crushed behind 60103 was never going to be for me, but at least the ASG allowed travelling on other less busy trains as well as the unique middle of the night atsmophere, take away the USP of the event, and you take away my reason to travel and therefore pay.

Whoever's idea this was deserves an honouary position on the WSR, don't ruin the SVR with barnpot schemes.

 

Although a nice idea, it only works as a part of a package deal. You get the hustle and bustle of a busy day, then the crowds drop, the light disappears and suddenly it is a completely different experience. It is that contrast that makes the event.

My big concern with this is overcrowding will beyond bad, and not spread out with large lumps. People will be there for their timed Scotnado, but will need to make a day of it, crushing the Kiddy departure that follows the arrival of the special.

It is all just a shame. When they had Tornado and Royal Scotl just a few months ago they made it a separate event to the gala and that worked very well.

That said, I am a sucker for a tank engine gala so I don't think I'll be able to resist.

In an ideal world we'd have all three events, as was managed last year.

 

I am bitterly disappointed and saddened by the SVRs decision to cancel this years ASG and replace it with another event.

It doesn't take a genius to work out why many people are so livid and spitting feathers. The ASG is not just "another" gala, the combination of continuous running, all night trains and a variety of working locos means that it's something very special. It has also built up a loyal customer base with many people returning year after year to enjoy it, booking months in advance at local hotels and B&Bs in order to do this. I myself am one of those loyal customers, along with four friends we have been regular visitors to the ASG for the last eight years and for me it is the undoubted highlight of the steam calendar and an event not to be missed.

Why has it only been announced now that plans have changed, when many people have already booked leave from work and reserved their places at local hotels and B&Bs? There have been rumours going around for months that this might happen. Anyone with an ounce of sense would have known that combining the visit of 60103 and Tornado with the ASG was just asking for trouble. That's why people are so upset - it's not the fact the gala plans have changed, it's the fact that they've only been told now.

I will have to consult with my colleagues, but I think that sadly, it's fairly safe to say that we will not be attending either of the two events. Which is a great shame. I wish the railway well for the September jamboree. Doubtless the crowds will flock to the SVR in their droves to see Flying Scotsman and Tornado but for us the horrendous overcrowding and chaos will be too much, which is why we're staying away. The SVR has lost a lot of goodwill in the enthusiast community by making this decision and it really does appear that they are sticking the proverbial two fingers up at us enthusiasts who have always supported the ASGs in the past.

 

I think "likely to be rather full" is a bit of an understatement.....!

 

Out of interest, how many people on average are actually present at the ASG between 10pm and 6am? Personally I can't get that worked uo about this decision, and it has been made 7 months before the event, which seems like reasonable notice to me.

 

The decision not to run over night seems a strange one. I don't see why not? This event will take up less volunteer safe during the day operationally than a typical ASG, it'll be pretty much like the old 'D' where trains ran at 45min intervals during the day.

I personally think the SVR have done away with night trains this time around to deter some enthusiasts. I think last year's 'no locals' gala was a test bed to see how enthusiast reaction was to the change in timetable and I assume the majority of people still went, and therefore will return in 2017?

 

Don't bet on that, my main department is looking at needing a staffing level way above normal, more than even at Santa's.

 

Is that guards/TTIs and/or station staff?

 

Station staff and it's 5 days in row... Meanwhile the TTI section plans mean they need numbers not too different from an ASG as well.