Whistling Ghost V 17/06/17

This lady has been a steward on VTR for as long as I can remember and she is known to be inflexible. When you talk to her she is ok but won't bend the rules and who can blame her. BUT on a day like yesterday with so many delays there needs to be a bit of tolerance so people can walk about. I actually looked out of the window during the Challow stop but moved to the next coach to do so. It was in the down side with no tracks next to my window but was still nicely and quietly asked by the (male) steward not to do so.

 

Ah VT the only toc that requires you need written consent to go to the toilet or at least to sit there and put your hand up first,

 

Yes, VT means steam which is fantastic. Me, my brother and my who have travelled mainline steam over the decades cannot accept the rigid application of the "new rules" which is why we do not travel VT. You wouldn't travel Paddington to Taunton and be told you can't stand at the window! Thankfully, other railtours, and you can see on You Tube, are allowing people to stand at the window and perhaps hang out with their goggles. I suspect that video shots of the Torbay Express today will reveal just that, window hangers along the sea wall at Dawlish. Now that's the way to to do it.

 

I do understand why there is no window hanging allowed on the main line (even though I did partake when I was younger) but the inability to just stand in the vestibule would have been quite difficult to cope with whilst trying to keep 3 kids cool. Thankfully a decent amount of common sense seemed to be applied in our coach, and we didn't have any problems with hovering in the breeze of open droplights.

John

 

We have a real contradiction here - VT run regularly steam only trains but you can't look out of the window, as most of us grew up doing, to enjoy it.

I am not sure referring back to the Balham incident is good customer service or appropriate - it was a specific set of circumstances - as are almost all railway accidents.

Question - do VT explicitly ban putting one's head out of the window whatever the circumstance in their Ts and Cs that you implicitly accept when you buy tickets, or is this an interpretation of a guideline that is being more or less rigorously enforced, apparently coach by coach, by VT?

Ben, don't want to put you on the spot here since you are well recognised for being a friend to this forum and helpful in your information. Can you or a colleague clarify the position please or else let us know that it is up to the interpretation of the train staff on the day. Happy if you want to defer to someone else in your organisation so that your relationship here is undamaged.

Btw she looked pretty good from the Cropredy road bridge at twenty to twelve last night and worth the drive out to hear her approaching and then fade away into the summer night.

Mike

 

P S She is the engine - not the steward........................

 

How low do you have to sink when that's appropriate conversation within earshot of passengers, don't know what's worse that or actually having printed literature.

 

That's silly. They really aren't as bad as that but plenty of empty seats in standard tells a story. For once we could choose milepost side seats which we never can on UKR

 

I have to admit I didn't see many empty seats Taunton side of Bristol, and I recall a statement that the trip was sold out prior to the route alteration, so I don't think the empty seats tell any story at all.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and didn't have any issues with any of the stewards. I am quite happy to comply with any polite request from staff, and all contact I had with the Stewards, including a request not to hang about in the vestibule by the buffet from the head steward, was very polite.

John

 

One of the stewards is a friend of my father, this constant bashing of VT stewards on NP really gets him down. They are all volunteers and do it for the love of it, not to get or read grief. They will have worked hard yesterday with the delays, most are of retirement age. Be reasonable.

 

Quite right. If you actually travel on their trains you will read that standing in vestibk

Empty seats in H. Many of the 'usual crowd ' won't travel on VTR due to the restrictions but I do as it's usually pure steam

 

Ironically we didn't come out as the TBE was the early 0800 start off BTM via Westbury, the entertaining route. It's a tradition for us to do the first TBE of the year, something we've done since the very first season. Wrong!!!! Been that sort of year.

 

Some shots from Uffington


Duchess Of Sutherland at Uffington


Duchess Of Sutherland at Uffington


Duchess Of Sutherland at Uffington


Duchess Of Sutherland at Uffington

 

I did w0nder what that was coming from the back of the tender - I actually caught it in more than one shot. Does that pusher also make a clanking noise - about 4 or 5 times as it passed me I heard a loud clank - which I hopefully have captured on some video

 

Here’s my video taken on the WSR and at Taunton station:

 

Great clips. We were doing 74 mph at Yatton