LSL Ltd / Icons of Steam fleet

That's rather polite of you to put it that way.

 

Another Diesel loco is joining the LSL fleet for three years, Class 40 Andania:
http://www.iconsofsteam.com/2018/01/andania-class-40-joins-growing-diesel-fleet/
She will be equipped for ML operations.

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I am suprised that there are not more tours with 'heritage' diesels

I'd love a Peak on Torbay Express

 

One step at a time. There will be much to do, just to get a train to Chester and back.

 

Terribly sad that Trevor Dean didn't live to see his beloved 40 on the mainline. But what a tribute to the determination of the man and all those who did such a stunning restoration job on the loco.[/QUOTE]

 

The paying public are not interested in diesels.

 

Forum rules prevent me from replying to that in the robust terms I would normally use in person, so I'll just stick with "ignorant and preposterous rubbish."

 

The point being made was that there isn't sufficient interest in particular 'classic' diesels to justify keeping individual ones in main line standards. I would imagine that there aren't many people who book on WCR diesel tours because they particularly enjoy Class 47s...

I would suspect that only Deltics and Westerns have sufficient following.

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I'm on thin ice with the mods over my more robust language.

 

Nonsense. I'd suspect Peaks have their followers, and I'd certainly go for a tour behind D213.

 

I would imagine the attraction is the journey and the destination , rather than whats powering the tour in the cases of the WCR tours, where as on a steam hauled tour, its the being hauled by steam, So the use of rare heritage deisel traction, and electric traction would also have its attraction, i would imagine taking a western back to penzance, or double headed 33's to Exeter, would have some attraction, its a pity the NMR's 71 isnt operational as 3rd rail electric loco haulage is extinct now.

 

So, to return to the original question, why so few preserved diesels on the mainline?

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I suppose that in the interest of balance, one could say "is it the loco or the destination they are interested in?"

 

The cost of equipping them for main line running? I doubt the safety package is cheap and if you look, current main line steam also only has a few representatives.

 

I don't deny that, but there seem to be very few diesel tours in which the traction is the attraction, and even fewer when a preserved locomotive is in charge. For the latter, are there even 10 in a year?

Surely if demand existed then owners would invest, as they do for steam?

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Hastings Diesels on their own ran five last year, and I suspect that for many of their passengers, the traction was at least part of the attraction, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual number was higher than ten.

Tom

 

I will stand corrected - I had forgotten about the Hastings set which I would agree should be included in the figure. Other than that though - a handful of Deltic tours most years, but what else?

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Has it not occurred that the owners may just simply not be bothered about main line running? Not every steam loco is passed for main line running...