Mid Hants Railway Spring Steam Gala 2019: 8TH TO 10TH MARCH.

Which is why they should have gone for small rises each year, rather than one large rise. I tend to buy a ticket but not travel much if at all, as I see the ticket as a way of supporting the railway whilst I take pics. At £30 i will think twice about going.

 

To those railing at the price increase - either buy an early bird ticket or contact the Railway & ask why the increase - because I don't have the answer - I'm not privy to that info!

But the way I see it.

- The price of the black stuff goes forever north.

- Loco owners want more for their prize possession.

- Hauliers want more to move said loco's.

At the end of the day £5 is naff all!

 

The early bird price is £26 plus £1 booking fee, which equals £27. Not sure about the second point, the railway is running two train service between 28/12/18 to 1/1/19 which is bookable on-line, I may have misunderstood your post

 

It's a fiver more, that's less than the price of a pint of beer.
Why not be happy that the railway has managed to keep the price down all this time, rather than moaning.
But hey, if you'd rather it went up by a quid a year, donate the extra you think you should have paid over the past 5 years.
I make it (5x1)+(4x2)+(3x3)+(2x4) = 30.
That's a free ticket over the past 5 years.

 

What I was (badly) trying to say is if you click on a blue date in 2019, the buy tickets, when you click on it, is referring to tickets dated for the end of December 2018 (which some may not notice).
Must say I had missed the booking fee part for the gala. I thought the online booking was for an e ticket?

 

I see 'The unfriendly line' continues to train its ambassadors well.

 

£30 for a day's intensive steam activity is a bargain in this day and age IMO. But there's always those who want their steam fix on the cheap I suppose.
You could always donate £25 and just go for the photography.

 

You were the one suggesting the price shouldn't have been held down, I only pointed out that you've effectively had a free gala trip over the past 5 years if the MHR had done as you suggested.

But hey, we're all entitled to our own opinions and our choices are our own.

 

The railway needs to attract people to it. My experience of the MHR is they do their best not to do so whether it is people who wish to travel or donate their time or other resources. Posts like yours reinforce that view.

 

Done the latter in the past. But you miss my point about pricing. It appears IMHO the MHR lack commercial skills when it comes to revenue optimisation and in making people feel that the railway wants them there.

 

I suspect the divergence of opinion about gala prices is underpinned by people's relative wealth and prior experience. Unfortunately a large part of typical gala visitors are the retired who in many cases will be having to watch their spending and who will be very sensitive to price changes as a result, particularly when the costs of reaching a gala are also included. Of course the reality may be that enthusiasts have had galas on the cheap for years as a quick look at alternative activities such as premiership football match gate prices or theatre tickets shows these to be significantly higher than heritage railway gala tickets.

We have of course seen many threads on here where the worth of galas has been questioned and clearly railway management have an unenviable task in ensuring an attractive offer at a realistic price whilst balancing the books. Overall £30 seems good value when compared to the standard day ticket with possibly only one loco in use and one ride taken. The overcrowding and often rather unpleasant conditions at galas do, however, suggest that alternative ways of making visiting locos viable whilst spreading demand at an affordable price are required. It is therefore interesting to see a steady emergence of alternatives such as a headline visitor with pre-bookable reserved seats possibly at a premium fare. Whilst unpopular with some commentators on here the reality of movement costs etc. may mean that before long this will be the only financially viable way for most lines to offer visiting traction whilst properly recovering its cost of provision.

 

I well remember these points coming up at one of the AGM's many years ago.
What brought these points up at the meeting was the subject of a recent loco visit at that time where the owner had charged a huge amount for use of the loco for just 3 days. The price was far higher than anyone else had charged and IIRC the MHR didn't do too well at that Gala as most of the takings went on the loco hire fee.
I am impressed that the MHR have kept the ticket prices at the level they have for so long.

 

I don't quite follow the logic that because there will only be 2/3 of the railway open the prices should be cheaper. For a gala you pay a flat rate for a day's entertainment regardless of how far you travel. There will still be 9 hours of steam to enjoy even if the ride is shorter than usual. The price compares very favourably compared to other forms of entertainment as has been documented above. However whether I choose to attend will depend on the loco lineup. The fact is that there are so many galas these days that I for one am beginning to suffer "gala fatigue" and now only go to 5 or 6 a year. Whether I go or not depends entirely on the loco lineup these days rather than loyalty to any particular line. So I wait to see with interest what the lineup for the Spring Gala will be. One thing's for sure, there won't be any visitors coming from the main line. Maybe it would be a good opportunity to have a small locos gala again.

 

People also need to remember the loco hire costs/steaming fees and road haulage costs are still the same.

 

It only seems a few years ago, that a steam gala meant that all home engines in steam and a possible visiting engine to add a bit of spice.
Now there is a travelling circus of loco's being hocked around heritage lines, OK, bringing owners much needed extra revenue, but to the detriment of the host railway with greater risks attached.
On a different thread it was mentioned about Swanage possibly having the T3,T9 and M7 in steam at the same time, surely more than enough to whet anyone's appetite without having to break both the railways or the customers bank.

 

I was trying to find an emoji of a large male chicken but couldn't. Still, the sentiment is the same.

 

Thank you for further proving my point. Well done.

 

What i believe to be the first clue to the visiting locomotive was posted on their facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/watercressline/photos/a.326520647383905/2025265944176025/?type=3&theater

i think its 43106 :O

 

Would make sense with the SVR connections the MH gaffer has.

 

Not really sure if this is a clue for the March Gala as I think that they just put pictures up as a quiz for people on faceache. I wouldn't mind her returning though. Cracking Loco.

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