GCR Winter Gala 31 Jan '09

Nothing like looking after your customers 8-[

 

I don't have customers, I have passengers.

 

I'm with C WALL on this one. Having gone to the trouble and expense of getting the Q6, I really don't understand the logic of restricting its passenger turns at this event to one round trip per day on two days, and not using at all on the third. I'm sure that the Super D was allowed more passenger mileage when it visited a couple of years back, and that's also a freight engine.

It's a 250 mile round trip for me to the GCR and, if I do decide to go, my main reason will be to get a ride behind the Q6. I imagine that a lot of other people will go (would have gone?) for the same reason. Inevitably its only passenger turn will be heaving.

Credit where it's due, the GCR do put on some cracking events (for example, the Steam Railway gala last October), but they seem from time to time to lose the plot, in my view. They too often concentrate on putting on the show for the photographers and don't seem to consider the quality of the experience that they provide for the people who want to buy a rover ticket and travel on the trains. Jamie's comment that he doesn't have customers, he has passengers, is perhaps indicative of the problem if he doesn't understand that they are one and the same. Yes, it will be good to see the Q6 on a freight, but it would please the traveling customers if it were given an extra passenger turn.

To those who posted "go to the 1960's gala", that's the first weekend of the WSR Gala. To the person who posted "Go and get a trip behind it on the NYMR", that's a 500 mile plus round trip for me, which is why I've not been to the NYMR for nearly 20 years.

 

I should imagine the Q6 will also be operating on normal running days between the 2 galas. This way you'll get more trips behind it, with fewer people around, for less money.

 

What absolute nonsense, that's my personal preference, I'm a guard, not a train manager, my train conveys passengers, not customers. In many previous years some visiting engines have had few booked passenger turns at gala events.

2005: 9F 2 booked passenger turns each day
2007: Super D 2 booked passenger turns
2008: 4F 1 unadvertised booked passenger turn, plus an advertised double header each day
2009: Q6 1 booked passenger turn each day

So, you can hardly say it's a break from tradition that freight engines are generally placed on freight workings. The GCR is one of the few railways that can run freight and passenger trains regularly with little constraint, so...why shouldn't we? We aren't robbing you of a chance to ride behind the Q6, it's there, in the timetable, hauling a round trip, I'm sure you'd all complain if it was at the end of the day, you'd all complain if it was the first train of the day, you'd all complain if it was hauling the dining train/local train, and you'd probably all complain if it only hauled passenger trains.

 

Mr Steel needs to calm down a little. He should remember that bums on seats keep the railway running. Freight trains, although they look good, do not do this.

 

This gala will be 4141's last gala for the forseeable future until we overhaul her. The trains she will be hauling will be the dining trains on Saturday and Sunday at 1315 ex Loughborough.

Progress on 42085s overhaul

 

Why was the General Manager recently made redundant-cost saving?

Contribution to gala costs per passenger £20

Contribution per photographer-£0

So who does putting 63395 on freight trains cater for-those paying or those not?

If the railway had any business sense,it would be putting it's own locos on freights,63395 on passenger trains(those £20s add up).

The incentive would then be there for photo charters using 63395 on freights at a later date,as the only way to get your photos.

The GCR situation would then be in a win/win situation rather than a lose/lose situation.

However,just realised flaw -wouldn't be the usual 8 page ,we love GCR spread in next Steam Beano.

 

=D>

and as kindly pointed out by Mr Steel :-

"2005: 9F 2 booked passenger turns each day
2007: Super D 2 booked passenger turns
2008: 4F 1 unadvertised booked passenger turn, plus an advertised double header each day
2009: Q6 1 booked passenger turn each day"

So thats 2 passenger turns for the freight loco on all the above galas then, except err? :-k

 

Some people i think are over reacting. Its up to the event organisers what they want the Q6 to be used on and being a goods engine they want to see it on the windcutters. If they were getting an express engine then they would have it on passenger workings.

In response to the comment about Steam Railway loving the GCR certain people at the magazine have a strong bias to the NNR as well.

 

Oh that's easy, 2008, the unadvertised booked passenger turn was restricted to dining passengers only, and would only have been open to passengers who asked to ride on it, since it would have conveyed 26 seats only.

 

](*,)

Didn't leave any diners behind to wait for the next one did you?

 

It should be for the organisers to understand what their PAYING customers want,and provide that.Hence the event will be a commercial success and the railway and funds will be there for the next event.
It's fine for the organisers to do what they want as long as they are paying the cost of playing at trains.

Imagine if the management of Tesco or Asda decided that they no longer wanted to sell food.

 

I don't leave passengers behind if they intend to catch a train, but equally I won't hold a train full of 500 passengers whilst 2 people buy tickets when the next one is 10 minutes behind. Sorry!

 

Soon? 45 minutes in most cases (compared to 60 minutes on a normal running day)

Some mainline TOCs offer compensation for delays of over 30 minutes. If we miss a "connection" at Quorn or Rothley due to the late running of the inbound service and have a 45 minute wait, will the GCR give us back £10 of our £20 rover fare?

 

This gala is different to others in that there are less passenger workings than normal.

 

I think people are being a little unfair to the GC. My Dad and I are visiting on Sunday so I looked at the possible moves. We can have a Brit, Sir Lamiel, an 8F, a 2MT, Q6 and some GWR thing (sorry they all look the same so we might go to the beer tent and watch the freights...) on 12 passenger trains. The timetable is generally well thought out so you do round trips and drop onto the next engine. Also all the engines are nice and loud!

Which other railway can put on a show like that plus PROPER freights and TPO every 30 minutes or so with three eight coupled freight engines. £20 - a bargain.

Ten years ago (let alone in 1969) no one would have thought this possible so please stop moaning and appreciate what we have got. Only one passenger turn for Q6, so what it has a ten year ticket so if anyone wants mileage they have plenty of chances - it ain't being withdrawn anytime soon! I am sure the gala will be a massive success and it deserves to be as probably one of the best each year. Only one thing missing....a dub dee!

PS: passengers and third class - the way forward!

 

Ahem, and an industrial! \/

Nevertheless, should be a gala to remember!

 

I'm sure, as always, this will be an excellent gala and, although I'm a bit disappointed that the Q6 is only working one round trip on the Sunday there is plenty to enjoy. As you say the Q6 will be visiting for three months, however, for all of us who have to travel 100 miles or more to reach the GCR perhaps you would like to tell us when these chances will be happening. It is a long way to come just to find it on shed and not in steam as has happened in the past with other visiting locomotives.