Spa Valley Railway Winter Steam Up: 7th - 8th January 2023

Line-up:
34072 "257 Squadron" From Swanage.
2890 "Douglas".
Diesel TBA.
https://www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk/...h-visiting-bulleid-pacific-34072-257-squadron

 

More Spam. Excellent! The perfect antidote to post Christmas blues.

 

Honestly, I thought since they had some chocolate and cream coaches, they would have booked something Great Western, but, it's something I suppose.

 

Bulleids worked chocolate and cream on inter-regional trains etc. Not only that but they have some BR(S) green ones too.

 

I know.
4 full greens and 1 half green/half blue-grey.
I just think it would be nice, that's all.

Remind us of those days in Cornwall, maybe instead of mince pies, they should give away free pasties.

 

And more than slightly related to the fact it’s there for the highly financially successful Polar Express season in December …

 

And the fact that the Spa Valley is the official Eastern Outpost of SLL and they mainly own locos of ex Southern Railway heritage / design (shocking, I know) a SR loco makes most sense for the railway. At a time of a cost of living crisis where we don't know how much things are going to cost even a month or so away, booking an additional loco to run just 1 or 2 weekends at a time of year with all the additional costs of a short term hire, transport, fuelling an extra loco, requiring even more money to be brought in to break even, when everybody's budgets are a bit tight post Christmas is perhaps not the most financially sound idea. That's even before you start thinking about what locos are actually available for hire. Also, just because the railway owns coaches painted one particular way, doesn't mean they have to hire in locos that perfectly match them. Far better get one more running day out of a loco that is being brought in for a far more lucrative, but also in a way, exclusive, event around the same time.

Also where does it say they'll be giving out free mince pies?

 

Well, it isn't particularly advertised.
Last time I went, which was 2018, when they ran 564, Ring Haw, Ugly and Sister Dora, you brought a drink and got a free mince pie with it.
Good initiative, getting rid of those left overs from Christmas.

 

You know, that's a funny thing?
These railways are charging higher and higher prices for smaller and smaller enthusiast events, yet, they don't DARE scrap, Christmas weekends, Thomas weekends, family weekends, beer festivals, bus and car rallies or period weekends.

 

Maybe because, unlike steam galas, for the majority of those less enthusiasty events (with the exception of Thomas events in some cases, and maybe pre-Christmas events depending on the home fleet), the base-line cost to the railway to put the event on is lower. They often won't need to hire in locos specifically for the event (which has associated costs around transport, steaming fees (which are always higher per day for shorter hire periods) and then potentially putting up a loco owners rep in nearby accommodation), they will often run fewer locos on the day (so only, say, 3 locos in steam, rather than 5 or 6, so so that's roughly half the coal and water usage and wear and tear to locos), and may even be able to outsource some elements of the event (e.g. provision of classic vehicles, actors for the period event) to other organisations, thus reducing the planning and organisation the railway needs to do in the run up. And that's before you consider the fact that pre-Christmas services, whether they're Santas, Polar Expresses or something else, are almost universally the most lucrative running events on a heritage railway's calendar, so why on earth would you get rid of your biggest money earner?

As fuel and transport costs increase, and as we continue to deal with the reduced locomotive availability that is a symptom of a world where COVID deprived heritage railways of a year or more's worth of restoration time, enthusiast galas will cost more and more to put on, so railways either have to charge more, find ways to make them cheaper to run, or both. It's simple economics - sadly railways are not immune from the cost of living crisis anybody who has watched a TV show called 'The News' will be aware of. It's not a funny thing at all. It's a perfectly sensible business decision, and one which is likely needed if we still want to have the diversity of heritage railways we are blessed with today in 10 or 20 years time.

 

Christmas, Thomas and family weekends likely bring in far more money than many enthusiast events. If you can magic up cheaper fuel, transport and hire charges, then I’m sure the railway would put on a bigger event for you.

 

Don't forget 75F now appears to be a sub shed of 26d .......

 

And still wont attend anyway because of some nebulous transport issues.

 

It seems that the Winter Steam Up has been pulled from the website.
Guess it's not happening anymore.

 

True, true.

 

Well, I hate to dredge this up again but Spa Valley have [re]announced that they will be holding a Winter Steam Up.

New Line-up:
Visitor TBA.
34072 "257 Squadron".
2890 "Douglas".

https://www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk/...am-up-with-bulleid-pacific-34072-257-squadron

 

That reminds me of the occasion some thirty years ago when we had both 34027 and 34072 at Grosmont and they were rostered out on the same day. One well known driver (Wakefield for those who know him) booked on and prepaired what he thought was his loco for the day. The other driver booked on an hour later and was delighted to find his loco already preped for him.

I think like Wakefield, young Mr Hampshireman has got the two locos mixed up here.

Peter