Vintage Trains 2025

Oh the joys of travelling on a steam charter. The days of boarding a steam tour and standing by the door for part of the journey has sadly gone.

For me, the golden age of steam travel is just a memory. <BJ>

 

I guess I've probably done over fifty days of steam excursions over the last thirteen years since I retired.

Out of those I can recall

• cancelled on the day ---- one
• missed the train because my train to the pick up point failed---one
• serious delay on return---one (D9009 on the way back from the Tornado trip to Edinburgh)
• fire risk show pony trip---one
• diversion via a less desirable route--- one (but contentious, S and C both ways instead of Doncaster--Newcastle--Carlisle--S and C--Barrow Hill)
• all the rest --- none ( but I may be that loud mouthed git)

So 90% success rate. Looking forward to 29 March.

 

If I find myself sufficiently motivated, I suppose one day I could book both seats at a VT table for two, then offer the spare one on here at a discount.

 

This doesn't tally with my experience of VT trips last year as a solo passenger.

In both cases I was allocated a specific seat when booking, rather than just a table, and there was a card with my name on it at that seat.

Sadly in both cases it was an aisle seat, on the Ffestiniog trip it was with a group of 3 other solo enthusiasts (so plenty of chance for a natter) and the York trip was a group of three non-enthusiast middle-aged ladies on a 'ladies day out.' Not much in common with them but they did appreciate it when I could provide a bit more info about the loco and steam tours generally. (I promise it was in response to their questions, not unsolicited 'mansplaining!')

As always, it's a risk you have to take when travelling solo.
I have previously done VT trips with my wife in dining, but she's since been put off as both times the food service was sadly not up to scratch!

 

Will be intersting to see what Nick Ralls will make of the opeatian as CEO, I see in Steam Railway he starts nect month

 

I do get the single passenger debate, and being a reasonably anti social person it would be an issue to me as well. But is it really any different to choosing a seat on check in on an airline website, or given a seat number by a check in desk. Or for that matter letting some TOC website allocate you a seat on a table for 4 or a "window seat" that is in fact next to a sidewall panel with no window?
At the end of the day it is pretty much potluck who you get sat with in any mode of transport, unless of course you can afford premium zones where the number of sharers may be fewer, but other than most longhaul airlines first class products, never guaranteed to be totally private.

 

Is it then better to be at a table for two with only one stranger (on trips where that option is available) or at a table for four with three strangers?

 

Unfortunately, I think you are flogging a dead horse on this issue. It looks like the tables for two are always the first to sell out, so VT are presumably completely happy with their policy and see no need to change it to accommodate would-be singleton passengers.

I presume that in the unlikely event that tables for two remained unsold close to the tour date, then VT would consider a last-minute solo booking, perhaps by you calling the office.

Nick M.

 

I am with you on the highly unlikely front. I remember one RTC tour I was stewarding on (forget where to now) where one coach had all the tables for two sold and none of the tables of four. That was highly rare, but have seen many where all the two's sold and only a couple of 4's in use in that coach.

 

This confirms by suggestion that the supplement is being set too low.

 

In terms of tables for 2 being used by singles I think it probably has multiple knock on impacts. The common claim regarding charters is that the profit is made on the last coach, give or take as train length is going to vary, but lets assume its something like 10-15% on a full train now I am going to use an extreme example which is almost certain never to occur in reality and makes some simplifications on the numbers to help show things more clearly but hopefully it will help people see why I believe vintage might be making the choice they have.

Lets just assume for arguments sake they are running a train with 6 revenue earning coaches split between 4 FOs for FC/Dining and 2 TSO for standard and the overall income from each coach, after catering costs etc, are considered to be equal (lets say 6k each just for a figure to work with). If in those FC/Dining FOs every table of 4 was sold to a party of 3 and the single passengers only booked on to tables for 2 you would be left with 1 in 6 seats empty for those classes. If each coach was earning 6k that's 1k per coach and for a train making potentially up 36k (6 coaches at 6k) if 4 coaches were losing 1k each that would be over 10% of the total value. Now obviously you wont get every table of 4 occupied by groups of 3 however on the flip side the numbers are based on those 2 standard class coaches making an equal contribution to earnings but I think its fair to say we would probably all assume that actually dining or first contributes more per coach to earnings (even once additional costs like catering are taken into account) so in that case the assumption that the contributions are the same undervalues the impact of unsold dining seats, you also might have 1 seat on the tables for 2 unsold if only 1 single passenger decides to book a table for 2 which increases the potential lost earnings. On to top that one of the comments previously was that the tables for 2 seem to sell out first. This means any unsold spare capacity on the train in Dining/First is already likely to be in tables for 4, some people that want a 2 may be willing to book a 4 but many may not, potentially losing 1 single passenger (no guarantee you would fill the other seat with another single) is sadly better business than losing a couple.

Every time a group of 3 books in a coach with 4 + 2 seating they will need a single to balance it out. The other solution to the potential empty seat issue for groups of 3 is the route Saphos went down where groups of 3 are forced to book the extra seat at an extra cost (not a good solution in my opinion) in their case I think they also forced singles to book on 2s at an extra cost. If I recall correctly neither of those changes were especially welcomed on here.

There is also an argument that if tables for 2 are selling out first then demand is exceeding supply at the current pricing so currently they are undervalued price wise in comparison to tables for 4 (even if they already have a premium price) by vintage and possibly others but that is a whole separate debate which I have not doubt would generate some heated points of view.

 

I had a trip like that, where 46100 was a substitute loco and I was seated with Mum and her three daughters in first class dining. Kinda got took under their wing and found myself being offered a lot of drink...

On the "seating for two" subject I always tried to book that because I like to spend my time in peace but also am somewhat "broad of beam", shall we say so it gives me more room and doesn't impact on someone with the misfortune to be sat adjacent to me.

What has also contributed to my no longer undertaking travel (aside from cost) is that some operators no longer provide a meal if you join at Peterborough on an ECML trip.

 

Very excited to see the trip to Swansea announced, the first Castle to visit Swansea since March 2007 when 5051 did a St Davids Day trip to London.

The return will run through Cardiff Central when Oasis fans will be heading to the stadium there!

 

I don't think this has been mentioned yet. This year has a new route for the Shakespeare Express on 4 dates; Worcester to Stratford with pickups at Droitwich / Stourbridge Junction plus the climb of Old Hill Bank.

https://vintagetrains.co.uk/the-shakespeare-express-worcester-to-stratford-return/

 

Looks like the "bargain basement" Stratford to Birmingham return is no more & now the same price as in the opposite direction.

 

37.240 now registered in the Rolling Stock Library and main line test runs imminent. Subject to that, booking for the Saturday 12th April Central Wales Explorer will reopen. Class 20 to be the second diesel

 

Yes, I'm glad I did it last year.