Great Britain XVII - 26/04 to 4/05/25

I wonder if this (highlighted below) is a significnat part of the problem

West Coast seems to have been able to get away wtih Mk 2 aircons and diesels on the back for some of its tours but when you consider the price of the GB tours now and that the clientele is going to be far more hard core enthusiasts, who will be a lot more fussy, it is hardly surprising if demand is down.

Also, perhaps to the novelty element of the GB tours is waning. Still, as Ralph has pointed out, RTC must still have thought it was viable. I hope he (and they) are right.

 

The 2024/2025 rake only differs from 2023 in terms of seating capacity by the fact that the RMBF replaces an FO. The 2019-2023 trains only featured one kitchen car and no buffet car. I think an RMBF seats 36 (six bays of six), so that's only 6 down on a full FO (42 seats).

 

Possibly. Very hard to tell how much of an impact the MK2s are having without speaking to every single passenger on every trip, whose had previous MK1 experience. And even then do Joe Public keep booking if the enthusiast doesn’t?

 

Monday's leg of the trip looks likely to be diverted away from the Marches Line because of a collapsed culvert yesterday. I received an email from Transport for Wales at 1601 today from which this is the relevant paragraph:
"Rail services between Hereford and Shrewsbury are currently experiencing significant disruption following the collapse of an underground culvert. Network Rail teams are now on-site and working on fixing the problem.
As a result, train services will not run between Hereford and Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury and Llandrindod.
There will be a full closure of the railway between Hereford and Shrewsbury from Friday 25 April into Tuesday 29 April, however this may change as investigations continue..." The email advises passengers on regular services about alternative routes on which their tickets will be valid and bus replacement services.

This also applies:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/major-disruption-on-hereford-to-shrewsbury-rail-line

There is also plenty of media coverage. It looks a big job.

 

When was the last time steam went through Malvern and Ledbury tunnels?

 

Whatever problems may occur as the tour progresses tomorrow’s is looking good. Clan Line was cleaned to perfection, oiled and prepared when I left Stewart’s Lane this afternoon.

 

44871 & 45407 Welsh Marches Express to Cardiff BMI to CDF 27 November 2016

 

Newport/STJ/Gloucester seems more likely ?

 

Also potentially Cardiff-Lydney-Gloucester-then either Lickey or Kidderminster and so on.

 

Yes, November 2016 via Ledbury. I believe Ray Churchill was on 44871 (lead locomotive), but happy to be corrected. We also carried a pheasant on the buffer beam for much of the trip. Think it ended up in Southall.