WHR General Discussion.

Re: WHR, has it a future?

It's a tourist railway, lots of tourists like flashy.

What loco do you suggest instead of a Garratt for the WHR?

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I think the Garrats are just the right hight for the double deck stock they will have to pull, with all the tourist's that their going to bring in !! Seriously, a more proportioned locomotive, with a certain character, that would mix in with the area would still be better. I know their were technical aspects to take into consideration when the choice of traction was decided, but in my opinion the Garrats were the complete opposite to what was needed as regards asthetics and culture. The WHR(P) should have been involved as they already possess locomotives that would fall into the right criterea at least for the initial start. In my opinion the Garrats don't belong at Porthmadog harbour and they are detrimental to it's image. In fact the last thing tourists need in Snowdonia is flash !! Bye

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

You missed out an all important 's', William... [-X

Remember, we've just transferred in a couple of extra carriages to cater for the number of passengers the railway is attracting... =D>

So that should be "What locos do you suggest instead of a Garratt..." - 'cos you'd need a few to cope with the train loadings! :-k

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

Don't feed the troll - it only encourages him

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

An AlCo :smt007 :smt077

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

The right criteria, ok, locos that pull 6-12 carr trains, which WHHR steam loco fits that? Tourists in Snowdonia aren't all walkers, there are familys which want to sit at a table in a comfy seat enjoy the ride, then when the kid starts asking for the toilet they can just take them to one.

I'm afraid Michael the reply interests me because it's actually quite funny.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I disagree, IMO the garratts have plenty of character and fit right in with the North Wales peculiars such as the double fairlies!

They came up for sale as a small fleet (Rather than having lots of locos from different makes and without interchangeable parts) and rather complete so it made perfect sense to acquire them. They look enough like a steam locomotive for the average tourist, and different enough to be interesting.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

We will have Russell soon................

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

Though it might be nice to see a double headed single Fairlie combination threading through the pass, the long term costs do not stack up. Two boilers to overhaul, two crews to find. etc etc. What you need is a single large boiler, good tractive effort loco to be operated by one crew. Let's think about the motive power options? I know, how about some Garratt locos? Why not have a small fleet so spare parts are common.

Right locos, right location... What more is needed? Oh but before we forget there will be some moaning enthusiast saying that it's foreign/wrong colour/not prototypical. So let's ask them to fund the extra costs? Now why do I get the feeling that the queue of people rushing to put their hand in their pockets is going to be rather limited.

At the end of the day the choice of locos and location might actually turn out to be a winner. And managed by people who actually know how to run a rather successful operation...

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I was talking to my grandparents yesterday about the WHR, they are planning a trip next year, so theres 4 customers already!

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

No matter how hard I imagine I just can't see Russell pulling 12 fully loaded carrs out of Beddgelert, coupled with the fact that is only one loco. And that's only the start of the problems

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

Surely any question re Garratts on the WHR must be a non-starter.

For those who saw the locos on their home patch the WHR is - as near as dammit - the best recreation of the Natal system that I could imagine.

For those who haven't seen the locos in South Africa, the Garratts epitomise the best of heritage tradition; a tourist line where the journey alone is worth the day spent on it and one with its own identifiable traction unique to the line - and an icon its own right to boot.

I make no apology for my love of Garrats which goes back to the clumping giants of the LMS that I saw before being replaced by the new 9F 2-10-0s and I will happily travel to the line for a ( long ) day out just to savour these machines.

If things get really bad and I have to restrict my visits to heritage lines rest assured that the WHR - because of its Garratts - will be the last to drop off my list.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I couldn't agree more. The Garratts to me are the main attraction of the WHR. The scenery is amazing but there's something about the garratts that I love, all that power on a narrow gauge loco is just fantastic and is definitely worth a visit to see.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

According to the Daily Post visitor numbers are up 9% on last year's figures at the FR, while the WHR's are up 53%. Very encouraging.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

£15 million to the local economy can't be moaned at either. The Welsh assembly can see their investment returning dividends already then.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

One report I saw said in April & May WHR numbers were up something like 90% but revenue only something like half of this, which would indicate that many are only travelling on the new section from Rhydd Ddu.

Ultimately until the line is fully opened and they have been running a couple of years it will be very difficult to get an accurate picture as I am sure many are now riding purely as it is new and this will drop off over time. Equally marketing especially to coach and party traffic should improve once the line is open.

My best guess is that it will be mainly one way party traffic that will travel the whole journey. There will be a largeish element who will ride the perceived senic element and included in that will be Port to Beddgelert returns which may impact the FR

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

Here's another report for you:

For the first fifteen days of July bookings on the Ffestiniog Railway showed a very healthy 12% increase. On the Welsh Highland Railway, bookings were almost double the same period last year and traffic receipts were almost triple. The shops have all shown good increases too. This time last year the credit crunch was really starting to bite and shop sales felt the worst of it. Catering has had a good fifteen days as well, particularly at Tan-y-Bwlch Café.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I have to say that would be an impressive result and better than I would have anticipated. Not so much in the numbers as I think it was and is fully expected that they would increase greatly but the revenue as it would indicate that many or the majority are doing a full round trip. I have to admit that I expected that many might only do a the new or scenic section, especially the enthusiasts.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

That is what happened in April, after Beddgelert had opened. Traffic increased by 90% but revenue only 45% because of people only travelling from Rhyd Ddu.(Not that 45% increase in revenue was unwelcome of course.

 

Re: WHR, has it a future?

I didn't say that at all. Please be more careful what you snip.