Snowdon Mountain Railway

It's not often I come down on the side of the complainer, but at £45/head, I'd expect a dry seat. And if the comfort isn't much, I'd dang well expect the view to not be obscured by mist in the train. A car-style blower would not be difficult to fit.

Also bear in mind he is a tourist guide and is putting his reputation on the line when he books tourists on.

I'm all for disclaimers and limitations on liability, but these should be a backstop, not an excuse.

 

From that article not sure I would come down on "his side"
If the stock is leaking then the point is valid, although I have travelled in plenty of Mk1's on both heritage and mainlines where that is not exactly unknown.
Comparing Snowdon to other narrow gauge lines in Wales may be fine from a non weather or engineering concept, but the challenges of operating on Snowdon are somewhat different.
The refund policy is unclear, I assume, although I have not been for a few years, that although the diesel service is still cheaper you do not get a refund of the difference if steam fails. That would appear to be in line with most heritage lines where there is no diesel discount, (despite the comments on the NYMR thread as to why there should be).
Although if what I read elsewhere about the upcoming changes to the NRCoT meaning you will not be able to refund a fully flexible ticket due to disruption, unless you have done it before the disruption commences (so maybe each ticket will now come with a crystal ball) I am not sure the Snowdon policy is too out of line.

 

Mk. I's are old, though. All the SMR coaches--even on the so-called 'heritage' steam services--have had new bodies within the last twenty years or so. Hence, I find it a bit concerning that they're performing so badly in poor weather--which, as everyone acknowledges, is not uncommon on the mountain.

 

I think also, as they don't go for the heritage side, they don't get the rub of the green for leaking coaches that one might for heritage.
To a large extent, this railway is a means to go up a mountain and see the view, which could be achieved by loco, cable haulage or sky hooks for all the majority of the passengers care.
As such, a leak that may be permissible where the nature of the transportation is part of the attraction, is not there. Drilled holes in the seats suggests this is not a one-off issue...

 

I do have some sympathy with the complaint about wet seats; haven't all the carriages still in use been built or rebuilt in recent years? So they should provide some basic level of integrity.
The first time I went up Snowdon was in about 1991 and the carriage was a wooden shack on wheels; every time the gradient changed the body creaked and groaned and massive gaps opened or closed above the doors. It was frankly terrifying! I don't think it's like that any more...

 

Try going up to Schynigge Platte with open sided carriages.

 

Been there, done that - August, shorts and t-shirt, reasonable weather at Wilderswil, fog and snow on the ground at the summit. Not a pleasant experience!

 

Not one I've experienced! But my point wasn't so much about the weather as the alarming way the old carriage bodies flexed (so much so that keeping the weather out would be impossible).

My most memorable mountain railway experience remains the trip I did up the Rothorn in the late 90s, in freezing fog. I'm pretty sure I was the only passenger and I spent the layover at the summit having a cup of tea in the staff mess room while attempting to talk about steam engines using the crew's bad English and my worse German. I got a guided tour of the workshop when we got back down to Brienz and nearly missed my train back to wherever it was I was staying. Sort of relevant to the above discussion, as the weather up that particular mountain on that particular day was horrble. I loved it.

 

The comparison was semi-deliberate, because part of my memory of Schynigge Platte is also of the kind of flexing you describe, with gravity trying to make the doors hang horizontally. That was on a different trip, in what were I believe pre-WWI carriages that had been drastically overhauled in the 1990s.

 

I’m afraid I don’t agree with you on this. We decided not to ride the train anymore as the general attitude of staff and the shoddy set up was not to our liking.
At the prices this railway charges, we were surprised to put it mildly that our carriage was certainly not weatherproof. If that makes me a snowflake, so be it!

 

To be fair, you can still observe similar 'flexing' in the Snaefell tramcars...!

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I would say that is a fair comment based on our experiences earlier this year!

We went up Snaefell and as we reached the summit they made the decision to close the railway due to the extreme weather- even with the windows up there was rather a lot of rain coming in and all the panels do seem to move independently.

 

Indeed, but they are the original cars and part of the experience. And I've never had a wet seat on that or the MER.

Also, in terms of attitude, I've not been on the Snowdon, but when trying to board at the intermediate stop, the Snaefel tram let me squeeze onto a full tram rather than stand up there and/or have to find my own way back. Would you get that on the Snowdon?

 

Try a flight in the D/H Rapide at Duxford... very basic to say the least.

 

I suspect a different product and mindset.

Snowdon is an excursion up the mountain, out and back on the same train, Snaefell I suggest more a 'public transport' operation

 

Last one I flew in only had one seat -for the pilot - So basic that we never 'hung around' for the landing...