Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

I don't know for certain but if it's to follow the same format as the running days for Wightwick Hall later this month it would just be the Ivatt running, no other service trains.

 

Does anyone know if the railway has started to send out the e-tickets for the Wightwick Hall event yet? We are booked on the afternoon trip on Tuesday next week but I haven't received an email yet with the tickets. I booked back in August and received the confirmation email.

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I got in contact with the railway today and was told that the tickets will be issued by the end of the week. 1 minute after I received this message the e-tickets arrived in my inbox.

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We had a very enjoyable run behind 6989 this afternoon on the 14.50 Wightwick Hall service. However, it was very sad to see the five coach train so empty. I can't see that the railway has done very well out of this event.

Here is a shot of Mr Bentley with the Hall at Alton before the return trip:

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I can't help but feel (personally speaking) that the half term week is the wrong time to do this style of one-trip-only operation. Most families will be looking for a day out rather than an hour or so. Part of me also wonders if the loco has enough of a lure to warrant this format too - the series hasn't aired yet, but even then it's not quite the level of stardom the likes of Scotsman and Gresley have. Hard to say - so many variables. Whatever the case, hopefully it's not a huge loss.

 

This one-trip-only operation/package trips are not something I agree with what MHR has been doing lately especially when its higher than a normal day ticket. Might be fine for someone who has no way how to layout/plan their day. But it really alienates people who want a full day out rather than an hour. Same issue applies to the 41312 farewell weekend and the CanPac return in 2025. I hope the railway wakes up and realise that this one-trip-only package simply doesn't work. Especially when they were offering a 50% discount for some of the services this week.

Bluebell, Epping and Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, didn't feel the need to charge £37.50 pre-book only or so for a one-round-trip operation and were all-day tickets only. Why should the MHR feel the need to do so.

 

I think the one trip format has really backfired on the railway this week. The train we travelled on (the 14.50 departure) had roughly about 20- 30 passengers and 14 of them were a last minute group booking of Americans. A couple of the carriages were completely empty. Hopefully they will revert back to the Wizard Week format next year.

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It appears that all of the Halloween events on the MHR are not selling well unfortunately. Still plenty of tickets left for all dates. Only the Halloween themed RAT on the 31st is nearly full and that always fills up well anyway.
With the other events I don't know what the reason is for only operating from Alresford. A feeder service from Alton using the 150 unit would have brought in customers from London and other areas who don't drive.
Not sure why they were operated as non-stop services either. Surely a stop at Ropley for a while would have been better than a 30 minute layover at Alton. There is more to see at Ropley and it is better for pictures. I have found some videos of the other 6989 services on YouTube and it appears that they were very empty as well.
It was a bit depressing seeing how quiet Alresford station was yesterday for a special event.

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And of course FS is only 66 mile away this week (or slightly less if you are prepared to pay for the ferry), so that have may come into play as well. It appears most of those 1 hour trips were close to a sell out.