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The Royal Duchy 1st May

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Alberta 45562, Jan 17, 2010.

  1. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    Sounds good in theory,and no doubt it would be a good tour,but in effect Exeter-Par-Exeter for 98 quid!!! No thank you.....

    http://pathfindertours.co.uk/Steam.htm#Tour010510RD


    Seriously what has happened to the pricing of Pathfinder's steam tours?

    Compare that with 'The Lincolnshrie Express' by RTC for example,£79 and a hell of a lot more mileage and a lot of it rare too!

    Or even better for a good example,and i know its only steam one way but RTC's Royal Duchy,£88,still a lot but you get more IMHO steam into PZ and then the Western back. Not to mention 2 locos.


    Shall have to wait for the Cornish Riviera unfortunately.

    Pity as i would of liked to of been on 6024 over the banks alone again.
     
    Alberta 45562, Jan 17, 2010
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  2. spindizzy

    spindizzy Member

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    How many steam miles are we talking?

    Apparently the King is only allowed 9 up the banks so is that why the price is high?
     
    spindizzy, Jan 17, 2010
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  3. DUKE71000

    DUKE71000 Member

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    The total steam mileage is 173.5 miles.
     
    DUKE71000, Jan 17, 2010
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  4. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I don't buy that, load restrictions over the Devon Speed Bumps have always been there, it has always been slightly more expensive yes but not to that extent.

    To give a comparison i had 5029 + 5051 on a Pathfinder run in 2006 i think Taunton - Penzance which was cheaper despite being double headed.
     
    david1984, Jan 17, 2010
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  5. saltydog

    saltydog Part of the furniture

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    Could it be a case of companies taking advantage of the current economic climate and trying to milk every pound they can out of the 'Staycationers'?
    Not that I condone it, after all if you offer a reasonable priced alternative to these people then hopefully they will keep coming back.
     
    saltydog, Jan 17, 2010
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  6. No.7

    No.7 Well-Known Member

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    I have to admit that although I have booked on this trip the Pathfinder and the related Torbay Express price rises are rather unwelcome. At least child fares are still reasonable on the Pathfinder trips, unlike the TE.

    If you compare RTC repeat itinerary like the Scarborough Flyer, it’s £57 return or £168 for a family. TE is £75 (£65 on the first three trains wow!) or £280 (£240) for a family. That is a huge difference. Somebody is trying to make a lot of money but I hope they don’t kill the goose in the process.
     
    No.7, Jan 17, 2010
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  7. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    maybe its the charging difference between DB/Riviera and WCRC as TOCs?
     
    Alberta 45562, Jan 17, 2010
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  8. maureen

    maureen Member

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    The thing to do is travel on the TE the first three weeks then give it a miss, an extra £10 is a big jump, Alberta 45562 mentioned the charging difference beween DB/Riveria/WCR TOC all the TE's are DB so that does'nt seem feasible, Steam Dreams seem to be the best price railtour operator, in May there is a trip from Kings X to York and back all with steam for £85 compare that with Pathfinder's steam trips!!
     
    maureen, Jan 17, 2010
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  9. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    A Repeat Intinery will always be cheaper over the season than a one off as all the arrangements can be used on subsequent trips instead of new one's having to be made each time, the trip i quoted was one of the last EWS trips before this No Vac Braking nonsense came in, assuming that DB rates are the root cause of the increase (assuming remember) then that's a jump of around 30% or so in 4 years, ive no idea what WCRC would of quoted for this job, but operators using them certainly have not seen a jump of 30% in the same time.
     
    david1984, Jan 17, 2010
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  10. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    Exactlly Maureen,Steam Dreams use WCRC...
     
    Alberta 45562, Jan 18, 2010
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  11. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    perhaps there is also a recognition that the business model for railtours and maybe Locomotive ownership is unsustainable at some of the prices being charged (and don't forget we've seen Past time , Pathfinder themselves (in a previous incarnation) and Kingfisher all cease trading) If you want to travel then higher prices need to be charged
     
    Sidmouth, Jan 18, 2010
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  12. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Does beg the question though Martin, if they can't afford to have prices any cheaper due to operating costs, how are other operators seemingly able to do it ?, seems somewhere along the line someone is paying more where another operator is not.
     
    david1984, Jan 18, 2010
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  13. spindizzy

    spindizzy Member

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    UKRailtours are running Clan Line to York from KX and back for £79 and they use DB
     
    spindizzy, Jan 18, 2010
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  14. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    Past time which everyine thought was a successful business went under with huge debts . These operations have employee's who have to be paid, business overheads , Deposits to fund . If you have 3 employees before you even start you need to be making probably £100k after tax per year and I struggle at times to see (given some of the quoted costs) how that is possible.
     
    Sidmouth, Jan 18, 2010
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  15. markjkirby

    markjkirby Member

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    but use db for tornado trip's.
     
    markjkirby, Jan 18, 2010
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  16. Pesmo

    Pesmo Member

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    Another thing about this tour is that with it leaving Basingstoke at 5:30 am and not returning to 23:30 it makes it a seriously long day if you have even an hours travel from home each way on top. The Other Royal Dutchy trip (RTC in April) has a potentially long day as well, Both of these trips could quite possibly run well past midnight with a few minor hold-ups.

    I love my rail tours but some trips can be just a bit too far for one day even for the most dedicated. Perhaps I am getting old ? ;-)
     
    Pesmo, Jan 18, 2010
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  17. Venturi

    Venturi New Member

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    I suspect that the price is to do with load restriction and that the same overall cost has to be divided between fewer passengers.
     
    Venturi, Jan 18, 2010
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  18. Paul42

    Paul42 Part of the furniture

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    I am not suprised the price have gone up, since Torbay Express Limited paid £ 25,000.00 to the liquidators of Past Time, to take on all Customers bookings( This reduced the amount owed to Past Time customers by £ 104,816.26). I am suprised by how much they have risen and also hope they don't kill the goose in the process.
     
    Paul42, Jan 18, 2010
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