Llangollen Railway, 1960s Weekend: Saturday 31st July & Sunday 1st August

5643 hauls the 1100am ex Llan and 1212 pm ex Carrog return on the Sunday with set b (passenger) & the 1742 ex Carrog set b (passenger) on the Saturday.

Timetable reading lessons required......

 

Even if the locos swapped around then it would make no difference, the fr8 would still not earn any money.

I think the essence of the gala is being missed a bit, its a 60s gala being organised by two first time event organisers. No gala will live upto SS2, fair play that was a good event, but don't knock the efforts of others. There is variety out there plus the buses and '60s' vehicle display so c'mon down and soak up the atmosphere. You never know there may be a mini or two about and I'm not on about the cars!

 

I think it looks like a great event with a good timetable with something for everyone. If you want the 26 all day you can just stick with that and if you're more of an EE man you can stick with the 37 - and the steam locos are there too. 5643 regularly works passenger trains at Llangollen so not having it for two days doesn't make much difference, there's plenty more chances throughout the year.

Most peope will be there for the 37 anyway - I certainly will, it's been away for too long!

 

I assume you're not going on Sunday then, when the 37 only does one round trip on a passenger train (and 2 on freight)?

 

No I can't make Sunday as I'm going to Chester races. There's lots more diesel running days on the line this year so there'll be plenty more chances to see the 37 again.

 

Come on Mr Naylor. Read the Timetable properly. The 56 does work some passenger trains.

Anyway, out of the 3 steam locos running at the event, it is the 56 that has been opperational the longest. '72 entered service last September, and the 5 the September previous to that. The 56 has been at Llan since 2007.

So logically it does make sense to have it on the freight.

So Will, are you going to attend this gala, seing as how you have posted on this thread???

 

You are quite correct sir, there will be plenty of oppertunity to sample some more of 6940 at the Diesel Gala in October.

 

You are quite right. This event is also about the vintage vehicles, vintage bus ride and music + beer festival, rather than just running trains...

 

I apologise for reading the timetablke wrong, never was any good at them things, the point i am trying to make is that there is a train running around that looks great for the phographers but doesnt not put any cash into the pot
Meaning somthing else has to finance the loss i.e beer festival or say 120 plus tickets sold over both days
As you say it is your first event and as said by Phil Johnson SSS it is not and has no intention of being
The theme is an excellent one andhas been doen by other heritage railways i hope enough attend to cover the costs if you end up with no more profit than a normal operating weekend then you have to ask yourself ditching the freight or letting people ride on it might of made the difference
I may sound negative but having been there twice, myself and Jon Kerr know what it takes to get results the thought that 6880s arse was on the line was a big motivation
YOUR money is not at risk with this
Ask yourself this, have you done all you can to make it dead cert that the costs will be covered ? because if they are not the shortfall will have to come from somewhere
WE always felt we could of done more, marketing and promotion to get bums on seats is where you can never do enough


As for 5643 ask Q, we had a chap at SSS1 kicking off because on saturday night i sent 5643 back to the shed and put 92 Squadron out instead he even went to the point of sending trading standards to Llangollen Station

Locos swapping stock is good as its an easy cost free of changeing the look of the train

Will I be there ??? i will be working on 5199 on the saturday ( she is very poorly ) and i am on the 8F on Sunday

I wish you best of luck and i hope you have got your sums right and the weather is good

Will

 

I remember that little incident, and he was well within his rights to do so due to that magical little sentance missing from the public timetable. 'All loco's and events are subject to availibility'...

The main reason for some of the loco's being on the same train for a large part of the day is due to the fact that there isn't a spare loco in the right place at the right time, and that the DMU is in use. If a loco swap were to take place, then the other loco would have been stood idle for 2 or more hours. This situation is a major bore for the crews, and it has to be said, will the loco be paying for itself whilst stood doing nothing, and an alternative loco is on the freight...

Iain

 

I remember that little incident, and he was well within his rights to do so due to that magical little sentance missing from the public timetable. 'All loco's and events are subject to availibility'...

The main reason for some of the loco's being on the same train for a large part of the day is due to the fact that there isn't a spare loco in the right place at the right time, and that the DMU is in use. If a loco swap were to take place, then the other loco would have been stood idle for 2 or more hours. This situation is a major bore for the crews, and it has to be said, will the loco be paying for itself whilst stood doing nothing, and an alternative loco is on the freight...

Yes but it was written at the bottm of the poster.......so the man from TS left with a smile on his face


Shame no guest engine as that would be your spare loco.....do you have a back up plan for loco failure ?

We always went with the view that an empty station doesnt look very attractive so we nearly always had a loco sat waiting for people to look at it

But if you are short of them its not so easy

 

What makes you think we are short of locos, its probably more of a case of what the board have allowed the organisers to use!

Anyway this is starting to go off on a tangent from what this topic is about:

If you want to see a green class 26, a blue 37, a dmu plus a black 5, standard tank and 56xx in some splendid scenery, classic cars, vintage buses, a beer festival, live music and relive the 60s then Llangollen is the place to be next weekend

 

Some interesting and thought-provoking feedback here Folks, but a lot of the answers to the questions fall into the catch 22/how long is a piece of string/chicken and egg category!

Iain and I have worked very hard to keep costs down and submitted a full, costed business plan (including the freight working) to the Railway's Board. We have avoided visiting loco transportation costs by using the impressive and diverse range of traction available in the home fleet. However, this is a new event format (at least for the LR), so there is clearly some risk - particularly when two folk new to the game have pulled it together. I have, however placed repeated requests for help and advice in the last 3 issues of SAL magazine and elsewhere, but can sadly count the constructive replies I have had on one hand.

Iain and I remain confident that the event will be a modest success and hopefully lay the foundations for a bigger and better event next year. If it fails to deliver, I'll happily retreat to the dark, smelly depths of the engine room - the roof on the inside of D5310 could do with a lick of paint....

Best wishes

 

Nicely put Tez,
the key is the theme here- varied traction to cater for nearly all tastes, freight and passenger, music, beer, cars and costume; all to a 1960s theme! Coupled with the timeless scenary of the Dee Valley, the varied design of heritage restored stations, stunning locations and great photo spots! To further ring the changes, I believe the freight will be well worth seeing (dare I say it- with no passenegers on the brakevans, like it or not, this will add to the authenticity and no-doubt please the photographers attending?)

BBQ, Beer and The Beatles? I'll be there!!!

 

Sadly I will not be there. But I wish Iain and the team who have organised this new event for Llangollen, all the very best and keep my fingers crosed that it will be success.

 

Just a quick thought- for Llanstock- how about a prize for the best 1960s outfit spotted on the night? Tez and Iain to judge- winner gets a free pint!?!

Got mine sorted anyway, depends on how much effort everyone else puts in as to who might win...!

 

That could be done me thinks.

But, will some people on this forum get upset by wasting money giving out free beer!!!


Anyway, the freight train is coming on nicely! And the Observation car has been added to Set A for the weekend,

I'm back off to Llan tomorrow morning for the 'duration', with the aim of making a big grey type 3 look like a big blue type 3... So hope to see everyone there!

Iain

 

A cab ride is already on offer for anyone brave enough to come along as a credible Dr Beeching!

And if any lasses are wearing some proper Mary Quandt Minis or have come along in Emma Peel catsuits then I'll happily buy them a pint. ; )

 

Pic of a blue 6940 work in progress today

.

Still plenty more to do, but she's getting close!

 

Whats the BG running with?