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Riviera Trains to be sold

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Sidmouth, Nov 7, 2011.

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  1. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    Railway Herald reports that negotiations are ongoing for the sale of Riviera trains to Jeremy Hosking

    Given his fleet of engines and Riviera's ownership of Pathfinder and Cheshire Cat tours (per RH and i didn't know that !) it makes sense to maximise usage of Jeremy's collection of engines

    Now (and this is total supposition) Both WCRC and potentially the new business can offer any railtour operator a fleet of loco's and rolling stock for their charter needs .
     
    Sidmouth, Nov 7, 2011
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  2. Neil_Scott

    Neil_Scott Part of the furniture

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    To an extent but are/were Riveria Trains a TOC? I didn't think they were.
     
    Neil_Scott, Nov 7, 2011
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  3. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    I was always under the impression Riviera crews were DB staff....operating staff that is not the managers.
     
    Alberta 45562, Nov 7, 2011
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  4. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    It was my understanding the Riveira were a rolling stock hire company, DBS (usually anyway) supply the Traincrew.

    Hopefully Mr Hosking can do something about the state of some of the coaches in the Riveira stable, externally and internally there are a number of vehicles in need of some TLC.
     
    david1984, Nov 7, 2011
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  5. southyorkshireman

    southyorkshireman Resident of Nat Pres

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    There are also a couple of rakes of very nice mk1 stock... the bad 'uns are no worse than any other operator's stock
     
    southyorkshireman, Nov 7, 2011
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  6. Alberta 45562

    Alberta 45562 Part of the furniture

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    Some of the roofs were awful in terms of corrosion and there are quite a few holes in the side (mainly the maroon set).......although on the plus side I have rarely had a Riviera train minus lights or heating which is the main thing. Never known one of their trains to actually set out with this problem.....good old Mick.......

    Having said that as well as having the worst condition coaches,they certainly also have the best. The Choc-Cream set and Royal Scot set are rather nice.
     
    Alberta 45562, Nov 7, 2011
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  7. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    A very interesting development.
     
    Bulleid Pacific, Nov 7, 2011
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  8. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

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    green five, Nov 7, 2011
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  9. Matt35027

    Matt35027 Well-Known Member

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    I'd been thinking to myself for a while that the best thing Mr Hosking could do next would be to invest in a rake of coaches, looks like he's going even further than that.
     
    Matt35027, Nov 7, 2011
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  10. Bulleid Pacific

    Bulleid Pacific Part of the furniture

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    I wonder, if the deal goes through, if they'll still be based in Crewe, or will they be moved to Mr. Hosking's patch of land at Southall shed? I should think that if the latter happened, it would get rather crowded there. Where are they usually based when doing a trip from London? Let's hope his stewardship leads to greater standardisation of livery and improvements where needed.
     
    Bulleid Pacific, Nov 7, 2011
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  11. DUKE71000

    DUKE71000 Member

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    All of the Riviera Trains Mk 1 coaching sets are based at Eastleigh. There are still a number of ex virgin mk2s still at Crewe.
     
    DUKE71000, Nov 7, 2011
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  12. Steamage

    Steamage Part of the furniture

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    IIRC, Riviera Trains and DBS had an agreement known as the "Charter Alliance". Although in theory DBS could act as TOC when rolling stock came from someone else, and Riviera stock could be hired to promoters using another TOC, in practice this seldom, if ever, happened. I wonder to what extent this agreement will continue under Riviera's new ownership?

    The limiting factor for most tour organisers will continue to be the supply of steam drivers, especially those experienced with vacuum-braked trains. WCRC is the only TOC with a safety case for vacuum-braked trains at the moment, and I can't see that changing any time soon.
     
    Steamage, Nov 7, 2011
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  13. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I thought Southall was a WCRC depot ?.
     
    david1984, Nov 7, 2011
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  14. Steamage

    Steamage Part of the furniture

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    Before we all get too carried away, the Railway Herald article (p12) is very careful to use conditional phrases. It may be well-informed speculation, but it's only speculation. Even if a sale is being negotiated, it may be for only part of Riviera.

    One encouraging snippet from the article is the comment that DBS are "once again undertaking crew training for steam operations".
     
    Steamage, Nov 7, 2011
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  15. guard_jamie

    guard_jamie Part of the furniture

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    This could be interesting. It will be interesting to be seen how much he invests in the coaches. Without wishing to denigrate coach providers, I have found in my experience that coach rakes on the mainline can leave a lot to be desired. I know it's a triviality, but if a single livery were to be standardised upon that would be nice too.

    If you are unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings, don't bother reading below.

    Can I just say that I'm delighting in all the references to Mr. Hoskings' 'Stewardship'? I have images of him brooding with long hair a la Denethor, son of Ecthelion.
     
    guard_jamie, Nov 7, 2011
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  16. markjkirby

    markjkirby Member

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    dosn't mr hoskins have a 2 road shed at southall
     
    markjkirby, Nov 7, 2011
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  17. Dan Hamblin

    Dan Hamblin Part of the furniture

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    The former FSS shed.

    Regards,

    Dan
     
    Dan Hamblin, Nov 7, 2011
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  18. spindizzy

    spindizzy Member

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    DBS seem pretty keen on 70000 too.
     
    spindizzy, Nov 7, 2011
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  19. Oberlokführer

    Oberlokführer New Member

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    DBS not the only ones looking into training steam drivers!! Not so sure its Mr Hoskings on his own though, believe another 2/3 influential parties involved.
     
    Oberlokführer, Nov 8, 2011
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  20. Neil_Scott

    Neil_Scott Part of the furniture

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    DRS? I recognise your name from another forum...
     
    Neil_Scott, Nov 8, 2011
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