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Two exiled A4s to return from North America for two years - official

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by shedbasher, Jan 5, 2012.

  1. Guest

    Guest Part of the furniture Account Suspended

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    Ralph - which profession do most Tory MPs belong to - it wouldn't be the legal profession would it???

    Some practices built brand new palaces from the proceeds of privatisation fees - that did the network a lot of good didn't it?
     
  2. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    In my mind , 7 ,8 , 9 & 10 all lined up a'la Top Shed , 7 and 9 in steam , all in BR Livery , sun out , Crash and a multitude of shutters fire
     
  3. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Doesn't this all conveniiently ignore the question of ownership??!! :)
     
  4. Neil_Scott

    Neil_Scott Part of the furniture

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    Martin Butler = Jeremy Hosking?
     
  5. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    When I saw Eisenhower, even it's rods had been painted, and the orange lining was very very thick and bright.. wasn't convinced it was original paintwork.

    I hope they protect the plates on it though, when I saw them both, everything was original and we have a lot of light fingers over here.
    Whilst it would be nice to see then spruced up, the thing that struck me the most was the cabs on both of them...

    they are fully exBR... kinks in the pipes, cleaned not polished, evidence of repair and patch up, they feel like they have been dusted over to make them presentable...
    with working locomotives there clean, dirty but cared for and maintained... in museums they are spotless.. these felt like working cabs where the gaffer said give em a once over.

    Thats something that cannot be replaced... if you go on them you will see what I mean.
     
  6. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Didn't one of them have its smokebox plate stolen in recent years? Seem to remember it being reported in one of the mags.
     
  7. osprey

    osprey Resident of Nat Pres

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    Will report in August, if you can wait, am visiting Wisconsin then and will look up "Ike"
     
  8. keith6233

    keith6233 Member

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    With all the excitement of a possible line up for photographers how much would you be prepared to pay ?. At a guess it would have to be at least £100 what do you think.
     
  9. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    How have you arrived at an estimate of £100?
     
  10. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I guess putting on an event will have a certain cost. So you have two options: attract lots of people at quite a low cost; or else make it a premium event and put the price high enough to restrict numbers so that the experience for those limited number of people is a good one.

    So for example, if it cost £10k to assemble the six engines for a day, you could have 1000 people paying a tenner each (but no-one would get a decent photo); or you could have 20 people paying £500 (and everyone could get the perfect shot without danger of anyone else wandering into shot). Would you find 20 people willing to pay £500? Maybe - it's a matter of market research.

    I'd have thought the best bet would be two events. For example, a daytime event for the masses; then a premium event of day going into night at a price that is high enough that numbers get limited so the opportunities are worth paying for. (e.g. if I paid a premium price, I'd be annoyed if there were so many people around that they kept wandering into my shot. But if I paid £5 or £10, I'd be prepared to take my chances...)

    Tom
     
  11. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    My reading of it, is that it will be much more than just a day and more than 1 location...

    in fact over 2 years there's plenty of opportunity to see them, and therefore also plenty of opportunity to recoup the cost.
     
  12. m0rris

    m0rris New Member

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    Indeed, I suspect that it'll be a right scrum around them when they do the first lineup. As mass market ticket prices (...way under £100) in the difficult economic climate we are in at the moment is important and should be a success.

    It'll be interesting to see where we get lineups, presumably Barrow Hill will feature. I suppose they could also do an LNER Pacific lineup as well as a complete A4 lineup with Scotsman, BP and Tornado... the options are pretty awesome.
     
  13. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Yes, though the cost will be more than £10k - I doubt you'd get much change out of that just for one set of moves to one location. Moreover, since three of the six will have steaming commitments, it's not like it will be possible to assemble all six and leave them together for weeks on end.

    I guess the point is that there would ideally be a mix of "popular" and "premium" type events. That way, anyone who just wants to see the locos together will be able to do so without being priced out of the market; but equally anyone who wants to achieve the perfect photo will - at a price - get a chance where conditions can be very controlled. If you are spreading things round the country, you'd also want each location to have some kind of USP specific to that location. I wonder if it would be possible to assemble all 6, plus Tornado, Scotsman and Blue Peter? What would people pay for that?

    Tom
     
  14. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    Anyone care to speculate photographic locations ?

    York, Shildon, Barrow Hill, Doncaster Works Open Day perhaps ?, Carnforth Openday ??

    even Southall Openday perhaps ?.. It is Londons last real steam shed.

    dare we speculate one late night weekend photoshoot / engineering possession of plats 1-4 at KX ?
     
  15. keith6233

    keith6233 Member

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    The reason i came up with £100 is at Railfest in June it is £50 and I think when they had 4 A4's it was £ 75 so 6 £100?.


    Adult
    1 Adult aged 16 and over. Allows entry from 18:30-20:30 on 4th June or 07:00-09:00 on 5th June. @ £50.00
    Adult + £2 donation
    This ticket includes a £2 donation to help support the National Railway Museum. @ £52.00
     
  16. Ianb47306

    Ianb47306 New Member

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    I'd like to think BH would feature, but don't forget there are only six lines in the preserved side of the yard.
     
  17. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Ah, you're talking about a dedicated photo shoot as opposed to just general entry.
     
  18. eddief

    eddief Member

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    I think Shildon will see the 6 gather together. There is 7 lines into the museum so they could be lined up side by side - they did it with 7 Deltics so 6 A4's should be do-able there. Personally Shildon would be the easiest place to get to but I will go wherever the line up occurs.
     
  19. Oakfield

    Oakfield Guest


    Shildon being one of the worst places for travelers from the rest of the U.K. to get to!
     
  20. Anthony Coulls

    Anthony Coulls Well-Known Member

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    I can think of worse - and I live and commute from there...
     

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