Along Western Lines: Llangollen Steam Gala, 29th to 31st August 2014

Shame about not running to Corwen but well done for publishing a timetable with loco allocations free of charge. Other railways take note!

 

So freeloaders can freeload? I have no problem in paying for information, surprised Llangollen don't would earn them some extra cash.

 

Is it me or is it only FRI TIMETABLE loaded?? -- no SAT/SUN?
Neale.

 

Got to the LR website, and select the relevant day. Each individual Timetable is on its respective day. The link is Friday's link.

 

All appears to be working for me, a timetable on each event page for the gala.

 

Yes, giving people what they want is worth far more in the long run.

 

Yeah free pics that the railway doesn't benefit from at all.

 

Actually, every photo/video posted on the interweb is a free advert the railway doesn't need to go to any excess effort to produce.

And having the timetable free makes it much easier for passengers to plan the day before they arrive, so more people might be likely to make the decision to attend

 

It's not an advert at all. It's freeloading, often for personal gain. Timetables can be bought in advance, whether that means posted out or via email. A railway would prefer to have £1 hard cash and this 'free advert' than just a free advert imo. It would also most likely reduce the rover ticket price, enabling more people to travel.

 

Can you explain how it's 'freeloading' if an image is uploaded to the internet? I'll grant you the 'free' part, if the photographer hasn't paid anything, but where are they loading if they've stuck an image on flickr?

 

Pics - come on, are they really worth a lot of money? Isn't all this just a hobby for people to enjoy?!

 

Suppose someone sees an image of a loco or a heritage line, be it in a magazine or newsfeed on flickr/youtube, and (probably after looking up several more images) decides to visit. The picture has acted thus as an advert, which didn;t cost the railway a penny and which someone else has taken the effort to produce (excluding the day to day costs and efforts the railway put out to operate that day). I've certainly visited lines because of pictures I've seen and I've received correspondance from at least 3 people who have seen my material and decided to visit the ELR as a result! And theyre just the ones who've been in touch....

There's not much personal gain from photting, aside from the satisfaction of partaking in your hobby (my youtube account has been earning for 2 years and likely needs at least another 3 to get to the payment threshold)

Sometimes lowering/eliminating a price in one place increases income elsewhere - IIRC the NRM makes more money now it's free entry than it did when there was a charge at the door. Just because a railway earns ££ from TTs doesn't necessarily mean they aren't losing £££ from somewhere else

 

The WTT says Corwen but the PTT says Bonwm. Is it planned to be a surprise or have they changed their minds? Aled, signalman friend of mine who's in Pentrefelin signal box on Friday, says as far as he knows they're still planning to run to Corwen.

I visited the Foxfield, Romney and KESR because of pictures and videos and plan to visit Kirklees for the same reason.

 

The railway will not be passed for passenger traffic beyond Plas Bonwm until the platform is finished & the whole of the extension is ready for inspection - possibly end of September.

Bob.

 

When the working timetable was completed back at the beginning of August it was thought that all the work would be complete, crews would be trained and passed on the route, and all would be good. Now the closer we are, we have a better picture of whats going on with the extension. As Bob states above, the entire project of track, platform and everything else has to be complete before trains can run.

We've been issued revised working timetables to suit the revised plan. A shame not to run all the way, but as ever its just one of those things.

 

No complaints about the line up from me, one interesting diesel added to a good mix of steam classes suits me. My only disappointment is that it's still not possible to ride the freight, this used to be the highlight of Llangollen galas and the supplement must have been a useful boost to the takings. Is there any chance this may be reinstated at a future gala?

As for linesiders, I too find it annoying that so many enjoy a day out without contributing to the operation of the railway but would charging for a full timetable affect them or would they just go anyway, since they presumably photograph everything that passes? Ease of obtaining a full timetable encourages me to attend a gala.

 

I agree with the comment about riding on the freight - for me the two best ways of riding the Dee Valley are in the auto-coaches and a Brake Van. Going uphill in Berwyn Tunnel in a goods brake behind a hard working engine is very atmospheric. The closest thing I'll ever get to my Grandad firing and driving steam engines through Woodhead tunnel. Hopefully the goods brake rides can be reinstated some day.

I had another enjoyable day in the Dee Valley yesterday. One minor frustration was that the Thomson Buffet wasn't running so no real ale on the train for me, so I drowned my sorrows at the Grouse instead. I loved the freight train though, a nice length and good mix of wagons too.

 

There weren't many people on the trains or linesiding on Fri or Sat. I had intended to do my one day of each but felt sorry for them so rode both days. £44.00 to a good cause rather than the government!

 

I thought it was quite busy actually. The ticket figures ive heard are about right, if not up on the normal gala figures.

 

I thought it was busy too, when I visited on Saturday, particularly during the morning. Plenty of people aboard the 09:00 from Llangollen, the suburban set was very full but a lot quieter returning behind D5310. Perhaps the majority didn't fancy diesel, we enjoyed it and there was even a Scotsman in our compartment for enhanced authenticity.