No 4464 "BITTERN" to Kingswear. 25th Sept. 2014

Seems a bit of a waste to be trundling about for 3 years on a preserved line, can it not get an extension to its mainline ticket beyond 7 years ?

Other 2008 mainline returnees included 70013, 46115 and 5043, it was a peak year for mainline steam, will be a lonelier place without them all, if they all drop out..

 

Nobody seemed to mind when 4464 was doing brake van rides at the great goodbye

As long as 4464 returns to the main line following its overhaul I don't think many people would mind seeing it on a preserved railway for a while - It also gives a big pacific like an A4 the chance to be seen by all the youngsters who visit preserved railways who might not be able to get so close to one or travel behind one on the main line....

 

Nowt to do with FTR but a lot to do with shorter boiler tickets for main line use.

 

Good point!

 

Good post. As you say, heritage line running gives many more people a chance to see and ride behind a main line loco who otherwise may not be able to afford a main line trip. The steaming fees aren't to be sniffed at either.

 

(sings) "Thomas the red nosed A4, had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows. ........................... etc etc "

 

Quite right, there are some people who love steam but can't afford the cost of a mainline trip, especially the youngsters who are interested and can get up close and visit the footplate which at times may not be possible on the mainline, Heritage railways are more like a branch line in the old days, where trains stopped at every station, no real fast running there. these railways give people the chance to travel on steam rains where otherwise they may not be able to and long may they keep running. By the way myself and other friends who DO travel on mainline steam DO sometimes visit and ride on heritage railways, even Ray Churchill has had a ride or two on the SVR.

 

It's also good for the heritage lines as they normally promote the fact they have a guest engine visiting to try to get more people in. If you can say you have the sister engine of the worlds fastest loco then that's a big pull factor for anyone. Even someone who mainly follows mainline steam would go visit the heritage line if they lived close by and had an engine like Bittern visiting why wouldn't you?

 

So your view is presumably that those working on "toy" railways are "playing trains"? Whereas, your contribution of taking videos would count as what?

I can point you in the direction of quite a few people who don't consider up to 12 hours on the footplate as playing! Not to mention those who manage to get 13,500 miles per annum out of 50 year old machines that pretty much run when not on washout.

Some very good points about heritage lines being a chance for people to travel behind the giants of steam at a cheaper price and more frequently and for the family market, offer a shorter (time wise) introduction to steam for youngsters.

I would also point out that quite a good number of WCRC crews have heritage railway background or connections - there are a number of ways in which the heritage railways ector at least helps enable the mainline scheme to exist.

Steven

 

Ray was at the Great Central Winter Gala with Mike Notley a couple of years, and it was the second year running I had seen Mike there.

 

Some people even fire and drive on preserved railways - I've fired for one mainline locomotive owner and one WCRC fireman.

 

What utter tosh, TOCs etc want professionally produced material, not amateur offerings.

So when did you last partake in a trip?

When did friends and family of yours last partake in a trip, since you do not actually give much encouragement by not travelling yourself.

 

Well they had a Yeti on the shovel four years back, stoking the firebox with marshmallows..................

 

Banged to rights at last! It has been proven.
I have said many many, times in the past that the only time you ever, ever post on here is to have a go at other posters if you don't like what they say.
I should know because I have been "the victim" many times in the past.
I have never seen you post anything useful or constructive.

"Sleeping spammer" springs to mind.

 

Whereas your posts are, of course, only ever positive contributions, suggesting helpful and practical ways mainline steam can be improved.......................

 

Yawn, here we go again.....................

 

That is not the only subject matter.
At least my only posts on here are not to slag others off because I don't like what they say.
No one can deny that what I said isn't true though.

 

Must be a lot of people called "No one" on here then! (There is one user name that would sound like that if spoken anyway).

Actually, to be fair, I suspect you and I have had similar experiences of mainline steam and hence steer clear due to the combination of cost and risk of things not happening as expected, if I understand correctly where you are coming from. We may differ on why things have got us to this point and how understandable and/or unavoidable some of the issues are.

The best mainline steam runs I have had for a good few years have either been at no more than 45mph or with a 2-8-2 oil burner on the front.

Steven

 

Meanwhile talking about Bittern....

Wouldn't it be nice if 2509 Silver Link made a reappearance ?