Kentish Belle, Nov 11th.

Is this the one RTC are advertising in the Evening Standard being hauled by Tangmere?

 

The Kentish and Sussex Belles haven't been big sellers, only 9 coaches with spare seats, despite low prices.

 

Not really a surprise as RTC has not got the best track record when it comes to delivering what is advertised on these runs. I was booked on the Kentish Belle in March which was cancelled where the route via Dartford and Redhill was completely cut out. Also there is the 'Sussex Belle' which the previous runs have run direct via Orpington instead of the planned route via Bat and Ball, yet RTC still advertise the tour running via this way. I personally don’t want to be paying for a trip that is actually delivers very little of what I booked for. Of course in certain situations these things are going to happen but in this case it seems to happen everytime. I therefore held off my booking for November's 'Kentish Belle' to see if it actually delivered what it was suppose to. I cant comment on whether I was the only one who held of booking but what do RTC expect other than a lack of confidence from it's customers that they can deliver what is set out.

 

It's not on the RTC website any more, for sure, but a photographer I was chatting to at Bracknell yesterday is booked on it and he's heard nothing from them yet about it not running.

 

A shame about that really - I've done them both this year and they are good runs. They may not appeal to the non-enthusiast so much however as many people may prefer a train that allows them to spend a few hours somewhere (like the Cathedrals Express). They do have the advantage of getting back to London in time for a night out though!

 

Really hope the Sussex Belle doesn't get cancelled as we get naff-all steam mainliners down this part of the country, been about 4-5 years since Tangmere came down to the Eastbourne line, so these specials are a rare treat.

 

I suppose part of RTC's failing is that they tend to advertise the route in more detail than some other promoters, so when the route changes for pathing reasons, engineering works, gauging etc, they can be accused of not delivering what was advertised (but I agree that they should try to keep their website up to date with any changes). In contrast, with Steam Dreams, say, it is more about the destination, rather than the route, so, as long as they get to the advertised destinatioo, they are delivering what was promised, even if it is not via the originally planned route - Saturday's trip to Exeter being a case in point.