Llangollen Spring Steam Gala - 19th-21st April 2013

Indeed - but finding somewhere to store 28 tons in the corner of my flat is a tad tricky, so us lower volume users are always likely to encounter higher prices. A shame really, investing £5k in enough coal to last me around 10 years would probably give a huge saving - I dread to think what it'll cost in 2023!

The fact still remains that lower volume users have seen a 50% increase in coal prices over the last 6 years. The £10/ton in 12 months increase would suggest a 35% increase in fuel cost compared to 2007 if, on average, that's a typical yearly rise.

At a minimum road haulage costs will increase to keep pace with diesel. In Dec'07 average diesel price was £1.08/litre, in Dec'12 it was £1.40/litre - an increase of 30%. Road haulage prices will also have to cover increases in road tax and operator's licenses. I don't have data to show how they've increased.


Having said that, I've just seen Llangollen's ticket price for the gala and can't quite understand the basis of some comments - their standard return gala fare is exactly the same as a ticket at some other preserved railways on their non-gala days, and that's the 'on the day' gala price. Book in advance and it's even cheaper. A day rover isn't a huge amount more.

 

Agree with the post above, basic info' needed at least when it's 100 miles+ to get there, please...

 

Looking forward to this, hoping to trek up with a few friends. Shame the manor won't be in blue yet but can't have everything!

 

Finally! A positive post on here!!! I'm on the standard on Friday early turn, and railmotor Saturday late turn so say hello if your there then!

I'll have a look at the timetables tomorrow and post a few details. It is a shame they haven't published them, but I'm sure there is a good reason with the booklet mentioned on the website.

 

Awesome, look out for a guy with tango-orange hair!

 

Can't see how a £10/ton increase equates to 35%!
I don't understand where these oft quoted hikes in coal prices have come from. We paid exactly the same price for coal at the pithead in 2012 as we did in 2011 but the leading costs had risen by £1 per ton (using a 28 ton artic).

 

Yeah, sorry - my maths slipped up on that: :embarassed:

£60 increase over 6 years (ie. £10/year increase) suggests £120/ton in 2007, therefore a 50% increase to reach £180/ton in 2013.
People are only too happy to moan about the prices petrol and diesel have gone up, but by comparison those costs have risen much less.

My rough 'road steam' calculations weren't using particularly up to date figures either it would seem: I've just had a look, and 'small volume' coal price has crept up a bit from last year again - now £310/ton. In summer 2011 when I last stocked up I paid £287/ton. In summer 2007 I paid £180/ton.

So in the 4 years from '07 to '11 coal prices rose 59%
Between summer 2007 and today's new price, coal has risen 72%.

That still makes the estimated 50% rise for railway volume sound like heaven!


The AA average fuel price figures for December show:

2007 Diesel: £1.08/litre
2011 Diesel: £1.411/litre
2012 Diesel: £1.404/litre
​

So in the 4 years 2007-11 Diesel rose 30%, over the 5 years from 2007-2012 it's still about 30% (petrol is also 30%).



Ok, I appreciate it's easy to dismiss the 72% rise that small volume users have to pay - but if railways have seen a 50% increase then that's still around 2 grand per week higher coal bill (based on about 30t/week consumption).

I wish I was financially in a position where I could cast aside a 50% fuel increase as "coal hasn't gone up that much over the last few years". As for the 72% increase many private road steam owners face... Trust me, you are certainly not alone wanting to know why coal prices have risen so much!


How much have road haulage costs for locos increased by over a similar period?

 

Ok, looking at the working timetables first train from Llan is 9am each day.

Friday: 7822 - 3 trips, 80072 - 4 trips, 6430 - 3 trips (1 freight), RM - 2 full line trips, 3 Glyn - Bonwm shuttles and a Llan - Glyn return

Saturday: 44806 - 3 trips, 6430 - 3 trips, 7822 - 3 trips, 80072 - 3 trips (2 freight), RM - 7 Glyn - Bonwm, full line down - AM, up - PM

Sunday: 3802 - 3 trips, 80072 - 3 trips, 6430 - 3 trips (2 freight), 44806 - 3 trips, RM - 7 Glyn - Bonwm, full line down - AM, up - PM

 

Thanks for that info'! I'll aim to get there for 9, and buy a timetable on the day, should be good !!

 

Have to agree with the comments above, not even publishing a basic timetable doesn't help the paying punter plan their day and encourage people to come. Unfortunately that seems to be the wishes of our railway. In addition the RA & FCs post confirming the start of the day the last train back to Llan from Carrog each day is as follows:

Fri - Carrog Dep 17:50

Sat - Carrog Dep 18:00

Sun - Carrog Dep 18:00

On the 3 days there approximately 13 departures from both Carrog & Llangollen with the extra shuttles between Glyn-Bonwm.

I'm afraid that's probably about as much info that RA & FC & I can divulge. Its the first time in preservation the 92 & 93 run together, plus the last gala before overhaul of 6430, a BR black 38, and the rest of the home fleet stretching their rods in some fantastic scenery. The manor will still be green so please do come and support us if you can

 

The GVCG/TVR28 team will be attending the Llangollen Spring Gala this coming weekend (19-21 April). Why not pop over for a chat?
We will be over on platform 2 at Llangollen station with some interestings bits and pieces ......

 

What time is 6430 working passenger services on Sunday please. I am planning on driving from East Yorkshire for this event, one of the main draws for me is a run on 6430. I don't want to arrive to find I have missed its only run of the day.

Many thanks in advance....

 

The 64 works the 1700 passenger on the Sunday.

 

Ssssshhhhh don't get too carried away giving out times

 

Only 1 trip over the weekend? I thought one of the highlights of the gala was 6430's last gala before overhaul!

 

Many thanks,I will be there for it on Sunday evening

 

Now, let's see I have two choices...

- Pay the train fare to Ruabon, bus fare to Llangollen, £22 for a day rover and £1 for a timetable only to find out that the loco(s) I want to ride behind aren't working on that day, are only on freight trains or only work before I get there or after I leave. I'm about £50 quid down and the railway has gained £1 through their no advance info policy.

- Don't bother attending due to lack of advance info - I'm about £50 better off and the railway has lost £22.

 

Mike Redditch and Malc. Please see my above post about which locos are running and how many trips they are doing. I have specified how many freight trips they will do, so all the information you need is above!

 

Thing is, how many people know about this forum? If I'm going to a railway, first place I'll look at is their own website. All that's on there is the one page saying trains start running at 9am, and that it'll cost a fiver to travel on the railmotor. No mention of shuttles over the extension, what locos are being used, the fact goods trains are running. That's not the best way to entice people to attend.

It's only because RA&FC and Flying Fiver have offered some basic info on here that I'm thinking about attending. If I relied on the LR website for info, there's no way I'd even consider the 350 mile round trip. I like the railway, but to not publish even a basic timetable seems crazy, especially when it's been mentioned before that gala attendances are dropping and costs increasing.