NYMR Steam Gala (27-29 September 2013)

Twizell is currently working at Tanfield (as we speak)

 

Until 1988, galas only involved home based locomotives. AFAIK, the first gala 'visitor' was the Sentinel from the Middleton Railway in that year. The first 'big' loco was 34072 in 1991 followed by 44422 in 1992. Galas don't need expensive visitors just to keep a few moaners happy. They do need a bit more than an ordinary T/T, though, which Battersby & freights do give. Unfortunately, loco failures didn't help matters.
I agree with 61624, something like Victor would be good. A long time since I used to drag carflats out of the sidings at Longbridge with it....

 

AHHH So Im a moaner now,Haha like it, As Ive said previously its all about opinions, and the way I look at a Gala is an event with visiting locos giving the public a chance to ride behind the same
Enthusiasts who spend money at the railway can either ride behind or phott the guests, and lineside permit holders, who pay to the railway, can also take pics
Henry

 

Gala = a festive occasion; celebration; special entertainment

With the majority of steam galas, I agree that you would normally require a guest or two to bring in the numbers. But the point of the Autumn Gala is simply an end of season celebration. If you look at the stats enthusiasts and photographers are a very small proportion of the money that comes in during gala weekends. With this in mind they aren't the target market anymore. The main target for the NYMR are tourists. Whilst I agree with you that galas need something different from the norm to pull people in, guests arn't always the answer.
Why spend thousands on transport costs and hire fees if you don't need to? The Moors has plenty of tourists about who wouldn't be able to tell one engine from the next. Why do you need to bring in new engines for them? Just say your going to have a full steam weekend.
I also add that this is my opinion only and I have no connection to the railway. But I must say, as an enthusiast and photographer, I was going to attend with or without guest engines. The main running season on the NYMR has to many diesels for me to risk the trip normally. Having a full steam weekend is all I needed to make the journey across Yorkshire.

Oh and for those that haven't seen them yet my shots are here: Chris Kempster Photography - NYMR Autumn Gala

 

Well said Chris
I respect your opinion but it is different to mine but thats what forums are about
Henry

 

Well said. There is a natural tendency to assume that the primary customers at the events are enthusiasts but that isn't necessarily the case (and I speak with the experience of having spent many of these galas travelling on trains selling LNERCA DVDs to passengers).

Railways put on these events to make money, and if they can make more by not having to bring in expensive visitors that's fair enough I think. This time next year the NYMR should have everything that was available this time (apart from 6046), plus 61264, 76079, 63395 and possibly 34101 - why would they want more? There aren't enough paths to be able to use more. I'd think about bringing in an interesting industrial to share turns with 29 and allow some other interesting stuff like banking but that's all.

 

I didn't mention you but, if the cap fits, wear it....

Whilst everything you've said is spot on, you've hit a nail on the head with your penultimate sentence, which I hope won't be perpetuated next year. Not only is there the simple fact that Joe Public want steam, I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn and make a 120 mile round trip to spend it sat in the seat of a class 24 diesel. I can be just as bored watching paint dry.

 

The cap was to big so I sending it back to you lol x
Henry

 

Gala is derived from 'gallows day' when public executions were held outside jails

 

OK no wonder there were moaners about then haha
Pleased I didn't hang around
H

 

There doesn't appear to be a 'salivating' emoticon!

 

Indeed Pickering Station was well filled over the weekend and yes unfortunately there were "Rats" pressed into service to cover for a couple of steamers that took a sickie once or twice. Though thankfully the steam problems were minor and reasonably quickly sorted. As a fellow member of LNERCA to 61624 I can say we had a pretty good turnover and have increased funds to restore more LNER group coaches. In particular our new projests in the new year Thompson CK 18477 [built 1950] and ECJS Howden[?] pantry third 189 [built 1894].

So whilst the enthusiasts' have been muttering and moaning, things have worked out fine for one of the last special events of the NYMRs main season. One thing that strikes me is that it appears that some "enthusiasts" seem to forget that it's the "great unwashed" general public who tend to pick up the largest slice of the [maintance] bill for our pleasure. Likewise to most members of the public one steam engine looks pretty well like the next, with one or two exemptions, i.e. Flying Scotsman, Mallard/A4s, Tornado and Thomas the Tank Engine!

 

The first indications for ticket takings are now in and, compared with 2012, they are.....over 5% up.

Perhaps of more relevance in judging the viability of Galas, takings were 75% more than the preceding "normal" weekend. Operating costs per the NYMR's standard costings were 65% higher, but, based on initial figures,the event has made a clear surplus compared with a normal timetable. This surplus would, however, have been severely dented by even one guest - the $64,000 question is what extra income a guest would have generated (if any - last year, there were 2 guests).

Steven

 

When you consider risks of bad weather etc, it looks as if guest locks could make the difference between profit and loss. Personally, seeing a railway operating more intensively with a wider range of stock is as good a reason to visit.

Richard

 

It will be interesting to see how next weekend fares - arguably that will be more of a traditional gala, with a visitor and a themel! However, I see from the website that there are no plans to use 45428, 75029 or 92214. I do know that slightly different events are planned, for example it is hoped to shunt nearly completed Gresley BTK and new lottery award recipient ECJS 189 into the platform at Pickering between for visitors to have a look at, so hopefully there will be a gala feel to the event.

 

May be so, but who is it that the NYMR is expecting to donate to their new trust appeal thing on a regular basis? Or become life time members? For that they need to appeal to enthusiasts, and the gala just held, just didn't. Indeed I know of at least two people who were planning to become life memebers, but were disappointed by the number of diesels in use when they visited in summer, and by the total non appeal of this gala, that they now won't be bothering

 

Disappointing passengers is never good, but would they have been more disappointed by services simply being cancelled? Telling naughty engines that they are disappointing their passengers and had better get mended straight away doesn't work in real life!

The only "deliberate" dieselisation has been that included in the timetable. The use of diesels this weekend was entirely due to non-availability of booked steam and thanks to some pretty herculean efforts, the steam locos concerned all re-appeared as soon as was possible.

I would also argue with any suggestion that the NYMR Foundation or life members are entirely enthusiasts - and I am sure other lines would find the same. People become members for a variety of reason, but basically because of the regard they hold the line of which they are members in. That may be because of their love for railway in general, but may equally be a love of the particular railway, the area it runs through, simply to be part of something important to the area they live in or regularly visit. I am sure some just join for the reduction in ticket prices! It is always disappointing if people feel let down by the service provided, but when you are working with aged machinery and infrastructure, things don't always happen as planned - and at least the NYMR itself had not advertised guest locos or major features which failed to appear at all during the weekend (I think!), so can't be accused of offering one thing and having a good idea it couldn't deliver it some time in advance.

Steven

 

The point is surely that whilst failures can be expected on a day to day service, they are far less acceptable on a steam gala weekend when there ought to be spare capacity to provide against them. The NYMR has run all season with under-provision in the steam loco department and really that carried through to the gala. It doesn't matter whether people are enthusiasts or not, most come for a ride behind a steam train, and whilst providing a diesel on the first and last of the Whitby trains may be done because of the early/late duties for the crews, we should not have been using diesels between those two points, The gold timetable showed no trains as being diesel hauled yet one or more diesels were listed as being out every time I looked at the locomotive allocations on the web site. They can't all have been down to failures!

 

Must admit to having missed a word in my last post which should have read......"So whilst Some enthusiasts have been muttering........." not all have though. One thing that was handy for LNERCA on the Sunday was that the Teak set stood for an hour on platform 1 at Pickering, right in front of LNERCA's sales stand most fortuitous indeed as those of us there were able to show folk what we are up to and point out 3669 the Brake Third Corridor standing in the Beck siding as one of the next 2 new additions [for the 2014 season] to the teak train. The other being Thompson Third Corridor 1623.

And speaking of these two fine vehicles everyone who has been shown round have been most complimentory at the attention to detail of both detail and have remarked on the "differance" 20 years made in the style of interiors, 3669 being a 1930 build and 1623 a 1950 build. Whats more when you quote some of the prices involved in remaking/getting parts there is quite a lot of jaw dropping surprise, and cries of ....."How much.....!?"

 

Out of interest Steven, how were the operating costs 65% higher than a normal weekend? Other than the Battersby trip and a couple of goods trains running, it was basically a gold timetable.