Steam Dreams 2013 & 2014 Archive

+2 for more trips that actually run.

 

I can see no mention of the 7th September run from Waterloo on this thread. Has this been cancelled/postponed as well? The SD site is being refurbished so their information is patchy.

 

Listed here with 60163.
http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs13.htm#twk

 

I have started a separate thread for this train giving detailed timings for both outward and return legs.
Let's hope that DBS can muster a crew for the train by Saturday. <BJ>

 

What's the betting they use the SRPS set again. Perhaps its sudden disappearance was to give it a bit of long overdue external TLC?

 

The "West Coast" set used by RTC on the Scarborough Flyer etc had a number of SRPS coaches in it. Presumably, now that the Scarborough Spa Express has finished, West Coast no longer need to hire SRPS coaches, so the set is available to Steam Dreams again.

 

Didn't SD know about all this before all those trips due to run in August were cancelled? It comes across as complete surprise to them.

 

Unfortunately when SD moved to DBS, they serverely restricted themselves in the motive power department so only a handful of air braked engines are able to haul their trains.

Staying with WCR may have been the better option in hindsight now but the lure of using Tornado when only DBS would operate it may have been the given factor in changing operating companies, something which seems to have really come back to bite SD on the backside especially with the crewing issues being thrown into the mix!

It's a shame really as having travelled on and support crewed their trains with engines over last few years (none recently though whilst under DBS), they are better than the current state of affairs, or they were in my experiences so I hope they can get through this and get back to where they were.

 

I did a few tours when they were mid-morning from London, back about 8pm. 3 hours or so each way, steam throughout, 4 hours at a destination, a very civilised day out, especially when fares were £59. It's not just the prices putting me off now; an increasing number are using diesel haulage for sections of the trip, often only being notified at the last minute. The website, in fairness, is getting better at advertising which sections are diesel hauled. Plus tours are now starting at 6am and not getting back til 11pm. If something goes wrong, such as 60163 on North Wales coast, you're going to be getting home very very late.

 

Nothing is for ever...

 

Shoddy - Did you have advance notice of this press release?
Received about 20 minutes ago via MNLPS and Bluebell contacts

Cheers, Neil

Statement to Railway press re DBS and West Coast Sept 2013 dated 6 September 2013

STEAM DREAMS DECIDES TO MOVE FROM DBS TO WEST COAST

Steam Dreams,the promoters of The Cathedrals Express steam hauled train, has announced that with effect from the beginning of October it will transfer its train operating contract to West Coast Rail. The company’s new agreement with West Coast commences on 3rd October with an Alton to Canterbury return train and, apart from its 23rd November train from Waterloo to Ludlow and Shrewsbury, it has been agreed that 100% of The Cathedrals Express operations will be with West Coast until December 2016 at the earliest.
It has been well known within the charter industry for some time that DBS has been finding it hard to resource its charter programme and that has been particularly true for the particularly resource intensive nature of Steam Dreams’ programme. The move away from DBS and the return to West Coast has been agreed amicably between the companies and Steam Dreams is extremely happy with the new arrangements that West Coast have been prepared to take on at such short notice.
Steam Dreams Chairman, Marcus Robertson, commented:
“DBS tendered for our work at the end of 2011 and we originally agreed to work together for 3 years. Initially everything went very smoothly but last summer’s industrial dispute has seemingly made the operation of charters a much harder business and doubly so for steam. At times DBS have probably been as disappointed as Steam Dreams has at the inability for us to satisfy our passengers legitimate expectations but I am grateful that DB’s management have cooperated in the changeover to West Coast.

“It was a very tough decision to move from West Coast when we did and was done with much soul searching by our Board at the time. It is well documented that West Coast do not currently have the A1 Class Tornado on their books and that is probably what swayed our decision at the time.

“Moving back to West Coast has been one of the easiest decisions we have ever had to make. It is one of the great strengths of West Coast that they are a small business able to make decisions quickly and the whole discussion took little more than a few hours and – in time honoured English fashion – was sealed by a handshake! It is a great credit to David Smith, West Coast’s Chairman, that once such a handshake has taken place he feels honour- bound to try as hard as possible to deliver what he promised and has done so many times in the past.

“I believe that this heralds a new era for Steam Dreams and The Cathedrals Express and we look forward to working with the West Coast team with renewed confidence and optimism.

“Finally I would like to pay tribute to the many crew members of DBS that we have worked with both at the beginning of Steam Dreams existence in 2000 when EWS helped get Steam Dreams going and more recently under the DBS brand.it is amazing how many familiar faces there are still around from the early years – not least the senior man of mainline steam, Colin Kerswill, now of course a TI, but who drove our very first Canterbury train way back in June 2000.

“As always it will be the people we miss in the same way it was a wrench leaving West Coast when we did. Equally Tornado in recent years has been a staple part of that relationship with those DBS crews and while the loco is not currently on West Coast’s books it would be lovely if that ever changed.”

 

Good news for Steam Dreams, but one wonders about the impact this will have on the A1 Trust.

Chris

 

Do WCRC have a legal right not to operate it? Some sort of discrimination or something. Does any open access clause or similar apply like the actual network.
These are genuine questions not my opinions.

 

Charter trains run under the WCRC Safety Case as do the locomotives which WCRC uses in addition to its own; sadly Tornado has not met the conditions that WCRC require to be covered by their Safety Case and WCRC will therefore not allow Tornado to operate any of its trains. It is a complex case with many arguments both pro and con BUT at the end of the day the strictures of the Safety Case are the final word in what can / cannot be done when operating train services.

 

Absolutely Ralph, I'm sure there's been enough water under the bridge for the A1ST and WCRC to enter negotiations.

 

The SD statement on the A1 Trust website with this additional information about Tornado.

''The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, builders and operators Tornado, commented on the announcement that Steam Dreams is to move its operations from DB Schenker to West Coast Railway Company, "This year has been a very difficult year for those of us running steam on the main line – exacerbated by DBS's crew resourcing issues. Whilst in the short term Steam Dreams' decision will mean that Tornado will be hauling fewer trains on the main line, the Trust was already looking at different and better ways of running Tornado and these plans will now be brought forward. Tornado will also be undergoing her planned 5 year intermediate overhaul in the first half of 2014."

 

I wonder if West coast will move towards operating Tornado after the intermediate overhaul ? Time will tell...

Brian

 

I wonder where this leaves Clan Line? Have WC ever run with 35028,and is there any reason why they would'nt?

 

Presumably, 35028's VSOE operations aren't affected as these will stay with DBS. With regards it's occasional work elsewhere, I'd have thought it would require an agreement to be established with WCRC as to my knowledge they have not operated with 35028 before.

Hopefully someone else will have more of an insight on this ?