SVR Autumn Steam Gala on 23 -25 September 2011

If that is true then i am Ecstatic!!! I have missed Tornado barely my past two trips the the UK, couldn't get to the GCR in September 09 when she was doing her first public turns in undercoat, and i was in Newcastle the day that they filmed for Top Gear and had no idea to be watching until after the fact in April 2010. Very happy to say that my accommodations are booked as is my Airfare to the UK for the end of September!!

 

It certainly is good news!

 

And i should correct myself, i've been brain crampy all week on dates, it should have been Sept 08 i missed Tornado at GCR and April 09 at Newcastle!!! Blah, only another hour at work before my weekend starts and i get to go work on railway equipment for fun tomorrow!!!

 

Not the addition I was hoping for. 69023 on the other hand is a good addition imo. Hopefully she gets a full line run but gather will be on the Kiddy - Arley shuttles.

 

Come and say hello at Arley (ask for Jamie) - and you can tell me how 563 is!

 

Especially if they split the teak set to run it on a local set formed of two or three of those...

 

Can't say 60163 excites me too much, but 69023 certainly does. Slightly surprised though, personal opinion, but I felt SVR got it right previously when Tornado visited. They had the autumn gala as usual then invited Tornado for a separate week on its own about a month or so later. Tornado pulls the crowds in no matter (and rightly so, she is a fantastic achievement and a beautiful loco) but bringing such extra numbers for what is already one the busiest weekends of the year could make some of the trains quite cosy, especially on the Saturday. Oh well, wont stop me attending, there still plenty of GWR locos to enjoy!

 

The addition of 'Tornado' is odd, do the SVR really need to attract so many more visitors? Will No:60163 be staying on for a time after the gala or not?

 

Hmm, as has been mentioned elsewhere, Tornado brings congestion problems on its own, plus Gala attendees, makes me think this could be a safety issue, for example on the narrow platform at Highley or the footbridges at Bridgnorth and Bewdley. One to avoid now, unfortunately. Just have to catch up with the blue King and Joem another time.

 

Does seem something of an overkill - I would have thought having Tornado for half term week - as was done previously - would have brought in more income.

 

Law of diminishing returns Martin...

 

Certainly hope they've got some plans in place to avoid total overcrowding... The thought of 3 days of standing room only, and even that at a premium, could be off-putting! That said, it might work the other way and draw the crowds away from the other rakes!

 

I have never understood why the SVR (and others) invite the Cl8 engines to galas. They just don't look right, and as many of them have just air braking, they don't sound right either.

I'll give this one a miss, I think.

Regards

 

It's simply the case that big named engines draw in the crowds. Compare for example the relative attendance figures for the SVR's branch line galas (smaller visiting engines) against the Autumn galas (bigger visiting engines), which I suspect will prove that. Ok, so having a class 8 pacific on a branch line at a 25mph max is rather like riding a bicycle around your living room, but it's what people want.

I think the 'Tornado Effect' is being overstated somewhat and whilst I don't doubt the popularity of the loco and the sucess of the visit last year - that was a product of snazzy marketing, reaching out to the general public. With the ASG being marketed primarily at the enthusiast fraternity I would tentatively suggest that it may be off the radar of many of the peope who visited to ride behind Tornado last year. As such, I do believe strongly that there is a law of diminishing returns, and whilst I will look forward to seeing a BR green 60163 at work on the SVR, I imagine the visits of No. 6023 and No. 828 would've secured 90% of likey attendess already. The extra expenditure of getting 60163 to the ASG may not be as lucrative financially as if the loco were to visit on its own as per last year.

 

Commercially, there is an argument that it is better to have two bites at the cherry and have a high profile guest (which tends to be a Class 7/8) at times other than a Gala, thereby providing two reasons to travel, albeit perhaps to different markets.

That said, I have always believed that it is the amount of general public interest in many cases that turn a good gala into a great Gala attendance wise. Hence, a high profile guest can boost a Gala but would it actually do better overall during one of the lesser half-terms for example?

I also agree that hiring lots of locos can give diminishing returns - a few Railways have tended to hire more than half of what is running at Galas and other feel bound to try and keep up. I believe the Valley were more than satisfied with the returns for their Spring "Big Loco" Gala a couple of years back with a comparatively low number of high profile visitors, whilst I know that haulage and hire costs can soon eat up extra income - the question is do railways have the "bottle" to risk otherwise?!

Steven

 

With my marketing hat on, you can't fault the SVR for it - law of diminishing returns or not, it's true that big namers bring in the crowds ,and Tornado will do just that. With my 'spending my own money on a day out' hat on, I quite agree with you - 6023 is an attraction for the novelty, with smaller stuff being more interesting; 60163's will be the rake to avoid. However, as I said above I predict 3 days of full and standing trains - should this be the case, the gala can only be judged a success! Might have to give the SVR my cash a different weekend instead though, when 1501's back in action on a normal running day Ideally it'd be nice to be able to go to every gala, but time and money don't allow this. If I do go to a gala, I go partly for the locos in action, and partly to catch up with people who live too far away to just come for a quick drink. If it's too busy to get a seat and have a conversation etc, this isn't really possible.

You can't please everyone all of the time, of course, and objectively it makes sense to tick the '3 cylinder LNER pacific' box... Still, the tornado effect will have to blow over sooner or later!

 

Because such locos draw the crowds, end of. A few years ago the WSR did a spring gala with no 'namers', but a Black 5, the Super D and a few others. Popular among the enthusiasts, but people didn't show up (though the weather didn't help). As Steven has mentioned, Joe Public does make the difference between a good gala and a great gala. SSS1/2 would not have been the success it was with enthusiasts alone. An enthusiast is 1 person. Mr & Mrs Joe Blogs plus 2.4 kids is a lot more (and so will spend more). It is cheaper and easier for many people to go see a loco at their local heritage line than it is on the mainline. £80+ for a 12hr mainline tour or £20-£30 for a 10-4 day out? Many people will take the latter especially if all they are looking for is a day out.

I still stand by previous statement RE: 60163. Not because it doesn't look right, but bringing it in on what is one of your busiest weekends already? Yes there is the flipside it will only be her trains that her followers travel on, so as my interests lie elsewhere I'll still be able to enjoy that and may not find the A1's presence too much of an issue with the extra crowds. But then again we wont actually know until the day of the event, so shall have to see what happens! Certainly wont stop me attending.

 

It is a shame thatjust because Tonado is visiting the gala some people immediately decide they aren't going. I suspect that Torndao's rakes will be the busiest, but if you get a working timetable then you can probably plan your day(s) so you miss No:60163 completely!