The Bluebell Railway Giants of Steam ticket pricing

I was personally attending for the S160...so much for that!!!

This is the case though for a lot of gala events, as I mentioned in my earlier post, a guest engine can sway someone's decision as to whether to attend a gala or not. Take the SVR Autumn Steam Gala for example. With the original lineup including 6233, I wasn't all that bothered about attending, and was considering giving it a miss, then it dropped out and was replaced by Pitchford Hall, it swayed me back the other way. Now of course the SVR had a cheaper day rover fare at £35 not £40, but I would imagine the associated costs of hiring Clan Line/Cheltenham over Pitchford/9466 are higher, which included a mainline move for 35028, but happy to be corrected on this.

 

I don't think you help your case with the way you present it.
Trying to conflate "above average" with "the wealthy" doesn't really work. Anyone who can put aside £2/week for the working year can afford to go. That's not wealthy.

Also, a gala is a premium event. Anyone priced out of a gala can still get to the railway on another day, so at most it's galas they are being excluded from - which is a bit like saying anyone who can't afford first-class travel is excluded from train travel.

There is a piece to be made about the cost of leisure activities against cost of living, and the deleterious effect that has on life, but to pick galas and say everyone who can afford it as wealthy is plain wrong.

 

I spent some time on the Clan Line sales stand and talked to a lot of passengers, when asked how they were enjoying their day, all were happy and no one mentioned the ticket price.
One American couple said they were at the end of doing their European bucket list and this was the second visit to the UK during the trip. They seemed to have been everywhere from Fort William to S Devon and told me that in two separate weeks they had seen more locomotives in action on this small island than exist in the whole of the US. Perhaps we need to appreciate how lucky we are.

 

Having just finished clearing up after running a bar last night at a concert in church, I’d like to give an alternative perspective on secondary spend.

The profits from that are an important factor, and can make the difference between profit and loss on an event. However, the income from that secondary spend is less certain and potentially less profitable.

We sell the tickets based on what we think people will pay, what we think is fair, how many people we want to attend, and how much the event costs to stage. It’s a black art, and really tricky to get right - especially now.

Having made that call, and knowing how many people have pre purchased, we then have to buy stuff in to sell. That has a finite shelf life, and ties up cash.

In contrast, event ticket margins work very differently. Once you sell enough to break even, every extra ticket sold represents pure profit. But if you don’t sell those tickets, your loss is equally certain.

I wasn’t at this gala, and the cost of a day there (time and money) was more than I could justify at home. Yet I’ve equally just spent £50 on tickets for my son and I to see Parsifal in Leeds next June (very heavily discounted for u21!) - a mere 4 hours entertainment for a higher price (and definitely in steerage!).

When considering events, and their flaws, please mercy on the organisers who are trying to balance too many spinning plates, and be grateful these volunteers are passionate enough to put these shows on for us.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

A few images from the photo charter on Thursday.

 

I think that £40 is a fair price if numbers need to be restricted or there is a Superstar billing so the Clan Line visit could make it justified. I also noted that Bluebell members were entitled to a discount.

The MHR gala the week before seemed overpriced in comparison. We were told in 2020 that the price had to be high to make it viable with the reduced numbers of tickets available and that was understandable. But £40 per head and no ‘Superstar’ (in my opinion), no restricted numbers and MHRPS member discounts withdrawn for galas UFN we felt unable to justify it.

I’m currently at the ELR Gala, which in comparison was £28.80 which I think is what I’d expect to pay for the MHR / Bluebell.

 

Unless I am misunderstanding your points I believe you are saying a Gala ticket should have cost £20. That is less than a day rover on a normal day a many railways, so unless I am missing something are you saying galas should cost less than a normal day just because more may attend? Or is it you believe Heritage Railway fares are too expensive? This being despite the fact that most galas will have at least one visiting loco (this one had two one of which is very rare at a Heritage Railway) that will have increased the costs as will the coal to steam multipule locos.
I do not realy understand your tax payer point. There are many things normally, let alone in a post covid world, that the Government use my taxes for that I either do not use, support or I am not a fan of. However that is the world we live in we do not have the ability to pick and choose only the ones we like.
I also assume you were fully aware of the pricing structure before you attended as your first post siad you were unable to buy in advance due to concerns about the M25 lunatics, so if it did not meet with your approval or your available leisure cash why attend?

 

Whilst this talk about gala ticket prices here is my further additional personal thoughts and round-up.


MHR Autumn Steam Gala – 16th-18th October 2020

- 45596 “Bahamas” as star guest, 53808’s debut at the start of its long term loan, £35/£40 for all day ticket (pre-book only) on same set/seat but welcome to disembark and join at any station. 506, 41312 and 76017 supporting cast. The ONLY main big gala following the first lockdown and till Spring 2021


SVR Spring Steam Up 15-18th April 2021

- 2999 “Lady of Legend” as star guest, £35 to remain seated all day on same set. Last gala for 6960 “Raveningham Hall”. The rest I personally wouldn’t necessary bother with. No disembarking and joining at intermediate stations


MHR Spring Steam Gala – 30th April-3rd May 2021

- No real premium guest apart from 4612 and 5526. Both haven’t visited the line before but supported by 506, 30925, 76017 and 41312. £40 online or on the day. A bit much for a pair of “mediocre” visitor locos. But considering I actually enjoyed the day more than I thought it was worth the price at a push.


SVR Autumn Steam Gala 16-19 September 2021

- 6233 “Duchess of Sutherland” announced as first visitor, this was to have been the sixth time the loco would’ve visited. I personally am not a fan of this locomotive so until 9466 was announced then I thought it was worth slightly more. But until the decision was made to reinstate hop on hop off services I wasn’t interested in going. £35 was good value for that. But was even more worth it for me with 4953 “Pitchford Hall” announced as replacement for DoS. Despite appearing at the 2007 gala just between Bewdley and Kidderminster due to flood damage. I considered this as the first real visit for the locomotive to the line. – 2857 and 1501 also made what maybe their last galas but again I wasn’t fussed with every other loco that was running.


Great Central Railway 30th September and 3rd October

- 10 locos in steam+DMU, 2 visiting. 1 making its first visit to another line since restoration being 92134 and one making its first visit to another line in its current ticket being 3802. Last gala for 45305. £29 for an all day ticket on Saturday and Sunday. Two visiting locos of which I have never seen before.


Mid Hants Autumn Steam Gala 1st-3rd October

- No real special head-turner, 34092 “City of Wells” making its first visit to the line but has already appeared in the Southern region twice in 2017 and other railways in the previous years. BR Standard 4 No. 80151 making its first visit to another line however, both common locomotive classes personally didn’t warrant a £45 price tag and a lot of others I spoken to said this was far too expensive. Veterans 76017 and 41312 ran alongside long term loanee 53808. It was hard to justify that amount for locomotives I have already ridden behind elsewhere.

I decided to go to GCR on the day as I felt seeing the 9F and 2884 was a much more interesting line-up.


Bluebell Railway Giants of Steam 8-10 October 2021.

- Obvious head-turner is “Clan Line” £40 for a normal adult to ride behind a loco that costs considerably more than that on mainline is I personally say is worth the amount. 30925 “Cheltenham” made its second visit to the line and possibly the last visit to a heritage railway in its current boiler ticket. S160 6046 would’ve been a third visitor if this didn’t fail with leaking tubes. Join this with “Camelot” returning to service following overhaul on what could also be the S15 and H-class last gala.


At the end of the day paying a gala fare even once in a blue moon or even a day, will it really break the bank? particularly if a lot of expenditure has to be given for the coal bill, hire fees and even to ensure our favoured railway's future survival. I personally think it depends on

- Line-up including visitors

- Timetable

- Any other attractions at stations

- Whether it clashes with any other gala/event

but gala fares, we have to agree to disagree,

 

My offering for two days during this brilliant event:

 

Great photos! Shame I missed it this year.
In all honesty, these events that these railways hold whether steam, diesel or mixed traffic are completely OPTIONAL if you don't want to pay the prices, simply don't go.

No one is making you.

 

Great soundbyte, but wasn't the very point of the thread to have a discussion on that topic?