Where Now for Main Line Steam?

sometimes i wonder, given the amount of MK1 PULMANS that are stored, would a tour operator be missing out on a trick by not overhauling a rake of these as an all dining 1st class rake for those who do want luxury dining on the move ? to operate as a luxury dining train/ To maximise income these can be either steam or deisel hauled, that way the high earning dining sector can be marketed with possibly better facilities, and that would leave a separate market for those who maybe want shorter tours , one option could be to offer a dining package at an establishment at the destination as an add on at the time of booking with coach transfer from the station? but the actual steam tour is non dining ?

 

What Pullman s are in store? I don't think many restaurants could cope with several coach loads of punters turning up at a time that might be affected by delays and then serve them a decent meal.

 

Answering the title question and mangling its meaning to make a wishlist, Fenchurch Street to Southend trips again, Clacton/Walton and for something else to leave St. Pancras unassisted would be my starter for ten. Would also like to do Cannon Street one day.

Having got these out of my system, repeat itineraries will probably dominate more, but I suspect the market will get flooded to the extent that there will be inevitable cancellations. This is a problem we have now, and advertsing more of them won't make any difference.

 

Interesting link appeared on WNXX

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10375954

Dave

 

Old news - http://national-preservation.com/threads/vintage-trains-applies-to-become-a-toc.824618/page-3

 

Hopefully set paths in the timetable like the torbays in the timetable,
So we have a set route and times for routes suitable for easier days out,
Who knows
but its a brave new world we are entering.

 

Have to agree, not so sure on the set paths, and timings, that will be for the relivent TOC'S to work out, but with 2 new TOC's entering the market, its going to potensially be a reduction in the income of West Coast and DBC, it will be interesting to see the impact on the industry and who, if any other owners decide to throw their business the way of LSL and VT.

 

Why should that be ?

Tyseley operates under the WCRC Safety Case at the moment hence the close working relationship between the 2 companies. When Vintage Trains gains its licence it won't change the need for co-operation but it means that Vintage Trains will have an operating environment that it is fully conversant with and which meets its specific operating objectives whereas the WCRC operating environment needs to meet a wider remit that may not quite fit VT's operations as neatly as VT would like.

In essence the VT application only changes the legal framework it which it wishes to operate; I think you'll find it won't detract from / reduce the income of other train operating companies who may also seek to change their legal framework to better suit their operations; there may also be tax consequences that will benefit licensed companies who elect to restructure rather than operate under another company's Safety Case.

 

Martin1656, if you know of any Mk1 Pullmans in store, please let me know! They are rare beasts indeed.

 

Another TOC or two is no bad thing, the last 18 months have shown how little room for manouvre some have if WCRC are incapable for whatever reason, and if DBC keep shrinking their size and resources then it's going to impact at some point with a loss of route knowledge or steam competent drivers.

 

the metrocam built ones, ok i'm going back a few years but were there not a whole rake around stored at Southall and Carnforth or have they all now found their way into herutage use? i am sure i saw some at Southall last time i flashed by ,

 

Owned by WCRC for spares, if that's the case.

 

Here's one possible scenario:

After another near miss involving a steam special overshooting the signals at a busy high-speed junction, Network Rail presses for an immediate ban on all steam traction on the National network. After a year-long review, it is agreed that steam will henceforth be limited to a small number of lightly-trafficked secondary routes such as the Settle and Carlisle. Anywhere else on the network, steam locos must be hauled by modern traction.

I'm sure that this is not the answer that the original poster was looking for, but I think it could happen. Steam locos were never designed to operate with modern signalling, and the fail-safe devices that enable a high-speed train to be stopped automatically can never be applied to a steam locomotive. Add to this the poor visibility from a steam cab, and the lack of multiple control when double-heading.

I'm now expecting a flood of hate mail.

 

we don't do hate mail, that glow in the distance is Nt press members with burning torches and pitchforks comeing to descuss this point with you

 

Reliable as ever ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preserved_British_Pullman_Carriages

 

I'm going into hiding anyway.

 

I'm certainly not going to send you hate mail. It's certainly not the answer any of us want to hear, but if we are to have any chance of maintaining steam on the main line then we have to consider what the worst-case scenario would be, and think how we can prepare for it. And I think you are quite right that it could happen.

However, equally I don't think we should be despondent. As long as WCRC have learned the lessons, and all steam TOCs now continue to operate safely going forward, then hopefully the powers that be will be prepared to tolerate steam's continued presence on the network.

However, challenges like increasing congestion on the network may be harder to deal with. Hopefully things like HS2 and other schemes to increase capacity may help us, but the difficulty is that those things are beyond the control of the steam movement.

 

Or trespassing gricers being hit by trains.

PH

 

the future of mainline steam , your own train sim programe with your own choice of engine with sound and smoke effects, and no deisel on the back, go on your railtour from the comfort of your own sittee, new build Leader built by new TOC,as mainstay for its south based tours, turns out to be a 47 in drag,

 

Absolutely no need for hate mail but a little clarity would help. An air-braked locomotive fitted with TPWS or its successor will stop pretty smartly and the system is *designed* to be fail-safe as long as it isn't tampered with. Certainly Railtrack had no quibbles about Tornado's ability to stop within the distance during her final high speed test run in 2008, possibly the last time a scientific record was made of an air-braked steam locomotive's braking ability/distance - even with the test anticipated a certain amount of crockery got bust!

Foxy