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Sugar Loaf Mountaineer : 7/07/18 - now 23/09/18

Discussion in 'What's Going On' started by Bulleid Pacific, May 1, 2018.

  1. malc

    malc Part of the furniture

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    37605 is not ETH fitted. As you stated above, it is air braked only but could have acted as the rescue loco (assuming that 45231 is through air piped) as the SRPS stock is dual braked.
     
  2. pjhliners

    pjhliners Member Friend

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    Growling up to the Sugar Loaf 23 September 2018

    The Sugar Loaf Mountaineer offered the prospect, when first advertised, of a midsummer marathon from Shrewsbury to Carmarthen and back over the Central Wales line, hauled by a Stanier Black Five. Tempting indeed, and I and many others were tempted.

    How come, then, that I found myself, on a cold wet windy Autumn morning on Shrewsbury station, with the electronic boards announcing in turn the charter train to Bynea (I know, look it up!), the announcement “Regrettably today’s charter train will not be steam hauled” and the further news that the train had left Birmingham New Street 47 minutes late.

    Eventually DRS No 37605 brought the handsome SRPS stock into the station and we boarded, noting quickly that the loco was not fitted with electric train heating. After it had run round we eventually left 59 minutes late. The growler gave us a lively climb in the 40s and 50s to Church Stretton, and rollicked down through Marshbrook at 76 before turning onto the Heart of Wales line at Craven Arms.

    By this time the sun had come out and the fields and hills were in luscious green, lifting our mood. I did not record the speeds and gradients but we did enjoy the full growl up to the Sugar Loaf tunnel. The stations and passing loops provided railway interest and the countryside continued to impress. I passed on the offer of seeing then BBC’s Huw Edwards at Llandovery, and went right through to Bynea where the train terminated.

    I caught the service train back to Shrewsbury and enjoyed the whole line again in daylight, ending with a sunset behind the Long Mynd as our 150 dmu rattled back down from Church Stretton to Shrewsbury.

    I’ll stay out of the inquest into the schedule and the motive power, but would hope that one day, the chance may actually come again to ride the Heart of Wales with steam.

    Just three pictures are at https://pjhtransportpix.zenfolio.com/p958840172

    Peter on a grey early autumn day back in Manchester
    https://pjhtransportpix.zenfolio.com
     
  3. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Which explains why we needed to keep our coats on for almost the whole day.

    I had booked a hotel in Shrewsbury for Saturday and Sunday nights and travel from and to London, so even though I knew before I left home that there would be no steam I decided I might as well go for the ride.

    I had failed to discover the existence of the Bell at Bynea, so rather than be stuck there for hours I got off at Llandeilo and took the following service train to Llangennech, then service train back to Llandovery where there was somewhere to sit and eat before the railtour got back there.

    Some of those who got off at Llandeilo to spend the time there found somewhere to eat but some were disappointed.

    We could go on for ever arguing that party X should have taken action Y on day D, but we are where we are. An awful lot of railtours run, and most of them run more or less as planned. This one was a disappointment, but I settled for a cup half full.

    Edit: I forgot to mention the Scots Train Manager's interesting attempts at two of the Welsh place names: Landelio and Byney.
     
  4. the-gog

    the-gog Member

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  5. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    I agree. You pay the money and roll the die. It's always been like that, I think, but now that we can all talk to each other on line, and ad nauseum to boot, it just seems to be worse when actually my guess is that it's just the same.

    At least the weather system moved through quickly and you got some sun. Over in the east where I also had a day with SD that had a hiccup and involved Plan B, at least I got some steam, albeit in the rain - the E Class Met 1 on the Epping/Ongar. Now there's a quaint line.
     
  6. 26D_M

    26D_M Part of the furniture

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    I speculated as much regarding the braking arrangements above because there had been mention of DBC happy to work vac provided a vac fitted rescue loco on hand. Obviously through piping makes a rescue as pilot possible but special procedure if a drag rescue is required because the last vehicle (45231) would not be under the train brake? The risk of this necessity may be very low I guess but possible on a single line section?
    As to heating, I assume some DRS 37s have ETH but perhaps tied up on Barrow etc duties?
     
  7. 26D_M

    26D_M Part of the furniture

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    Aside from the availability of social media, I think it must also be acknowledged that the nature of steam tours has become much more 'commercialised'. Along with new custom comes greater expectations to some extent and the unavoidable cimparisons with the way "problems" are dealt with in sectors offering comparable leisure experiences. Whilst it is enormously pleasing in many ways to see the exponential increase in services and demand to support this, some of the 'marketing practices' and underpinning logistical arrangements have not kept pace with growth or emerging customer expectations. There is a massive gulf between the almost limitless forbearance of "enthusiasts" and that of standard customers, which is now the principal source of revenue.
     
  8. Robin

    Robin Well-Known Member Friend

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    You do indeed roll the dice when you book, but how often in the past has a rail tour achieved the treble of running on the wrong day to the wrong destination using the wrong type of motive power?

    My thanks go to those who advised on here that the steam had been cancelled. I decided to save the additional cost of parking at Birmingham just to do a diesel hauled excursion to Bynea, and had an enjoyable day on the SVR instead. I'd still like to do steam over Sugar Loaf one day, but next time I'll look long and hard at who is promoting the tour and what locomotive they plan to use.
     
  9. acorb

    acorb Part of the furniture

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    Plus points from the day:
    -The sun shone and showed the countryside off brilliantly
    -The 37 performed well, sounded good and delivered us back to Craven Arms 30 mins early.
    -The SRPS Stock was well presented and very comfortable (although I hope they can claim off Network Rail for the awful damage the untamed jungle did to their paint work).
    -Pathfinder have a sensible attitude to window hanging and I enjoyed a considerable amount of time listening to the 37 growl up the gradients and admiring the countryside, setting sun and rising moon above the mountains.

    The negatives:
    -As much as I like 37's it was not a black 5.
    -Lack of information before and during the day.
    -Llandeilo is not a good destination on a Sunday afternoon, we arrived just in time for end of food serving. Like most Welsh market towns Sunday is still considered a day of rest.
    -All the issues were entirely preventable.
    -I could of had a similar day, anytime I like, on a day the shops are open, for a fraction of the cost.

    As someone said yesterday some railtours are just doomed from the start - this was one of them.
    I have emailed Pathfinder, but I suspect this one will be chalked up to experience.
     
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  10. 1020 Shireman

    1020 Shireman Part of the furniture Friend

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    I've said it ad nauseum on this thread that Pathfinder were not the promoters, Arriva or more likely DB were, a real one-off for them so that wouldn't have helped you in choosing whether to book or not. On a positive note, I contacted Pathfinder at the office yesterday and was told that they will issue a full refund to anyone who did not travel on the excursion yesterday on return of their boarding passes. Mine are winging their way back to them this morning.
     
  11. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    That is more than fair, I think, given the way that this trip had been billed. Maybe it illustrates that Arriva is, indeed, underwriting this trip and the associated costs.
     
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  12. Robin

    Robin Well-Known Member Friend

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    Thank you. I know much has been said in previous posts by others about Pathfinder, but as you've quoted my post may I say that I was fully aware when I booked that it was an Arriva Trains Wales excursion using a locomotive with no recent mainline history and no obvious replacement, operated by DB Cargo with Pathfinder Tours acting as booking agents etc. If a similarly organised tour appears next year I would be unlikely to book again. I have no past experience of Pathfinder so no opinion either good or bad, but I will try contacting the office as you have, hopefully with the same result.
     
  13. LMarsh1987

    LMarsh1987 Part of the furniture Friend

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    Any luck ?
     
  14. Robin

    Robin Well-Known Member Friend

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    Yes, I spoke to the office this afternoon and got the same answer as @1020 Shireman - a full refund promised in exchange for the return of an unused boarding pass and a letter confirming that I didn't travel. Duly sent!
     
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  15. LMarsh1987

    LMarsh1987 Part of the furniture Friend

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    Will send off mine tomorrow, thanks.
     
  16. 26D_M

    26D_M Part of the furniture

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    It wouldn't be unreasonable for them to actively contact customers to that effect rather than passively respond upon contact. Happy to hear they are doing the honourable thing though.
     
  17. D1002

    D1002 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Maybe they are. Only 48 hours since the tour, so maybe give them a bit longer to draft letters and get them in the post!
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2018
  18. 26D_M

    26D_M Part of the furniture

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    Hope so but the sooner the better in order that those unused boarding passes aren't discarded and the proof lost.
     
  19. garth manor

    garth manor Well-Known Member

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    Its rather unlikely that they will trawl through the passenger lists and used boarding passes to identify those that did not travel and then send out an invitation to apply, realistically the onus is on those who would like a refund to be proactive.
     
  20. Sean Emmett

    Sean Emmett Member

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    What about those of us who decided to grin and bear it?

    Gen on Nat Pres is fine, but no substitute for an official announcement from tour organiser. None received prior to setting off from Bristol.

    As per earlier post took decision to travel up to Salop on basis of Nat Pres gen
    - class 37 (rather than modern diesel)
    - weather clearing
    - route I don't travel on very often

    But still some way short of a five or indeed any steam. Any compensation in the offing? More than happy to put that towards a re-run with steam in 2019.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2018
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