RTC 2021

Well apparently RTC have sold all single tickets and are unable therefore to sell me the 'spare' seat at our table. I would suggest they were selling the remaining single tickets long before they sent out the email.

The RTC message is they have no choice as they can't keep running unviable trains and need to sell at capacity to survive (their words). They will continue to reflect government guidance (not that is difficult at the moment - my words).

So it looks like we will have a new member of our bubble. Let's hope our new companion is understanding of our anxieties on this matter, it isn't their fault - they just want a day out like the rest of us.

Please, if anyone is travelling on railtours in this new era, for the sake of others do an LFT test before travelling and please wear a mask - not all of us are ready or in agreement with this madness.

Moral of the story, don't expect health and common sense to trump economics.

 

Scotsman certainly brings out the idiots. Good grief.

 

With reports of tresspassing at Crofton this morning as well! Now has a Class 47 piloting it due to an apparent AWS failure. While I feel for the passengers and (sensible) linesiders out for it today, maybe that will deter the less sensible away from seeing it.

 

The scenes near Crofton East Junction, Wakefield . What a load of Yorkshire puddings.

 

Couldn’t agree more Ralph as can’t imagine what I’d think seeing the folk looking down the track if I was driving towards them oblivious to what’s happening behind them . Totally stupid

 

Standard was sold out for the DCE 5/8/21 when I booked 24/6/21 online- I am in dining instead. I was expecting it to be booked to full capacity since I could not see it stacking up financially for them.
It has always been said that the profit is in the last coach. Take a typical 11 coach train less support and kitchen Car leaves 9 of which you need to fill 8 to cover your costs which equates to 89% of the capacity.
In 2019 when I travelled on 4 days of the Great Britain I was told ( by a regular ) that it needed to fill circa 70% of capacity to make it viable, but the first class fares are circa £ 30.00 per day more than a standard day trip.

 

I cannot understand the hype concerning 60103. All this frenzy with Joe Public is originated with the local rags, the one in my area, like others, I don't doubt, had all the timings listed. Those are then picked up on local social media sites, and there you have it - local stations etc packed.
It was never this way when 4472 was running around in its single -chimney days, so what's changed.

 

The Great British public just using their common sense as Bozo Johnson might say. Unbelievable Hopefully the camera fitted to Scotsman captured their faces so that they can be dealt with. If the trespass continues like that Network Rail will ban the A3. I read a report about this last week in one of the mags.

Sent from my I3312 using Tapatalk

 

No. 60103 'Flying Scotsman' working 'The Hadrian' north through Waitby Common with David Blair driving and Craig Todd on the shovel working the train
from Doncaster to Carlisle and then Chris Cubitt and Frase Birrell work it back to Darlington

 

Al, I hope you provide this feedback to RTC, as the nature of the email responses I have had with them this weekend indicates they can not see a problem and that as long as they operate within 'government guidelines' there isn't an issue. You have highlighted my fears regards this for my journey on the 5th.

If long term customers start indicating their unhappiness and that they are less likely to book again, they may start taking this seriously.

 

As stated on the Northern Belle thread, we had signed up to go hiking around Settle on Saturday, however, we dragged them to 24H, put a cuppa tea in their hands and everyone was most impressed. No bad behaviour noted here.

 

Surely RTC can make their own rules while you are on the train, masks should be mandatory as a very minimum, they couldrequest everyone to do a test the day before. The latter couldn’t be checked but most people would be honest and responsible enough to do it

 

I guess that begs the question of whether prices are too cheap? Perhaps if currently there is a market for say 400 passengers at £100 each, would there be sufficient people to sell 200 tickets at £200 each? Or maybe different itineraries: for example, two "laps" of a hundred mile circuit, morning and afternoon, may cost little more to deliver than a single two hundred mile trip, but would allow two groups of passengers.

They may be unrealistic ideas. But I guess the point is, you have a loco, some carriages, and somehow or other you need to make £40 - £50k in fares for the day. But there might be more than one way to achieve that, rather than the current model of "high capacity, long journey". If there is a sustained reluctance of passengers to travel under existing conditions, promoters will have to find other ways to make it pay, or else go to the wall.

Tom

 

The price point is always an interesting issue for any product, even more so when much is outside of the promoters control.
I guess if you are lucky enough to own a loco (or pool of locos) then you may have one are where the costs can be influenced but many costs are fixed I suspect, especially as things open up & every part of the product delivered to the passenger will be looking to turn a profit after a period (which I suspect) this has not been possible.
I have seen complaints on here and other forums about needing to book two seats on Saphos if you are a single, so double may be too much. But maybe the cross over point needs to be tested.
Galas seem to be drifting to £40 a day or more. Yes lots of locos but at 25 MPH up and down the same line. Not an apples for apples comparison, but a CME from London with 177 of steam plus around 300 miles of Heritage electric for £99 does seem a bargain as does say yesterdays WSR trip.
Steam Dreams have to a point tested the use the stock twice market, and from the few "mini tours" I have photographed seem well patronised. The jury is probably out on the Windsor adventure after a couple of difficult years. But maybe a day and an evening (not in the dark) Surrey Hills Circuit could be one possibility worth a punt.

 

Indeed Goose Hill Jct is much changed these days, the shot is not off this bridge but slightly out of sight on the right where the line to Wakefield curves away.
One of a number of shots from 1st March 83; it would be interesting if anyone can shed any light on what that working was ( why an 08 would be on a fairly busy line, even then, with two brakes and 3 covered hoppers ).

 

I think the two trips option which Steam Dreams have done over the years and which has come back in recent years due to the high cost to hire Flying Scotsman, and has used with others Loco's the most recent being Bahamas ( Trip 1 Paddington to Sailisbury 5 hour break there, Trip 2 circular from Sailsbury, and Trip 1 back to Paddington) seem to be a viable option, as well as various circulars.

I remember having an enjoyable evening trip round the Surrey Hills behind Tangmere on the 21/06 - cannot remember which year , and there had been a different circular earlier in the day.

 

I know that yesterdays Hadrian tour with R.T.C. was a bit of a washout returning on the Tyne valley line to Darlington north road, but I must comment on the outward leg i was sat with a ex fitter who worked at crewe and a G.C.R. member and volunteer who helps to restore their locos and both the lads knew their stuff about loco engineering and fitting components on em.
1st on all it was a interesting twist and turning route via west yorks up through Askern and Knottingley and on the old Lanky line to turners Jct via Pontefract monkhill and tanshelf Featherstone and by heck it really brought the old coal mining familys out in force to watch 60103 steam on a rare bit of L.Y.R. track where coal trains once block worked, and really was heartwarming for me been a Yorky lad, and then it was north westward to Leeds up this mid line to engine shed jct on the Aire valley where more crowds were cheering Flying scotsman on it's way to Carlisle a quick jaunt through Shipley and Keighley meant no op stop and onwards to Hellifield for water where we departed 5+ mins late for the long drag and fell behind a bit with time due to a service train crossing the bidirectional line over ribblehead viaduct and no water stop att Langwathby and only 8 mins late into carlisle giving us travellers and the stewards a 2 hours walk around carlisle, so I went to the chippy up the crescent after getting a pic of 60103 F.S. and a walk into the city and back and hoping 60103 was going to be dispatched with no problems until the train manager announced that the A.W.S. wasent working and that the C.47 had to be run round to tow 60103 to Darlington via the Tyne valley (Dare I say this) spoilt most of the Passengers aboard some who may have only travelled behind F.S. For their 1st time including myself who had a few complaints about when we got to Darlington if 60103 A.W.S. system wasent working how was a positioning move achieved by 60103 moving off the siding and when we departed Darlington she was parked up on the Stockton Eaglescliffe jct chord line did she move under her own steam as a emergency positioning move or did the C.47 shunt it there? But anyhow we were late by nearly a hour departing for Yorkand Derby T. And T. With the C.37 rear and C.47 leading and tried to ask west Brom Tommy why 60103 had moved despite its A.W.S. been faulty no reply so I'm expecting despite yesterday's traction fault would passengers be offered a £20 voucher courtesy of R.T.C. (but I'm not sure about that) but yes I got a bit hot headed and started shouting a bit cos I thought other passengers were making fun of me cos the return leg had been spoilt and asked one of the stewards will rail tours be still possible after March 2023? So I had to stand at the window to calm myself down cos I had been drinking cider and the weather was very humid. But managed to get a train up to Sheffield and had to cycle home from Sheffield which is another story.
Davo 56F

 

Shorter trips YES PLEASE!
Maybe repeated on the same day like the SRPS Forth Circulars and VT Stratford shuttles.
We used to have far more like that, eg the Cumbrian Mountain Express was steam only on the S&C and one-way only. Now I need to factor in a hotel for a night or two to do nearly any trip.