9466 on the Looe branch 19th/26th Sept

Those who didn't take the opportunity of a steam ride over the Looe branch could be having plenty of time to kick themselves. That climb up from Coombe Junction to Liskeard was unforgettable, and I'm sorry to read that it is unlikely to be repeated. Thanks, Vintage Trains, for having a go, and giving the enthusiast community a chance to experience this.

 

You were lucky. On the trip I did, the 37 did all the work, as it did on the next two trips too according to the VT buffet car steward.

 

Ditto; although it was still an impressive sound from the 37

 

Any reason why it can't be repeated? if it paid its way, and the line is not closing.......

 

That's just it Stu,
it didn't pay it's way.
From the info I had, VT lost money on it.

I think it would have done better a few months earlier,
but then the line wouldn't have been available,
it's used by service trains on summer Sundays,
although £25 a head would have been a lot for families.
As I said before, the othr problem is it's a long way
for the enthusiasts to travel.

 

Ah. I see. That's a shame.

 

A liitle outrageous maybe, how about running the service trains on Sundays in the holiday season with steam, O.K. before you all shout we can have our dreams.

http://michaelsgallery.fpic.co.uk/c1901894.html

 

I managed both Sundays from Guildford by train, the first week i chose not to travel to

Looe as the advertised return was 16.15 which was too tight for the 16.16 train home.

To my surprise the tour arrived back 10 mins early. On the 26th I was in time for the 13.00

round trip which was great apart from not having a lot of time to get off at Looe.

Further to that neither VT stewards or the enquiry desk could give a proper answer to whether

the 16.15 back would be a bit earlier as previously as it turned out they were back by 16.00

but this does'nt help travellers with connections to travel on the line.

Mike M. (70 c)

 

I realise the £25 fare included travel to and from Newton Abbot but if you lived local or further west than Liskeard, that part of the fare would have been an unnecessary expense which may have discouraged some local bookings. Then there is he issue of capacity. Of the four carriages, only three were available for paying passengers, the fourth being buffet/admin/support. That's not many seats with which to make a profit.

 

Cornish branch steam forays have been done in the recent past, just because VT say 'not again' doesn't necessarily mean we won't see steam at Looe ever again...

 

Dear All,

Thanks to everyone who came down to Cornwall and supported these trains. It was gratifying to see so many people riding on the trains and out and about taking pictures.
While it is true that it would have been better to have more fare paying passengers, but isn’t that always the case, the fact is that the trains ran and the passengers seemed to enjoy themselves.
The important point is that this operation showed what can be achieved with the co-operation and close working relationships between First Great Western, Vintage Trains, West Coast Railways, Network Rail and the owner of 9466.
I think everyone who was involved enjoyed themselves – those directly involved with 9466 certainly did.
Before people write off any future local steam operations in the south west, perhaps it would be wise to wait for any formal announcements. After all, the final figures cannot be known until all the invoices and receipts have been processed. If people write off such operations now, what incentive might there be for tour operators/others to look at planning some more in the future?
Finally I must make a public thank you to the staff at Laira Depot for the help and assistance provided during our stay there.

Regards to all,

Bruce Murray

 

It does seem that there has been an awful lot of unfounded "quotation" allegedly from VT on this operation, so it is perhaps opportune to clarify a few facts and demolish a few statements:-
Firstly VIntage Trains has not said "not again" at any time. We would always have an open mind on doing such a job again, very much bearing in mind the experience from the current operation. There is always experience to be gained from doing something different to the norm, and this job was no exception.
Secondly it has been alleged that the job lost money; it did not, although it did not make much either, but at least it covered its costs with some sponsorship from the Devon and Cornwall rail Partnership.
It has to be borne in mind that this was always intended to be a one off which brought steam back to a neglected part of Cornwall in celebration of GW 175. The facts of the matter are that there is no registered main line stock normally stabled and available within 200 miles of Cornwall and the movement of such stock costs money, as does the movement of steam engines to do the job. We ahve always been ready to get involved with such activities as a one off, but we have no resource to run such jobs as a regular activity, we have a business to run and homes to go to which are many miles from Cornwall.

Hopefully all who attended enjoyed it, the benefits of the GW add on were not apparent to all, and that is something for us to take note of in the future, but it undoubtedly brought some focus to a corner of Cornwall, and as an operation ran every bit as well as you could hope for with the combined efforts of our freinds at West Coast, First Great Western, Network Rail, and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. We should also mention the fantastic reception and support that we got from all of the management and staff at FGW's Plymouth Laira depot.

Hopefully this sets the record straight

regards
Bob Meanley

 

Thanks for your statement Bob. You've highlighted something that many people don't consider, that being the difficulty of maintaining an operation a long distance from home base. Whereas passengers can turn up and leave when they like, staff have to be there long before the event starts and long after the event finishes.

 

'Not again' was a quote from another post. Such quotes always have a high risk of being incorrect - tis the nature of the forum!, but they are all we have to go on until folks with the facts such as your good self set the record straight. So thanks for doing that, and it is good to hear the trips at least covered costs. Its also good to read of more and more examples of different organisations pulling together to make things happen, as demonstrated with the Looe trips. Ian Riley's Oban episode the other week was another example. It seems to show increasing respect for the professionalism with which some groups involved with mainline steam go about their work.

 

Absolutely - We learn from mistakes, and from analysing what happened, both as operators and enthusiasts, and that is done by informed communication.

The West Highland episode has either been ignored or been the subject of rather shallow personalised reporting, and the place of planning and management in the scheme of things simply passed over. Get those right, and so much doesn't go wrong later. There was so much that could have been disseminated in an open and informed discussion so it is good to see someone who isn't afraid of setting records straight giving an informed opinion.

As someone who was committed to Blackpool 125 I hope steam will appear in Looe again one day when I can be there -if the logistics and costs make it possible

 

Good to see the positive feedback.

AS one who may have contributed to the negative input,
I would like to apologise for any resulting misconception.

As previously stated I was quoting from a conversation with one of the support team,
but they were obviously not aware of the full facts.

The important thing is that those responsible feel positive about it
and are not totally ruling out similar events in the future

 

Success can look like many things. Evidently a significant number of people attended and bought tickets to ride the trains. Importantly, no money was lost. However, what woudl happen if this was repeated. I beleive that those who enjoyed it would return and tell their friends.

More so, I think this could be replicated on other branch lines. Preston to Blackpool or Oxenhome to Windermere springs to mind and I'm sure others could identify more.