Project Wareham

What creaking infrastructure? Poole was only re signaled in 2014.

 

Seems to be some signal or track circuit issue on many days (and railtours I have been on) heading to and from Weymouth.

 

Really hoping that Wareham is a success.

I do think if the local council wants the rail link to be a semi commuter service during peak summer months (not daily commuting but for day trippers ect) maybe more traction needs to be looked at in the longer term. Class 158/9s coming off least over the next few years could help reduce wear on the heritage DMUS unless they want to mainline equipped the 4TC/Class 33 set which would be cool.

If the Council really want to reduce traffic, cheaper DMU only tickets could be provided ect, say £15 Wareham to Swanage could definably pump up the numbers and push people out of cars and help reduce traffic during peak summer.

They really need to think what they want with this service. Is it purely heritage or do they want people out their cars as well. At £25 per person thats not really going to happen.

Does anyone have any update about the 50k study on Wareham service????

 

The question is less whether the council want a service, as to whether the council want a service enough to be willing to pay for it - and reduce funding from other services to meet that cost.

 

Dorset Council (as indeed all councils) provide a mix of statutory obligated services and non statutory obligated services.

Dorset Council are struggling to meet the demand for, and fund, statutory obligated services (for example adult social care which takes 41% of Dorset Councils budget). To meet the demand financially they are reducing expenditure on non statutory obligated services and have used or will use some of the cash reserves.

See here for details of Dorset Council Budget Our budget explained - Dorset Council

Obtaining funding to operate the wareham service" is competing with all the other non statutory obligated services seeking funding. What part of the diminishing funding available "Wareham" may get is not clear but I think it is highly optimistic to hope that any funding will be available given the number and strength of the competing demands across Dorset. "What does the Wareham service give the council tax payers of Dorset?" is the question that has to be answered. Given that Dorset Council decided to close the provision of the Wareham Tourist Information Centre (already co-located in Wareham library) on cost grounds I do not hold out much hope.

Finally the current financial state of Dorset Council (£10M over budget just 3 months into the new financial year) Dorset Council goes £10m over budget as inflation hits - BBC News seems to me to further reduce the chances of getting any meaningful funding going forward.

 

The issue is that the current trial is basically a heritage diesel service, not a commuter service. Not sure that the benefits are enough in terms of getting cars off the road to encourage the council to subsidise it. Especially when buses are quicker! I hope that the current trial works well enough to enable it to continue in some form next year. But my guess is that it needs to be self-funding - or somewhere close. Not sure that SR will want to subsidise it much either in the current economic climate.

 

When one considers the road traffic congestion that "Purbeck" suffers from then the most congested road (in terms of frequency of congestion, duration of congestion and impact) is the A351 from the Bakers Arms roundabout to Wareham. This road traffic congestion is year round though varying in intensity.The SRC service between Swanage and Wareham would only impact this IF visitors to Swanage connected to the service at Wareham by national rail, walking, cycling or by bus rather than travelling by car to Wareham.
The road traffic congestion between Wareham and Swanage tends to be seasonal and then typically in the summer only on days of fine weather. When one considers the kit and caboodle that families seem to bring with them for a day out travelling by train (without having the car as base) does not seem like a particularly attractive option.
If considering the pollution / emissions of transport then one does wonder how much the emissions of say an 8.5 year old car is compared to the Class 117 / 121 DMUs with their 60 year old pre-euro standard diesel engines. I suspect the DMU equals a fair few cars. It would certainly be interesting to know the emissions of the Class 117 and 121 so that a comparison could be calculated.

As much as I think the Wareham service is a good idea in general terms, I suspect that the financial reality is that the true cost of operating the service far exceeds the revenue generated.

 

I am going to be sadly surprised if Wareham goes ahead next year and beyond. Which is a shame because I was very much in favour of the service, economic climate also does not help.

Over the years I do feel like the railway has out prices a lot of the market. Gone are they days of packed 5 coaches behind steam arriving at Swanage every 40 minutes with the 3rd loco on dinning duties and talk of extending Swanage for 6 car services. The cost of running the service as gone up and up so its not on them and is not their fault but its just a shame the economics have become like this.
Looks like the Covid Coal price bounced has returned to more normal levels which is good

Unless something major happens cant see two steam services retuning. There just doesnt seem to be 'that much' demand.

With the return of the T3 that should bring a lot of visitors and news stories
Hopefully next year we finally have a working 3TC set

 

Apart from its intrinsic interest the great thing about the T3 is that it is the right size. Not having to lug around excessive tare weight should moderate fuel costs considerably.

 

Whilst many of points are valid you seem to me to be implying that it is some way the railways fault. The economic climate, caused in part by the war in Ukraine, especially in relation to coal ,has seriously dented the economics of heritage railways. All lines are running far less steam than pre Covid times. Trains are still often very full arriving and departing from Swanage from my observations, it is just that the service is more tailored to demand, and that demand at least for families needs to be stimulated by things like "kids for a quid".
There is still a big demand out there for high priced attractions, some of them rail based, just look at the loads on railtours, especially at the high end, Belmond, NB, Statesman, let alone to more affordable day trips FS trips excepted. But mainly they are a different market in the main occupied by those like me from the "grey pound brigade" or younger folks on some special day. Most Heritage Line trips will be part of a day doing something (pure enthusiasts excepted) so it is unlikely to meet the uniqueness of say even a mainline diesel hauled dining tour covering a whole day.
I suspect the demand is there for a two train service at least in the school holidays if people are not worried about how they are going to pay for their mortgage, or where the next meal is coming from. I have only lived in Purbeck 9 years but in in that short time it is noticeable that guest houses have closed, virtually every farmer now has a well patronised campsite during the summer holidays, some which seem to have very basic facilities. Swanage Railway like every Heritage Line in the country is chasing declining optional spend, in the midst of still high inflation.
I would say just be grateful they and the others still exist and in the case of Swanage still run far more trains and for far more days a year than most lines.
Maybe there will be a working 3TC set next year, I have no idea, and whilst nice to see,and will attract some enthusiasts, will the 90% of the market having a day out even notice, other than it does not have a steam loco at the front?

 

Not all. Some are doing well but others are not. Why this is the case can only be speculation.

 

To a point, but don’t forget most of the train’s weight is not the engine. The difference in total consumption between a seventy ton loco and a hundred ton loco is not that big a proportion in a 300 ton train.

The real killer contributor to train operating costs is the number of miles run between overhauls: there is a big difference depending whether you get 30k or 60k miles out of a ten-yearly overhaul. (And what that overhaul costs, of course).

The perfect heritage line loco doesn’t exist: it would be a BR standard tank engine but with a round-top firebox and no superheater ..,

Tom

 

It is too simplistic to link any fall in SRC passenger numbers with the cost of living crisis. Budget airlines operating from the UK (e.g. Ryanair and Wizzair) have reported booming passenger numbers and inclusive tour (package holiday) numbers have bounced back. Domestic Tourism visitor numbers have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Inbound Tourism (visitors coming from abroad) is forecasted for 2023 to be 92% of 2019 pre covid levels. Source DCMS Report on Tourism March 2023. This would suggest that people (generalisation) have and are prepared to spend the money on travel and tourism.

Some Guest houses have closed because their owners (possibly wanting to fund a retirement) consider the value of the bricks and mortar to be higher as a large home or sub divided into flats than as a guest house / bed and breakfast business. However this is somewhat offset by the large number of airbnb houses which are available in Swanage. Just because a property no longer has a large sign outside saying "Sea View Guest House" does not mean that it isnt providing holiday accommodation. Campsites are doing well because that type of holiday can offer the flexibility and style that appeals to an increasing segment. The number of camper vans on the roads of the UK has grown hugely if the manufacturers are to be believed.

Personally I think SRC's "consumer offer" has failed to keep pace with its competitors (and competition is a broad term as it is more than just other heritage railways) and consequently numbers are declining. There is a lot which could be done but while ever SRC applies the "has it got a boiler and / or wheels good, no boiler or no wheels bad" test it will struggle.
Finally SRC needs to review its pricing policy: it is not about it being too expensive or too cheap (giving it away). What it needs to do is give excellent VFM (value for money) because that is how customers make judgements and decide whether to spend or not.

 

Just a touch of Drummond/Pickersgill perhaps?

 

No. But a recognition that the duty cycles on a heritage railway are much closer to shunting than anything else - constant reversal, short bursts at high intensity and lots of standing around. Superheaters just add cost in that scenario.

From long observation, my firmly held belief is that it is maintenance that drives locomotive cost on heritage railways, not optimum efficiency when running linked up with wide open regulator. Hence my view that the optimum loco runs a big mileage between mechanical overhauls, with a cheap boiler to repair. The primary advantage in that regard of tank engines over tender engines is having a smaller number of axle boxes and less brake gear for a given size of engine (for example, compare a 2-6-2T vs a 2-6-0 tender engine).

Tom

 

Ooh, Mr Drummond's Patent Steam Drier. I can't wait.
Pat

 

"A cheap boiler to repair"? - is there such a thing? Perhaps there are just expensive and very expensive boiler repairs. Putting this on one side would you say that the Standard Class 4MT is the optimum loco for the Swanage branch line? As much as I love the BoB/ WC Class Bulleids are they just simply unjustifiably more expensive than say the Class 4MTs? Likewise where do the Moguls fit into this? Or perhaps I should say Mogul given that 2 are out of service and will have been for the best part of a decade next year.

 

I would be genuinely interested to hear which attractions, either railway or no railway you feel that the SR has failed to keep pace with in regard to its "consumer offering" other than the absence of the dining service and what it could or should have done.
I still believe Heritage lines are to most a steam train ride, but Swanage does have the advantage (like say the NYMR or WSR) going to the seaside or from Swanage to Corfe Castle.
What I have seen, at least on NP, and I accept not from yourself is an extreme reluctance to countenance anything that moves away from the vertically integrated model. Be it fish and chips or Polar Express at Swanage, or dining trains at the SVR, the fact those railways are trying something different to survive seems to be met with mild to extreme outrage by quite a few. I am not surprised I have seen the same negative attitudes to outsourcing in my work life, even when the financial numbers and the quality provided to others are indisputable.
Most lines rely on school holidays (especially the six weeks of summer) and Christmas for a great percentage of their revenue and hopefully profit. I do not believe that so far this year visitor numbers to the town are as high as either pre or post Covid. Even today in Carnival week they has not been a need to open the overflow area at the main beach car park, although it the sort of weather that helps the railway.
If by your "sign" comment some guest houses have become an Airbnb then possibly, but they are more likely to have become longer term accommodation or Care Homes where the revenue stream is more guaranteed. Our neighbours move out and Airbnb there home but it is always rented by multi families or multi generations of the same family due to the cost. There have been a number of comments around the Diesel Gala about how difficult it is now to find accommodation in Swanage and the price of it, although the price does seem comparable to Poole & Bournemouth.
Yes the railway has had to operate the Wareham trial, which may impact the timetable on the core, but also compete with a lot of buses all at £2 max fare.
If you are a family (2+2) staying in Swanage a trip by the train and castle entry would cost you £71 before any extras like food. By bus it would cost £41.
Taking the Wareham link and going to Bournemouth would cost £76.80 return against £8 on the bus return. Even that is on the assumption the Wareham T.O. is open or they know how to get a Group Save from the machine.
I think the railway is making the best of heavy competition in difficult times.

 

Considering it is carnival week, looking at the rail cam todays 17.00 from Swanage looks pretty much empty by Corfe Castle, one could ask, where are the fare paying passengers??

I love the railway and if I lived closer would volunteer straight away.

Swanage Railway facing ‘dire’ times as passenger numbers fall – Swanage News

According to this 2022 passenger numbers where down 25% compared to 2019 which is a considerable drop considering trains expenses are much harder to rise and fall in line with passenger numbers.

Would be interesting to see what 2023 numbers are so far compared to 2019 and last year



If anyone read last months Swanning around they were asking for vollenteers to count passenger numbers on EVERY service to "maximise the value for money for each service we run". Or in other words, if numbers stay at this level, we could see even less in the future.

Even atm, the 2nd sevices being the DMU or Local hauled service is only running 4 round trips compared the pre covid green timetable of I believe 6 trips during semi peak times (June July ect)