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SVR Pacific Power 22nd-25th September 2016

Discussion in 'Galas and Events' started by TrainDude10, Sep 16, 2015.

  1. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    I visited SVR on the Wednesday (21st) and, having tried in vain to buy even a non-FS ticket on line beforehand, tried my luck at Kidderminster station. The staff were very good natured (as they always are in my experience), but were definite that all tickets of any kind had been sold, so my friend and I resigned ourselves to bussing it to near Hampton Loade, and walking down alongside the Severn in hope of getting some glimpses of the action. We did see several trains go by and the non-FS trains had an amazing number of empty seats. We'd have gladly bought non-FS tickets (FS tickets even more so!), and it was a bit annoying that our business had been turned away. Not being either an SVR member or shareholder, I suppose I have little right to comment apart from being a person who loves the SVR but can't join every railway in the country. However, it does seem that a lot of revenue was lost that surely would have been welcome?

    Apart from that, I felt that there was rather an unpleasant ethos at Highley, which I have always regarded as the essence of the English country station. We climbed up from the river path by the pub to the station, which is a public right of way, and there were barriers all over the place to prevent plebs like us from going onto the platform, or even over the footbridge at the south end; we were steered across the board crossing. I felt that this was like going to a commercial pop festival, security men and all, which was making sure that nobody got to see anything without paying. The ironic thing is that we wouldn't have minded paying for at least non-FS tickets - we really didn't want to freeload!

    FS and Tornado were great to see, but I don't think that this was quite SVR's finest hour. Having said that, I hope the weekend goes well.

    John
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2016
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  2. MikeParkin65

    MikeParkin65 Member Friend

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    Mods - shouldn't this thread be renamed as either 'Pacific Power Event' or 'Not the SVR ASG'?
     
  3. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    It is called that.... Now ;):D
     
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  4. MikeParkin65

    MikeParkin65 Member Friend

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    I hope that the SVR makes some money from this event – the Autumn SVR news has said that revenues have been down in June. BUT, there is a very fine line between being an operation that makes enough to survive and sympathetically develop and becoming a commercially focused theme park. The scale of the Pacific Power event, the speed and ease with which access has been restricted to stations, advance ticket sell outs and the gently anti-enthusiast tone of communications all point towards a swing in the wrong direction for me.
     
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  5. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    I guess time will tell really as this is a one off event, Hopefully normal service resumed soon!
     
  6. Johnb

    Johnb Nat Pres stalwart

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    Isn't an LNER Pacific on a single line GW Branch incongruous in itself?
     
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  7. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    For the preview/Charity day on 21st a more limited number of public tickets were put on sale, I believe. Photos of intermediate stations for the PP event proper show it to be busy.

    I can understand reasons why decisions have been made (c.f. Paignton and FS trespassing previously).

    The SVR has also made changes to the message it is giving out, more openly welcoming the public to Bridgnorth, Bewdley and The Engine House, e.g. "Wondering where to see Flying Scotsman and Tornado? Then look no further and make your way to Bewdley Platform 1 or Bridgnorth Station where you can view the world-famous locomotives!"

    Statement of interest: I do some voluntary social media stuff for the SVR but I'm not involved in any strategy or discussions about it.

    Patrick
     
  8. LMarsh1987

    LMarsh1987 Part of the furniture Friend

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    Clearly a one off event IMO. The railway was right to milk the living daylights out of the Scotsman and hopefully come the end of the month, the railway will be in a solid financial position.
     
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  9. Wyreman

    Wyreman New Member

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    I can't make any sensible comments about Highley as I haven't been there during all this, but I can give a second-hand report on behalf of a relative who travelled yesterday on a non-FS ticket. (He's in my category -- a bit more of an enthusiast than most SVR visitors, but a bit less committed/knowledgeable than many on here!) He enjoyed himself and felt viewing/photo opportunities were good -- though he did slightly ache for the chance to have seen FS and Tornado pass, he did appreciate why this wasn't happening.

    He also remarked on the lack of crowding (at least compared to a 1940s weekend he'd been to a few years back -- not sure exactly which) and was pleasantly surprised to be able to sit down in the café at the Engine House. His only slight complaint was to do with the charge for balcony access there -- while he didn't object (much) to the principle, he did think it hadn't been very well advertised that there would be a supplement payable for this.

    While I'm rambling, a quick perspective from a (sort of) Bewdley resident. Other than the expected congestion at Kidderminster NR station, everything's been very smooth. I've met a few people asking for places to see FS from and have been directing them to the usual places along local roads, but with the clarification re Bewdley station that @D1039 mentioned, I'll now start telling them to head there. People certainly seem interested in FS's visit -- though it's a bit sad that nobody's even mentioned Tornado!

    I wasn't entirely sure about this event when it was announced, but as a one-off it seems to be working well. If this were going to happen every year, I'd be unhappy, but as a single event it's more or less convinced me. I just hope FS-mania will have calmed down in a few years' time and then I can get a ride behind it without having to book months in advance!
     
  10. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    But anything could have happened during WW2, and the SVR was a through route so may have seen such things. Of course, photography of trains was strictly forbidden at that time.

    John
     
  11. Robin

    Robin Well-Known Member Friend

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    I parked at Bewdley Airport today - the proceeds are being donated to the Air Ambulance. The £3 at Eardington Nature Reserve goes direct to the Nature Reserve, so I was happy to pay at both locations.
     
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  12. Johnb

    Johnb Nat Pres stalwart

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    Odd things did happen in WW2 such as the hospital trains hauled by B12s but an LNER RA9 loco in 1960s condition on a GW Branch is stretching things a bit. Incidentally railway photography was never banned, although partaking of such a hobby would have raised some suspicion, the main limiting factor would have been the availability of film. There are one or two nice wartime photos in Eric Treacy's book, Lure of Steam.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2016
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  13. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    The public tickets were limited to 500, as the SVR wanted to concentrate on the Charitable Trust VIP event on the first day of the PP event.
     
  14. 6026 King John

    6026 King John Well-Known Member

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    Excellent day at the Severn Valley today. Great weather and all 6 locos in good form. Not the usual ASG I have to admit, but very enjoyable nonetheless. I didn't have a Scotsman/Tornado ticket but wasn't bothered about that. Got to see both of them in action and had some good rides behind Erlestoke Manor and Taw Valley. Scotsman mania seemed to have grabbed the valley - I've never seen anything like the number of photographers in the fields. Scotsman was also attracting a lot of attention in between turns at Bridgnorth. However when Tornado was parked outside the shed she was largely ignored. Tornado it seems is now "so last year"!!! It was Scotsman they had come to see.

    Curiously though for a supposedly sold out event there was plenty of space available on the non-Scotsman trains and despite what the official line was, they WERE selling tickets at Bridgnorth for anyone who turned up. There didn't seem to be any major problems accessing the stations and the stewarding was sympathetic and not over-zealous. A few police officers dropped by occasionally but I think there was no need - everyone seemed to be behaving themselves and I didn't see any trespass incidents.

    I nearly didn't go to this event having read all the negative stuff about it on this board and elsewhere but I'm glad I did. Not the usual gala I know, but I didn't hear anyone complaining. I guess those who weren't happy just stayed away.
     
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  15. A1X

    A1X Well-Known Member

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    Milking Scotsman for what it's worth now pays for the overhaul of something else 5 years down the line.

    Total no-brainer to do this instead of an ASG. They'd have been absolutely bleedin' mad to have turned the opportunity down.
     
  16. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    Due to popular demand, a small number of tickets have been released for travel on our service trains (not valid on Flying Scotsman and Tornado trains) on Monday 26th September only. These additional tickets will be available from Kidderminster, Bridgnorth and Bewdley booking offices on a first come, first served basis.

    http://www.svr.co.uk/PacificPower_Tickets.aspx

    Patrick
     
  17. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    Please do, the SVR will be reinforcing that message over the weekend

    Patrick
     
  18. steamvideosnet

    steamvideosnet Well-Known Member

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    I'm slowly working my way through my photos from Wednesday and Thursday, and here are the next few...

    7812 waits for 7802 to arrive at Arley, recreating scenes from the Cambrian network throughout the 1950s and 1960s... 7812 7802 Arley.001.jpg

    34027 and 34053 stand at Kidderminster prior to the first departure of the day...
    34027 34053 Kidderminster.001.jpg

    60103 at rest at Kidderminster on the Wednesday evening...
    60103 Kidderminster.001.jpg

    James
     
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  19. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    £2 well spent for a bridgenorth platform ticket this morning, seemed very well organised. As others have said, not in favour of something like this regularly, but as a one off event it worked very well from the couple of hours I spent there.
     
  20. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

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    Bravo Sir! Three superb pictures but the Scotsman picture is a corker.

    Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
     
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