The price of 'Driver Experiences' on heritage railways/Has anyone done them?

[Reorte]

Also, you appreciate quite how hot, just how hard work and skilful it is being a fireman.

I'm feeling sore today from shovelling three tons of gravel around yesterday, and that doesn't even have the skill factor. Firing a large locomotive on an express passenger run must be brutal. I imagine anyone who fired a Coronation over Shap and Beattock would soon end rather impressively muscled.

[tender]

There's one experience that I am interested in on the Llangollen Railway:

 

 Evening Ramble – £245 per person

The participant will have the chance to drive and fire a light steam engine (without carriages) from Llangollen to Corwen and back.  It also includes a guided tour of the engine shed. Please note-guests cannot be accommodated on this experience.

 

I'll have to find out when it starts, how long it lasts and how many people are sharing the experience with me. The only thing is that I wish that other people I know could be on the footplate (to record the event for posterity) rather than just me and some strangers.

 

But it does sound tempting.

 

 

My wife and I did this last year. We had the engine from the last scheduled service of the day (Large Prairie 5199) starting from Llangollen. There was just the two of us plus the footplate crew. My wife was driver up to Corwen and i was the fireman, at Corwen we swapped places, downhill so less shovelling for her (you need to be reasonably fit). The footplate crew basically just told us what to do, where to shovel the coal, inject water into the boiler, use of reversing lever/regulator, brakes, whistle etc. (although we were already fairly well conversed with the controls due to running our 5" gauge loco equivalents). To record the event i used a GoPro video camera mounted high up at the rear of the cab which due to its wide angle lens gave a full view of everything that was happening in the cab (apart from the stretch through the tunnel where it only picked up the glow from the fire).

 

 

We both found it a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

 

(included in the price was a voucher for 2 adult return tickets for the railway, valid for one year)

 

I think these experiences (all railways) are quite popular so you need to book well in advance.

[tomparryharry]

Some of the experience courses are quite informative, and be good value too. It does depend however, on the calibre of the teacher. One railway I can think of has a course where the teachers have limited knowledge on the subject matter. the result is that the payee can feel somewhat 'short changed' by the experience overall.

 

However, there is no substitute for experience. Every steam railway up & down the land is crying out for volunteers. If you're showing willing, your path is assured. If, on the other hand, your particular railway suffers from poor man-management (and I've known plenty of those), then looking elsewhere might help.

[sdw7300]

If you happen to be in mid Wales and fancy a "taster", you can be a "Driver for a Fiver" at the Devils Bridge station at the top of the Vale of Rheidol Railway. You only get a few minutes and only cover a few metres of track but the grin on my lads (and my!) faces showed how much we enjoyed it. 

 

 

[Bon Accord]

Indeed.

 

My most recent trip last month included a 300 mile round trip on the main line with the 2-8-2, with the 5 coach heritage set most of the way and 3 extra coaches added at Wroclaw. The loco had one or two problems which necessitated unscheduled stops to deal with, and then time had to be made up in betwen to avoid delaying other traffic.

 

12 and a half hours on the footplate and no-one else to want to share the driving.

Glad I didn't have to fire, cos that would definitely have done for my back!

 

Have they got rid of remnants of the mechanical stoker on the Pt yet? First time I was on it I kept clattering the top of the thing with the shovel when firing - cost me a lot of beer!

[Killybegs]

I had a great day out learning to drive a loco on the SVR four years ago. Well worth every penny.

 

[Trofimow]

Have they got rid of remnants of the mechanical stoker on the Pt yet? First time I was on it I kept clattering the top of the thing with the shovel when firing - cost me a lot of beer!

 

Dunno. It is a big grate to feed though. Howard reckons those without mechanical stokers had 2 firemen rostered as routine back in the day.

 

As I had the loco to myself,  I stuck to the driving and left the firing to Tomasz and new Andrej!

 

Alan

[brianusa]

If you happen to be in mid Wales and fancy a "taster", you can be a "Driver for a Fiver" at the Devils Bridge station at the top of the Vale of Rheidol Railway. You only get a few minutes and only cover a few metres of track but the grin on my lads (and my!) faces showed how much we enjoyed it. 

 

post-17057-0-27788800-1473364595.jpg

Notice how the kids are more scale sized to the loco!

 

Brian.

[Blandford1969]

Seconded. Me driving half way from Kidderminster to Bridgenorth, then firing the rest of the distance with 6 guests in the train behind. All of us had big stupid grins on our faces all day. No idea how much it cost, it was a pressy, but we did have to stay overnight in Kiddy because it was an early start for us.

 

DSCN1508.JPG

Ah a day with Mr Shorthouse, a fab day and a jolly good bloke with loads of experience, lots to say and very entertaining

[davefromacrossthepond]

Looking at sdw7300's picture . . . I'm guessing he'd say it was worth it if it had cost three times as much.  Looks to be one of the best manned engines I've seen yet!  

[Bon Accord]

Dunno. It is a big grate to feed though. Howard reckons those without mechanical stokers had 2 firemen rostered as routine back in the day.

 

As I had the loco to myself,  I stuck to the driving and left the firing to Tomasz and new Andrej!

 

Alan

 

It's a hungry beast alright, although I didn't think it as bad as the Pacific. I did two Poznan runs in one day on that thing and ended up firing on the way back to Wolsztyn on the second run and it damn near finished me. Between the volume of coal shifted and the near two-step between tender and firebox door it needs some amount of stamina.

[Brian Indge]

But isn't there only one two seat Spitfire?

If so it's very much a unique experience, there are far more steam locos to drive!

 

Keith

There are several two-seater Spitfires that give trips, usually 30 minutes in length. I had a trip 7 years ago and it cost just under £2000, worth every penny and fulfilled a boyhood dream, especially 'beating-up the runway' followed by a barrel-roll! At the time there was only one aircraft available to do these trips. Not sure where the aircraft I flew in is based now but certainly you can arrange a flight at Duxford aerodrome in Cambridgeshire.

 

Brian

[jcm@gwr]

I was lucky enough to drive & fire Taw Valley (not normally available) last year on the SVR.

The owner is one of our club's country members, so It was a bit of a private do.

 

The cost was £100 each* (8 of us), 3 coaches (to make the ride smoother) we were in the

managers saloon at the back when not on the footplate, food and drink supplied all day.

2 runs the full length of the line, so each of us had about 9 miles driving and the same firing.

 

We had a drink in the bar afterwards with Phil (the owner) where he explained it had

cost him £1600 to organise the event for us!

 

*I didn't pay, as the club kindly treated me as a thank-you (I do most of the work in

keeping the club-house in good order)

[OnTheBranchline]

My wife and I did this last year. We had the engine from the last scheduled service of the day (Large Prairie 5199) starting from Llangollen. There was just the two of us plus the footplate crew. My wife was driver up to Corwen and i was the fireman, at Corwen we swapped places, downhill so less shovelling for her (you need to be reasonably fit). The footplate crew basically just told us what to do, where to shovel the coal, inject water into the boiler, use of reversing lever/regulator, brakes, whistle etc. (although we were already fairly well conversed with the controls due to running our 5" gauge loco equivalents). To record the event i used a GoPro video camera mounted high up at the rear of the cab which due to its wide angle lens gave a full view of everything that was happening in the cab (apart from the stretch through the tunnel where it only picked up the glow from the fire).

 

 

We both found it a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

 

(included in the price was a voucher for 2 adult return tickets for the railway, valid for one year)

 

I think these experiences (all railways) are quite popular so you need to book well in advance.

Thanks for the info.

 

The only thing would be that my fiance could not come on the footplate (as the other spot is booked). She would have to stay with my friends who she does not really know at all for 3 ish hours. Not that she couldn't talk to relative strangers (part of her job is doing that).

[polybear]

There are several two-seater Spitfires that give trips, usually 30 minutes in length. I had a trip 7 years ago and it cost just under £2000, worth every penny and fulfilled a boyhood dream, especially 'beating-up the runway' followed by a barrel-roll! At the time there was only one aircraft available to do these trips. Not sure where the aircraft I flew in is based now but certainly you can arrange a flight at Duxford aerodrome in Cambridgeshire.

 

Brian

 

There's several airfields running spit flights now (though I suspect for some the aircraft are based elsewhere); there are flights from aircraft based at Goodwood.  They also offer Spitfire Training to solo standard, though you'll need a PPL first.  And a spare 55K....

 

edit:  .....plus VAT.....

Edited June 8, 2017 by polybear

[rob D2]

Cheap !

20 mins in a hunter is about £3k...

 

I think these footplate experiences above are about what I would expect to pay TBH

[OnTheBranchline]

My wife and I did this last year. We had the engine from the last scheduled service of the day (Large Prairie 5199) starting from Llangollen. There was just the two of us plus the footplate crew. My wife was driver up to Corwen and i was the fireman, at Corwen we swapped places, downhill so less shovelling for her (you need to be reasonably fit). The footplate crew basically just told us what to do, where to shovel the coal, inject water into the boiler, use of reversing lever/regulator, brakes, whistle etc. (although we were already fairly well conversed with the controls due to running our 5" gauge loco equivalents). To record the event i used a GoPro video camera mounted high up at the rear of the cab which due to its wide angle lens gave a full view of everything that was happening in the cab (apart from the stretch through the tunnel where it only picked up the glow from the fire).

 

 

We both found it a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

 

(included in the price was a voucher for 2 adult return tickets for the railway, valid for one year)

 

I think these experiences (all railways) are quite popular so you need to book well in advance.

What model is the GoPro?

[tender]

What model is the GoPro?

 

GoPro Session

[Mike 84C]

It's a hungry beast alright, although I didn't think it as bad as the Pacific. I did two Poznan runs in one day on that thing and ended up firing on the way back to Wolsztyn on the second run and it damn near finished me. Between the volume of coal shifted and the near two-step between tender and firebox door it needs some amount of stamina.

It must be near 20yrs since I did the Wolsztyn experience. i went with some guys from the FR and Jenny Waters who was our FR female driver. Had a super time. Jenny got the pacific up into the 70's mph on one trip to Poznan, I was firing. I can quite see why they only built two of that type. Not a very impressive loco. Tram driving in Poznan was good fun and we hired the complete train on the narrow gauge that went to Zanimesil, I think! Would love to do it again. 

[Fat Controller]

There are several two-seater Spitfires that give trips, usually 30 minutes in length. I had a trip 7 years ago and it cost just under £2000, worth every penny and fulfilled a boyhood dream, especially 'beating-up the runway' followed by a barrel-roll! At the time there was only one aircraft available to do these trips. Not sure where the aircraft I flew in is based now but certainly you can arrange a flight at Duxford aerodrome in Cambridgeshire.

 

Brian

I think there's one that flies out of Headcorn. For a big birthday, I treated Lynne to a T6 flight from there last year; the Spitfire flight was about five times the price (i.e. about £2500)

[Trofimow]

It must be near 20yrs since I did the Wolsztyn experience. i went with some guys from the FR and Jenny Waters who was our FR female driver. Had a super time. Jenny got the pacific up into the 70's mph on one trip to Poznan, I was firing. I can quite see why they only built two of that type. Not a very impressive loco. Tram driving in Poznan was good fun and we hired the complete train on the narrow gauge that went to Zanimesil, I think! Would love to do it again.

Don't leave it too long 2018 might be the final year.

[Fat Controller]

Don't leave it too long 2018 might be the final year.

There's a large Polish engine that is based near Arcques (about 20 miles from Calais) :- http://www.cftva62.com/  Not sure if they do driver-experience runs yet- one of my drivers volunteers there, so I can ask.

[OnTheBranchline]

Not to sound thick, but how fit does one generally have to be for the experience? Not that I have health problems of course.

Edited July 7, 2017 by OnTheBranchline

[57xx]

Not to sound thick, but how fit does one generally have to be for the experience? Not that I have health problems of course.

 

My Dad was 80 when he did his.

 

It's not a thick question, we asked Didcot just to be sure and they said as long as he is agile enough to climb in and out of the loco, should be no problems. And there weren't 

Edited July 7, 2017 by 57xx

[Blandford1969]

Its simple, you are paying for the experience so it is up to you how much or little you do. I have had some able to do the regulator, reverser and injectors, but not up to firing, which is no issue.

 

As 57xx says as long as you are fit enough to get on a footplate. Most of the time engines are not too large as that makes it not too bad for us normally 43106 or one of the Manors. For years we used 6443 which was perfect, a large cab and small engine.