TRAVEL.com ® Travel Forums - View Single Post

18th July 2008, 05:05 AM

"Tony Polson" <docnews2011@> wrote in message
news:drhv7451rcb0as2eq10n3835g7d24j1f3k@
> Ianigsy <ianrcragg@m> wrote:
>
>> The curse of 47832 strikes again- does anybody fancy trying to
>> persuade FGW that it'd be a useful back-up for the Cornish sleepers?
>>
>> But I suppose it's not a good time to be diversifying, or to be
>> chasing a diminishing top-end of the market. Neither has it been a
>> particularly good time in the last six months to be trying to operate
>> a leisure operation out of Carlisle, with too many route closures
>> restricting destinations and empty stock movements. If you really
>> wanted to start up a charter business in the current climate, the
>> market to go after is probably all-in family excursions to the
>> seaside- rather than flash dining trains, a through day trip from
>> Glasgow to Blackpool, stop in the suburbs and run via the GSW to pick
>> up in Kilmarnock and offer a family ticket for about £50. In other
>> words, take people where they want to go at a price they can afford.
>
>
> That's what BR called "Merrymakers".

Actually, FMRail did resurrect Merrymakers, but didn't survive long
enough to prove the concept. Stobart abandoned that part of the market.
It launched with all dining trains, but the defunct new brochure also
offered non-dining first class.

It strikes me that Stobart must have set something of a record, not even
surviving for one brochure's life, and that's after DRS spent so much on
refurbishing and painting the train. They must be kicking themselves for
not sticking with a neutral or simple DRS livery. Even had Stobart
Pullman survived, surely DRS could have benefited from having a train
usable by other customers.

18th July 2008, 05:05 AM	#13 (permalink)
Recliner Guest Posts: n/a Classified Rating: % ()	More Stobart cancellations "Tony Polson" <docnews2011@> wrote in message news:drhv7451rcb0as2eq10n3835g7d24j1f3k@ > Ianigsy <ianrcragg@m> wrote: > >> The curse of 47832 strikes again- does anybody fancy trying to >> persuade FGW that it'd be a useful back-up for the Cornish sleepers? >> >> But I suppose it's not a good time to be diversifying, or to be >> chasing a diminishing top-end of the market. Neither has it been a >> particularly good time in the last six months to be trying to operate >> a leisure operation out of Carlisle, with too many route closures >> restricting destinations and empty stock movements. If you really >> wanted to start up a charter business in the current climate, the >> market to go after is probably all-in family excursions to the >> seaside- rather than flash dining trains, a through day trip from >> Glasgow to Blackpool, stop in the suburbs and run via the GSW to pick >> up in Kilmarnock and offer a family ticket for about £50. In other >> words, take people where they want to go at a price they can afford. > > > That's what BR called "Merrymakers". Actually, FMRail did resurrect Merrymakers, but didn't survive long enough to prove the concept. Stobart abandoned that part of the market. It launched with all dining trains, but the defunct new brochure also offered non-dining first class. It strikes me that Stobart must have set something of a record, not even surviving for one brochure's life, and that's after DRS spent so much on refurbishing and painting the train. They must be kicking themselves for not sticking with a neutral or simple DRS livery. Even had Stobart Pullman survived, surely DRS could have benefited from having a train usable by other customers.