European Railroad Discussion > Only for those with deep pockets

I know the price of rail travel is going up but £29k for a railtour of Britain!

https://www.a1steam.com/2017/11/02/britains-exclusive-railtour-tornado/

If I had the $$$$$, I would do it!

I wish somehow we could do this in America, but the private rrs would have a fit

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/17 16:00 by CPRR.

Yes,if I had the funds I'd be in that in a heart beat .
Regards,DK

I've never quite understood the desire to do one of these trips. You only see the locomotive at the various service stops or at the beginning or end of the day. Once on board, you really don't know what's pulling the train. That said, the cost isn't all that high considering what you get. Divide it out by day and including hotels and most meals, it's in line with other high end tours. And cheaper than one Business Class overseas flight on a per day basis. What would really be cool and make me want to book would be if they had sleeping accommodations where you live on the train rather than go to a hotel each night. Sadly, trains like the the South African Union Limited, the Ukrainian Dezereho Train, and the steam hauled train we used in China are things of the past.

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> I've never quite understood the desire to do one
> of these trips. You only see the locomotive at the
> various service stops or at the beginning or end
> of the day. Once on board, you really don't know
> what's pulling the train. That said, the cost
> isn't all that high considering what you get.
> Divide it out by day and including hotels and most
> meals, it's in line with other high end tours. And
> cheaper than one Business Class overseas flight on
> a per day basis. What would really be cool and
> make me want to book would be if they had sleeping
> accommodations where you live on the train rather
> than go to a hotel each night. Sadly, trains like
> the the South African Union Limited, the Ukrainian
> Dezereho Train, and the steam hauled train we used
> in China are things of the past.

You can always stick your head out of the window en route!

This has nothing to do about steam trains, but everything to do about flaunting wealth and power. Sadly, when people become "successful", displays of opulence are the only way to show how special they are, otherwise how would we know?

Why else are the cars parked outside detached houses in Cheshire so much grander than those parked anonymously in the streets of Hampstead, (where the houses actually cost 10 times the amount)?

I also think that actually riding steam trains is quite wonderful, apart from being able to stick your head out of the window (which is de rigeur for the real experience), particularly when it's done in original Mark 1 or earlier stock. The smells, the fun of tunnels, to say nothing of the people holding up their children to wave, all cannot be beaten!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/17 06:40 by spflow.

There are plenty of steam runs in Britain.

http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs17.htm

exhaustED Wrote:
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> You can always stick your head out of the window
> en route!

Not if the grinches on the Passenger board have their way :-)

No. I wouldn't do this if I had the money. I think you get a lot more out of standing on an overcrowded DMU in Britain then you would ever get out of this rather stale sounding trip. Of course I only have the DMU experience (well actually multiple times) to gauge this by and not the luxury train.

Jim

tq-07fan Wrote:
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> No. I wouldn't do this if I had the money. I think
> you get a lot more out of standing on an
> overcrowded DMU in Britain then you would ever get
> out of this rather stale sounding trip. Of course
> I only have the DMU experience (well actually
> multiple times) to gauge this by and not the
> luxury train.
>
> Jim

I'm with you Jim, I'm not sure I would necessarily share the values of people willing to shell out a small fortune on a train ride.

andersonb109 Wrote:
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>... What would really be cool and
> make me want to book would be if they had sleeping
> accommodations where you live on the train rather
> than go to a hotel each night. ...

It appears they do have sleeper cabins.

These two excerpts are of particular interest:

"Accommodation during the tour is primarily to be aboard the ‘Royal Scotsman’ itself, the ten vehicles of which include a pair of dining carriages and ‘State Cars’ fitted out with cabins, based on former Pullman coaches."

"At different points, the train is expected to stable overnight at Broomhill (Strathspey Railway), Bridgnorth (Severn Valley) and Minehead (West Somerset); it will spend the final night at Darlington North Road, adjacent to Tornado’s Darlington Locomotive Works birthplace and where No. 2007 Prince of Wales is now under construction."

The accommodation aboard the Royal Scotsman looks to be very comfortable.

https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/scotland/belmond-royal-scotsman/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/17 04:51 by DrawingroomA.