From the September 1989 issue of The Railway Magazine, Peter Kelly considered the growing graffiti problem on the railway and the economics of main line steam excursions. The piece also looked at a proposed 488-seat train over the Settle & Carlisle line and the costs involved in operating steam-hauled services.
Signs of the times
PERHAPS the morons who disfigured the two DVTs pictured above might like to know that the cost of repainting them will run into thousands, not just hundreds, of pounds. The graffiti problem has now reached epidemic proportions. It is already costing London Underground millions, and makes the main line approaches to our major cities look even worse than they were before.
Like several other unsavoury ideas, such as fried chicken boxes, the graffiti craze came from America. Encouraged by sociologists who considered it to be a legitimate form of free expression, the idea simply spread and spread until it reached today’s clearly unacceptable level.
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The spray-can artists subject themselves to extreme danger every time they venture on to railway property to carry out their immature scrawlings, and vigilance on our railway system must be lax in the extreme to allow such acts of vandalism to take place so openly and so often.
‘Jumbo’ trains and main line steam
COULD ‘jumbo’ trains, with fare levels of £25 across the board, be the answer to the current slump in passenger demand for main line steam? Flying Scotsman Services Ltd. are considering running a 488-seat train across the Settle & Carlisle line in October, possibly with V2 2-6-2 No. 4771 Green Arrow in charge, to put the theory to the test. They are also looking at more attractive catering packages to suit a wider range of requirements by travellers.
Despite the continuing success of steam-hauled trains on the West Highland Line, several cancellations have already had to be made in other areas. One reason being quoted for the empty seats is the apparent norm these days of fares in the £30 plus bracket, at a time when disposable income has been cut back by inflation and high mortgage rates.
As Bernard Staite, of Flying Scotsman Services Ltd. and the Steam Locomotive Operators’ Association, points out, current fares reflect the true cost of running the trains based on an average loading of just 300. Every FSS-sponsored train has to find £8,150 to pay Intercity for train haulage and operation, and the steam locomotive operator for the traction. Other costs bring the average price of a steam-hauled train to about £10,600.
