It is not uncommon to hear enthusiasts to say that there is a lack of variety watching trains these days as opposed to in the past.
This is not however what I want discussing.
As much as I still love railways, for me a lot of the 'romance' has gone from the modern rail scene.
One way to reverse this in my opinion is for railway companies to rethink the use of titled trains.
Railway Magazine recently published their bookazine on the titled trains of Britain, which has gone some way to increasing interest in these trains.
Although there are a surprising number of titled trains still operating, they are largely anonymous, with a brief footnote in the national timetable, and at best a paper window sticker on carriages.
I remember taking my son a few years ago to Thirsk to see the Flying Scotsman come through, and we were unable to distinguish it from a stream of other passenger trains passing by, which was a big disappointment.
Recently East Coast has put the Flying Scotsman signage on some of their 225 units, which at first seemed a good idea, but by allowing them on other trains to other destinations this to me denigrates this famous train, and leads others to believe that the Flying Scotsman comes to such places as Leeds where they are seen regularly.
I am not in the industry, but would be interested to know just how difficult it would be to to have a dedicated unit(s) for this illustrious train, and would the extra prestige and publicity be worth what would undoubtedly be a more expensive venture?
Or how easy would it be to put temporary signage on these trains that would be clearly visible to passengers and passers by.
If we could get rid of the anonymous titled trains and replace them with a smaller amount of titled trains that 'looked the part' and offered that something a little bit special whether that be faster timings or extra 'comforts'
this would surely bring back that extra bit of variety and romance to our railways.
This is not however what I want discussing.
As much as I still love railways, for me a lot of the 'romance' has gone from the modern rail scene.
One way to reverse this in my opinion is for railway companies to rethink the use of titled trains.
Railway Magazine recently published their bookazine on the titled trains of Britain, which has gone some way to increasing interest in these trains.
Although there are a surprising number of titled trains still operating, they are largely anonymous, with a brief footnote in the national timetable, and at best a paper window sticker on carriages.
I remember taking my son a few years ago to Thirsk to see the Flying Scotsman come through, and we were unable to distinguish it from a stream of other passenger trains passing by, which was a big disappointment.
Recently East Coast has put the Flying Scotsman signage on some of their 225 units, which at first seemed a good idea, but by allowing them on other trains to other destinations this to me denigrates this famous train, and leads others to believe that the Flying Scotsman comes to such places as Leeds where they are seen regularly.
I am not in the industry, but would be interested to know just how difficult it would be to to have a dedicated unit(s) for this illustrious train, and would the extra prestige and publicity be worth what would undoubtedly be a more expensive venture?
Or how easy would it be to put temporary signage on these trains that would be clearly visible to passengers and passers by.
If we could get rid of the anonymous titled trains and replace them with a smaller amount of titled trains that 'looked the part' and offered that something a little bit special whether that be faster timings or extra 'comforts'
this would surely bring back that extra bit of variety and romance to our railways.