Locomotive Services Group acquires Steam Dreams and Mayflower

[Flange Squeal]

Rail Advent is reporting that Locomotive Services Group have acquired Steam Dreams and 61306 Mayflower.

Steam Dreams and 61306 Mayflower acquired by Crewe based Locomotive Services Group

David Buck's LNER B1 61306 Mayflower and Steam Dreams Rail Co have been acquired by Crewe based operator, Locomotive Services Group.

www.railadvent.co.uk

David Buck’s LNER B1 61306 Mayflower and Steam Dreams Rail Co have been acquired by Crewe based operator, Locomotive Services Group.

Locomotive Services Group, owned by Jeremy Hosking, will take Steam Dreams Rail Co under the LSL group and will sit alongside its other brands – Saphos Trains, Midland Pullman, Statesman Rail and Intercity.

LNER B1 61306 Mayflower will join the Locomotive Services Group fleet of locomotives, with the group saying that they intend to care for the B1 in the same way as David Buck has previously.

The 2022 Steam Dreams programme will remain the same, the same staff operating the trains.

Steam Dreams Chairman, David Buck, is looking forward to a new era. ‘We have had a fantastic four years, despite the pandemic, successfully consolidating Steam Dreams’ existing strengths with the launch of new products including our Royal Windsor and Sunset Steam Express brands which have gone from strength to strength.’

Buck added: ‘I am delighted that the LSL Group will be taking on Mayflower which has achieved such a strong reputation over the years.’

An LSL Spokesperson said ‘The integration of the Steam Dreams business into LS Group operations perfectly complements our existing products. As we continue our drive to deliver the highest possible quality of Charter Train operations in the UK, this acquisition will see our Group increase its presence in the South of the country, building on the hard work of the Steam Dreams team over many years. Their brand is synonymous with the same high quality passenger experience as our own, and this combined with our nationwide train operating capability and strong asset base make for a very natural partnership. We are also extremely pleased to welcome B1 Locomotive “Mayflower” into our operating steam fleet. 61306 has been lovingly owned by David and Patricia Buck, and we intend to continue to care for it in the same way that they have.’

 

[alexl92]

I’m torn over this. I welcome LSL’s investment in locos and stock that otherwise may well have been rotting in a siding. I welcome a competitor as a TOC that can compete with West Coast. But at the same time, LSL already have a successful railtour business under 4 different brands catering for different markets. Why do they need Steam Dreams? I hope they’re not about to start hoovering up the independent promoters.

Likewise, I’m not sure I like how so many independently-owned mainline locos are now tied to a single TOC. Sure, West Coast, Hosking and Tyseley have their own pool of engines that they own but we are increasingly seeing the rest but 45960 & Riley’s 5s are exclusively used by West coast, 60007 and 63106 are exclusively LSL etc... seems like there are very few left that are available to be hired by whoever wants them for a given job. I’m worried it’s going to become a bit like a game of steam loco monopoly.

 

[White Ant]

It wlll be interesting to see what form of rebranding might be done. As someone who vowed never to book another excursion on Steam Dreams after suffering a "tough luck" response when suffering a Diesel substitution some years ago, I will be watching what sort of reputation the operation might get "under new ownership".

 

[Iskra]

I’m torn over this. I welcome LSL’s investment in locos and stock that otherwise may well have been rotting in a siding. I welcome a competitor as a TOC that can compete with West Coast. But at the same time, LSL already have a successful railtour business under 4 different brands catering for different markets. Why do they need Steam Dreams? I hope they’re not about to start hoovering up the independent promoters.

Likewise, I’m not sure I like how so many independently-owned mainline locos are now tied to a single TOC. Sure, West Coast, Hosking and Tyseley have their own pool of engines that they own but we are increasingly seeing the rest but 45960 & Riley’s 5s are exclusively used by West coast, 60007 and 63106 are exclusively LSL etc... seems like there are very few left that are available to be hired by whoever wants them for a given job. I’m worried it’s going to become a bit like a game of steam loco monopoly.

It means they can grow their geographical market- ie the rich South, without having to spend years trying and buying up the competition in the process to avoid market cannibalisation.

Personally, I’m delighted as my one experience on Steam Dreams was a complete shower of ****; food I wouldn’t feed to my dog in premier dining, diesel’s substituted for steam (with the promised £20 good will gesture refund never materialising), toilet seats falling off in in the carriages, extremely slow pathing and a safety critical incident occurred on the return leg which put the train at risk of being cancelled stranding us in the middle of nowhere.

LSL do a quality job, so will sort Steam Dreams out in time and won’t tolerate poor standards. The fares will remain similar but a better product will materialise, so it’s great for customers too.

 

[1Q18]

Likewise, I’m not sure I like how so many independently-owned mainline locos are now tied to a single TOC. Sure, West Coast, Hosking and Tyseley have their own pool of engines that they own but we are increasingly seeing the rest but 45960 & Riley’s 5s are exclusively used by West coast, 60007 and 63106 are exclusively LSL etc... seems like there are very few left that are available to be hired by whoever wants them for a given job. I’m worried it’s going to become a bit like a game of steam loco monopoly.

I think it’s mostly the case now where the old model of ‘owning group hire loco out to whatever tour promoter comes knocking, base it at a heritage railway between tours’ doesn’t really work any more. I gather the Sir Nigel Gresley trust were finding to their cost during the last boiler ticket their loco was sometimes going a year or so without working a main line tour, and jumping into bed with one operator/promoter should give a steadier stream of work and income. The Clan Line group have probably demonstrated this the best, one lucrative contract to pay the bills (British Pullman) with scope for a few extra tours for other providers and occasional heritage railway appearances on the side.

 

[JonathanH]

I‘m less bothered about Hosking‘s politics than about the fact that he’s in his sixties and not (as far as I’m aware) immortal. It concerns me that too much of the rail tour business could end up in the hands of people who don’t really have a feel for the market if he were to drop dead next week.

The other owners are older - indeed, the previous owner of Steam Dreams is 78.

I thought the point of what Hosking is doing is to build up a trust for when he is gone?

You need to have made a considerable amount of money elsewhere and have nothing else to spend it on to get involved in the rail tour business.

 

[Iskra]

I‘m less bothered about Hosking‘s politics than about the fact that he’s in his sixties and not (as far as I’m aware) immortal. It concerns me that too much of the rail tour business could end up in the hands of people who don’t really have a feel for the market if he were to drop dead next week.

I think these comments are unfair. They are clearly sounding out the market this year (and it is an especially tough year to do so). There were always going to be successes and failures. As long as they learn from it and adapt going forward, I'm sure they will continue to do well.

All the feedback I've seen from the people who actually go on the tours is positive, and my personal experiences of them are positive too.

The other owners are older - indeed, the previous owner of Steam Dreams is 78.

I thought the point of what Hosking is doing is to build up a trust for when he is gone?

I think it is about reducing tax burdens and investing the cash in assets instead, which presumably go up in value. A secondary benefit is personal enjoyment and letting enthusiasts travel on them. It's easy to criticise, but we'd probably all do the same in that situation and it is preserving (and even better keeping it on the mainline) a lot of stuff that would otherwise not be utilised- most heritage railways are already overflowing and electric loco preservation is not widespread.

I'm afraid I entirely lost what remaining respect I had for Jeremy Hosking when I learned that he was funding Laurence Fox's mayoral campaign. It speaks volumes for Hosking's lack of judgement. He could have returned all his non-operational locos to use for what he blew on that pointless venture in nihilistic libertarian contrarianism.

It's his money that he lost though, so I don't see the point in getting worked up about it... Personally, I'm not interested in the politics, I just like classic diesels to nice places and Intercity livery on rolling stock...

 

[JonathanH]

I think it is about reducing tax burdens and investing the cash in assets instead, which presumably go up in value. A secondary benefit is personal enjoyment and letting enthusiasts travel on them.

Both the owner of LSL and WCRC have personal trains that they can use for multi-day private excursions when they wish.

 

[Iskra]

Both the owner of LSL and WCRC have personal trains that they can use for multi-day private excursions when they wish.

Good for them

 

[JonathanH]

Good for them

Indeed.

 

[21C195 Brentor]

Yeah, well, forgive me if I refrain from any activity which could be interpreted as indirectly funding overtly bigoted nationalist politics. Fox is not only devoid of perceptible talent, he's also a nasty bullying little tin-pot Himmler wannabe regurgitating National Front/BNP fascist crap for the social media generation. Considering Hosking's many commercial interests, from a country house hotel next to the Bluebell to the links with Hornby via the Margate museum, I'd have thought he could have been more careful in managing his own reputation. Even if he felt the need to fund such gratuitous arseholery, he could at least have done so anonymously. I for one will not spend a penny on anything he owns now, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

 

[Wolfie]

Yeah, well, forgive me if I refrain from any activity which could be interpreted as indirectly funding overtly bigoted nationalist politics. Fox is not only devoid of perceptible talent, he's also a nasty bullying little tin-pot Himmler wannabe regurgitating National Front/BNP fascist crap for the social media generation. Considering Hosking's many commercial interests, from a country house hotel next to the Bluebell to the links with Hornby via the Margate museum, I'd have thought he could have been more careful in managing his own reputation. Even if he felt the need to fund such gratuitous arseholery, he could at least have done so anonymously. I for one will not spend a penny on anything he owns now, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Bloody fence-sitter lol.....

Joking apart, l think that you are way too soft on Fox.

 

[21C195 Brentor]

Bloody fence-sitter lol.....

Joking apart, l think that you are way too soft on Fox.

Oh, I could go on for hours about what I think of Fox and his ilk, but that would be dragging the thread off topic and into the gutter.

I wonder if one could persuade Max Fosh (Fox's electoral antagonist, fellow Old Harrovian and YouTuber/comedian) to do something "Silly to the Max" involving a steam engine to have a go at Hosking? Ideas on the back of a postcard, whatever that is... mind you, it'd probably make his "Welcome to Luton" stunt at Gatwick look cheap.

 

[Cowley]

And on that note let’s leave the politics there and stick to discussing the future of LSL now that they’ve acquired Steam Dreams and Mayflower.

All the Brexity stuff is here if you want to talk about that kind of shenanigans.