Has ticket acceptance for disruption ever been arranged on a railtour / charter train / ECS working?

[py_megapixel]

This seems like something which, in the fairly long history of the railway, probably could have happened at some point, though I'm not aware of any examples...

As we know, in times of disruption to the timetabled service, arrangements are sometimes made for passengers to make their journey on services that their ticket would not normally permit (such as by a circuitous route, or at the wrong time on an advance ticket).

Has it ever happened that such arrangements have been made which allow passengers to travel on a service that no ticket in the national ticketing system would ordinarily permit them to board - such as a railtour, charter train or empty coaching stock train?

 

[LowLevel]

Yes. It's not unusual for ECS trains to be converted to passenger trains.

Tornado famously rescued some stranded South Eastern passengers a few years ago too.

 

[SargeNpton]

I've been on a couple of charters way back in the 1980s where station staff asked the charter organiser if he would been prepared to carry some stranded passengers.

One organiser was happy to do so, the other was reluctant but eventually persuaded to. I suppose it all depends whether there are any spare seats.

 

[Townsend Hook]

I vaguely remember, some years back, hearing about LNER B1 1264 carrying some passengers in it’s support coach while on a move somewhere from it’s then-base at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, following the cancellation of a Northern Rail Whitby - Middlesborough service.

 

[172007]

Shakespeare express in London Midland days has been known to accept tickets and stopped at all stations to Stratford due to cancelled trains. Not happened in a long time however.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The splendid Salisbury steam events - Yeovil to Salisbury covered for failed / late

class 50 workings several times - calling all stations. Crews (locals of course) , relished the challenge and did not lose significant time ......BR days of course - so no "contractual issues"......

(the Waterloo service was re-started at Sailsbury with something like a 33+4TC)

 

[Trainguy34]

Tornado famously rescued some stranded South Eastern passengers a few years ago too.

Really? I wish I was on the stranded train!

 

[Andy R. A.]

I remember this one well. The stranded passengers had a party atmosphere in the Buffet Car with Hot Food and drinks. However, being a Diesel tour the 'Tornado' rescue over shadowed it somewhat in the Publicity sphere.

https://www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/news/articles/2010a13/

 

[zwk500]

Really? I wish I was on the stranded train!

IIRC it was on a snow/ice day so the third rail had frozen over. Many tour passengers hadn't made it to Victoria to take their seats and the few commuters who'd got into London had arrived back at Victoria early looking for anything that might be running. As the Steam engine was capable of a fair bit of it's own de-icing it was about the only thing running out of Victoria that afternoon and so the A1 Trust offered up their spare seats to the poor souls heading that way (Tonbridge and Ashford I think). IIRC they got a few local new headlines and made an impromptu offer to anybody looking to 'modernise' their fleet with trains that didn't worry about the snow!

 

[Fleetwoodphil]

I was on the G.B. Pulled by Flying Scotsman, due to moronic behaviour ( idiots on tracks ) a bearing overheated, thunderbird to Reading, then service train to Paddington. About 3 hours late.

 

[4SubAsociation]

Yes. It's not unusual for ECS trains to be converted to passenger trains.

Tornado famously rescued some stranded South Eastern passengers a few years ago too.

Really? I wish I was on the stranded train!

Got some pictures of that at Folkestone West. Attached for reference.

 

[Trainguy34]

Got some pictures of that at Folkestone West. Attached for reference.

Cool, when was it?

 

[Strathclyder]

Cool, when was it?

21st December 2009 IIRC.

 

[33017]

There was ticket acceptance for ATW passengers on the Cambrian coast steam on at least two occasions back in the late 2000s due to cancellations and / or overcrowding of service trains (can’t recall the exact reasons).

 

[The exile]

There have also been planned occasions where rail tours have also doubled as the service train. Certainly the case to Windermere on one of the sets of Lancastrians in the early 1990s and also, IIRC, down the Chesham branch on the Metro Gnome in 1994. Only way of getting a path down the branch!

 

[Lemmy99uk]

I was once delayed on the sleeper to Fort William, (failed at Ardlui), resulting in a missed connection to Mallaig.

Myself and several others were ushered onto the steamer to complete the journey.

This was a long time ago though and so it may have been that both services were operated by BR back then.

 

[nw1]

The splendid Salisbury steam events - Yeovil to Salisbury covered for failed / late

class 50 workings several times - calling all stations. Crews (locals of course) , relished the challenge and did not lose significant time ......BR days of course - so no "contractual issues"......

(the Waterloo service was re-started at Sailsbury with something like a 33+4TC)

Interesting, for about 2009 to 2019 I used to visit Tisbury every so often.

Had I done that in the 80s, not only would the service have routinely been hauled by a 50 (which would have been interesting enough), it might occasionally have been a steam-hauled train too!

 

[Lurcheroo]

Whilst not ticket acceptance per say, on the 9th of September there was a rail tour by west coast railways that was heading towards Cardiff Central, departing Shrewsbury at about 21:00. I believe the 3 previous services from Shrewsbury to Cardiff had been cancelled so it had been agreed that any passengers could pay an amount (I think it was £15, which seems an absolute steal) to take the charter train down to Cardiff instead.
Only 1 passenger took up the offer with the others going by bus.

 

[Mainline421]

Whilst not ticket acceptance per say, on the 9th of September there was a rail tour by west coast railways that was heading towards Cardiff Central, departing Shrewsbury at about 21:00. I believe the 3 previous services from Shrewsbury to Cardiff had been cancelled so it had been agreed that any passengers could pay an amount (I think it was £15, which seems an absolute steal) to take the charter train down to Cardiff instead.
Only 1 passenger took up the offer with the others going by bus.

That's just part fares. The £15 fare would likely have been on offer anyway (although unlikely to be taken up by anyone except enthusiasts ordinarily).

 

[greyman42]

Within the last year, there was a Deltic tour from Kings Cross to Edinburgh which accepted tickets due to ECML disruption. It turned out to be a bad move by the passengers who used it as the Detic failed en-route and a class 90 ended up taking it forwards to Edinburgh. I think it was a LSL tour.
My memory is vague on this so perhaps someone else might be able to add more detail.

 

[Bletchleyite]

In severe disruption I have seen an ECS turned into a passenger working at MKC going towards Northampton.

 

[zwk500]

In severe disruption I have seen an ECS turned into a passenger working at MKC going towards Northampton.

I think this is reasonably common if there's been cancelled trains and there's a guard and driver with a set available to run.