Pros and cons of different railtours operators?

[renegademaster]

So far I've only been on UK Railtours and Hastings diesel trains, I'm pretty curious for people's appraisal of what the other ones are like. I may be going on a Railway Touring Company trip soon.

Most of my trips have been on UK Railtours mainly because they are the only who center themselves out of London terminals. They seem to have better off train packages than the other tours I have looked at, and more interesting routes. Their standard class buffet never seems to be working properly and their TSOs can sometimes be a little dirty and uncomfortable.

Hastings diesel I've been on a few time, lovely 1950s unit , better buffet. The tour routes tend to be pretty basic ( but they balance out with being cheaper)

 

[Intercity110]

for what i've read locomotive services limited seem to be very good, although they can be a bit pricey.

 

[Iskra]

-UkRailtours- Reliable & Professional. Attracts a bit of an older crowd. The premier dining with them was excellent.
- Pathfinder- Pricey, a bit hit and miss but can deliver some excellent and interesting tours. A lot has changed recently with many of the old hands departing so perhaps not quite as friendly as they used to be. Probably the best operator for the enthusiast, rather than daytripper.
- RTC- unreliable and often cancel at short notice. Never actually managed to get on any of their tours due the booked ones being cancelled, although admittedly that is only a small sample size.
- LSL (Saphos, Statesman, Intercity, Midland Pullman etc). Immaculate stock, professional service, can be a bit snobby and less accommodating towards enthusiasts with a ‘take it or leave it,’ approach at times. Often, but not always fairly pricey too.
- WCRC. Usually offer the best value and after a few bumpy years they seem to be settling down into a more consistent operation. My more recent tours with them have been very good, but I did have some fun and games on one of their tours a long while ago.
- BLS. Pretty decent but are a bit irritating by not always giving good notice of tours. Days on their tours are often a plod, and can be a bit tedious on the shuttle legs when transiting to the main points of interest of the tour. An older crowd. If things go wrong, they do have great influence and are able to pull rabbits out of hats to compensate or sometimes produce unadvertised bonus’ track/traction.

A lot is likely to come down to geography rather than offering for many as the various tour operators seem to have carved out their own geographical niche areas that they tend to focus on somewhat.

 

[AJM580]

Vintage Trains seem to be very well run. Stock is well looked after and stewards were very helpful. Did the Lincoln trip with Clun Castle and enjoyed every minute.

 

[Rail Quest]

I've only been on three tours, two were part of the LS group (midland pullman and a Saphos tour), and one organised by ROG a few years back. As for the LS group tours, both were really good. As mentioned above - rolling stock was spotless and service was excellent. Can't speak for premium dining as I was in First non-dining.

 

[12LDA28C]

So far I've only been on UK Railtours and Hastings diesel trains, I'm pretty curious for people's appraisal of what the other ones are like. I may be going on a Railway Touring Company trip soon.

Most of my trips have been on UK Railtours mainly because they are the only who center themselves out of London terminals. They seem to have better off train packages than the other tours I have looked at, and more interesting routes. Their standard class buffet never seems to be working properly and their TSOs can sometimes be a little dirty and uncomfortable.

Hastings diesel I've been on a few time, lovely 1950s unit , better buffet. The tour routes tend to be pretty basic ( but they balance out with being cheaper)

Plenty of other tour operators run trains out of London or the vicinity, it depends what you're looking for. Steam Dreams for example (operated by LSL) often run train out of Victoria, as do RTC. Pathfinder occasionally run tours out of London and Statesman/Saphos often run tours from the London area or Home Counties.

I would suggest checking out their websites or for a full list of all tours running so you can see if any start locally to you, try the Railway Herald railtour list: https://www.railwayherald.com/railtours