Whatever happened to authenticity?

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

I suppose this question could be asked of many of the mainline steam railtours these days, but specifically the "The End of Southern Steam" tour being run by The Railway Touring Company and West Coast Railways this weekend (9th July) from London Victoria to Weymouth.

The tour is supposed to commemorate the last day of Southern steam to Weymouth on 9th July 1967. You would expect one or more Bulleid Pacifics to be rostered for this tour. What has WCRC come up with - ex-LMS^▸ (London Midland Scottish - 1923 to 1948) 45699 Galatea!      

[Chris from Nailsea]

Could have been worse: it could have been the Hogwarts Express! 

[trainer]

There may be even less authenticity if/when Network Rail get their (laudable) way in insisting that all passenger stock on its track is equipped with toilet retention tanks.  WCR are telling them that that cannot bear the cost, so the company that the loco at the front originally belonged to may become merely a discussion point of what might have been. (Today's Railways UK^▸ (United Kingdom) 176 p18).

Another piece of preservation reality down the pan. 

[Chris125]

I suppose this question could be asked of many of the mainline steam railtours these days, but specifically the "The End of Southern Steam" tour being run by The Railway Touring Company and West Coast Railways this weekend (9th July) from London Victoria to Weymouth.

The tour is supposed to commemorate the last day of Southern steam to Weymouth on 9th July 1967. You would expect one or more Bulleid Pacifics to be rostered for this tour. What has WCRC come up with - ex-LMS^▸ (London Midland Scottish - 1923 to 1948) 45699 Galatea!      

There wasn't much alternative to be fair.