"The Premier Rose" railtour 20th August 2022 | Dublin-Tralee-Return feat. mkIV set

[Niles]

20th August 2022.

The Premier Rose railtour

Dublin Connolly-Islandbridge Junction-Mallow-Killarney-Tralee-Return.

Featuring a unusual opportunity to travel behind a locomotive of any kind to Tralee, and an even rarer opportunity to travel in mkIV coaching stock on a line other than Heuston-Cork, The Premier Rose railtour has been organised by the newly formed Táilte Tours committee, a voluntary group which aims to help raise funds and awareness for Ireland's smaller heritage railway groups.

This will also be a rare chance behind a 201 class locomotive off the Belfast or Cork mainlines, the arrival of the Intercity Railcar fleet having banished them from other passenger routes since 2009, with the majority of railtours since having been entrusted to 071 class locomotives.

Passengers will have the option of a five hour break in Killarney or three hours in Tralee. We also have a special fare for passengers wishing to join at Mallow.

Any profits made will be donated to a selection of Irish railway heritage groups, so this is a great opportunity to enjoy a rare locomotive hauled spin while also supporting volunteer groups across Ireland. These include:

• Belturbet Heritage Railway Station
• Cavan & Leitrim Railway
• County Donegal Railway Heritage Centre
• Downpatrick & County Down Railway
• Plus one more to be confirmed...

Bookings now open at https://www.tailtetours.com/

Due to the fund raising nature of the event, unfortunately concessions will not be available. In the event of the trip not being able to go ahead any tickets purchased will be refunded in full. 

 

(Thanks to the admin for allowing this little plug )

Edited March 10, 2022 by Niles

[airfixfan]

Thanks for your kind offer of support on behalf of the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre

[Niles]

10 hours ago, airfixfan said:

Thanks for your kind offer of support on behalf of the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre

A pleasure. Hopefully we can give people a good day out while raising a few bob for our heritage groups. Win-win for all!

[Niles]

Just a quick update, pickup/set down stops have been requested for Portarlington and Portlaoise should that help anyone in the midlands looking to join (or connecting from the west).

[Wexford70]

On 21/3/2022 at 1:12 PM, Niles said:

Just a quick update, pickup/set down stops have been requested for Portarlington and Portlaoise should that help anyone in the midlands looking to join (or connecting from the west).

How will this change the turn around time in Tralee?

[Niles]

15 hours ago, Wexford70 said:

How will this change the turn around time in Tralee?

Don't worry, it won't. As it stands the tour was scheduled to wait in Mallow a bit anyway for a service train to clear the section.

 

While I'm updating, incidentally, tickets for the City Gold/1st Class carriage are proving very popular so we recommend that anyone interested in this option books sooner rather than later. The 1st Class fare includes a gift pack with some collectables, one of which is a clothing item but I won't spoil the rest. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Niles

[Georgeconna]

Hi Niles,

Well done in setting this up and for good causes,  but just wondering your E85 from Dublin seems to match the IR Fare but the Mallow return of €55 is way over the normal €37.50.

Seems a bit on the heavy side for the lads joining down south? Any reason for that?

 

[Niles]

14 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

Hi Niles,

Well done in setting this up and for good causes,  but just wondering your E85 from Dublin seems to match the IR Fare but the Mallow return of €55 is way over the normal €37.50.

Seems a bit on the heavy side for the lads joining down south? Any reason for that?

 

Hi Georgeconna,

We've set the fares as is to cover our charter costs, while also allowing for a decent margin to donate to the groups. Roughly half the journey time takes place from Mallow onward. We did an analysis against fares for enthusiast tours in the UK, most of which start around the £110 mark for Standard Class alone. 

In contrast regular service trains enjoy economies of scale and don't have the fundraising element attached. We're also offering a unique experience on the Tralee line that you wouldn't get on a service train.

I hope this explains our fare structure, at the end of the day this is entirely a volunteer-run event and we can't afford to discount in the same way an operator with their own rolling stock can.

Niall/Niles

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Niles

[airfixfan]

The fares are very reasonable when compared with UK railtour prices for similar tours.

[Georgeconna]

Hi Niall,

Not Really TBH

FYI I was not cribbing about the price just the disparity between the Dublin fare and the Mallow fare as per my outline query above. Seems the Mallow leg is loaded for Extra Cash flow but as you say you done the research.

I hope those on it enjoy their day out and I hope it is a success for you

 

[Niles]

Just a quick update on this, we've had a spike in First Class sales this week with only a limited number of First Class tickets left.

In addition to seats in a 'City Gold' coach with extra legroom and reclining seats, First Class passengers will also receive a complimentary gift pack.

Tickets (for all classes) can be booked now at https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

Many thanks to all of you who have supported us so far, hopefully, we'll be able to raise quite a bit for the various heritage railways this tour is aiming to help.

[Warbonnet]

IRM have booked their places on the tour, really looking forward to it! 

[Westcorkrailway]

2 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

IRM have booked their places on the tour, really looking forward to it! 

No doubt to announce 00 gauge headboards!

[Bob229]

And the new Mk 4 sets 

[Niles]

So there is now literally a single 1st Class ticket (and complimentary gift pack) available now... https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

 

 

 

 

[Niles]

On 23/4/2022 at 2:12 PM, Niles said:

So there is now literally a single 1st Class ticket (and complimentary gift pack) available now... https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

 

 

 

 

And... First Class is now officially sold out. Standard seats still available (from Connolly, Portarlington, Portlaoise or Mallow). If you've any particular seating requests (milepost side, etc) we'll do our best to accommodate you if you email us after booking (ideally earlier rather than later for planning reasons).

[Niles]

This article here takes a look at the Irish heritage railway groups we're hoping to support with the tour... https://www.tailtetours.com/post/irish-railway-preservation-groups-our-railtour-is-supporting

[Niles]

We've had some queries asking if we'd do a Kildare pickup/set down. It's something we're enquiring with IÉ about, but we wanted to get a gauge as to whether many would be interested in joining the tour there? 

As a guestimate, you'd be looking at around the 10:30/40 mark and then back sometime after 21:00. The fare would be the same as ex-Dublin/Portlaoise.

 

[Niles]

It would be remiss of me not to mention our latest sponsor... you might have heard of them.

Big thanks to the IRM team... and please don't plague them with questions about when the mkIV models are coming out... 

 

 

[jhb171achill]

Well done to the IRM team!

 

(It's OK, I don't need Mk 4 models.......)

[Niles]

10 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Well done to the IRM team!

 

(It's OK, I don't need Mk 4 models.......)

Did they not run through to Dugort in an alternate timeline?

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Niles said:

Did they not run through to Dugort in an alternate timeline?

Yes, but I wasn’t there to see it…

[DJ Dangerous]

On 25/5/2022 at 2:35 PM, Niles said:

It would be remiss of me not to mention our latest sponsor... you might have heard of them.

Big thanks to the IRM team... and please don't plague them with questions about when the mkIV models are coming out... 

 

 

 

Wow, outstanding contribution from the IRM lads, as usual.

So, when are the Mk4 models coming out?

[Sean]

same week as the toothpaste 071's i hear.....

[Niles]

Following our diesel railtour to Kerry on the Saturday, on Sunday 21st August we have organised a special outing to the Cavan and Leitrim Railway at Dromod. This will include some special workings involving their beautifully restored Avonside steam locomotive "Nancy" and former Bord na Móna diesel No.LM114 "Joe St Ledger". Normally there is only one loco used at Dromod on a running day so this a rare chance to get two.

 

Travel to and from Dromod will be by Iarnród Éireann service train, with an afternoon departure from Dublin allowing participants a chance of a lie-in after the previous day's trip.

 

For those wishing to travel on both tours and make a weekend of it, a special combo rate ticket is available, at €120 all-in this is incredible value for a two day railtour; indeed it's less than that charged for many one day railtours in Great Britain.

 

https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-wild-rose-railtour

[Niles]

Quick update for those interested in doing both days, we now have ONLY 6 TWO DAY TICKETS LEFT— capacity on the Sunday excursion is very limited.

Grab em while you can here https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour (choose the 'Combo' ticket for both days).

We've had a few more society stands confirmed for the Saturday diesel tour so it's shaping up to be a great social occasion while raising money for good causes and providing an unusual haulage opportunity. 

[Niles]

We're planning on finalising numbers for this shortly, with the booking deadline looming we recommend that anyone who hasn't booked do so soon to avoid disappointment

https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

[Niles]

Bookings for the "Wild Rose" excursion on the Sunday August 21st are now sold out (though if you're looking to make a weekend of it, the Branchline Society are running an ICR tour on that date). Tickets remain available for the "Premier Rose" to Tralee on Saturday August 20th at https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour

Edited July 19, 2022 by Niles

[Niles]

Proof artwork of the set of badges that will come free with every Rose Class and First Class booking... limited quantity available so get your booking in if you haven't already... https://www.tailtetours.com/events/the-premier-rose-railtour 

Quite a few from this group have already booked so you never know who might meet -  @jhb171achill is just one of the celebs who'll be on board. It should be a nice social occasion for likeminded train-folk to meet while raising money to keep heritage rail groups on the go. And when else will get a chance to travel behind a loco all the way to Tralee?

If you've booked Standard Class you can upgrade to Rose Class for just €10, email hello@tailtetours.com or message me here.

*There's a few tweaks we've asked for to the artwork, including the black door.  

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Niles

[jhb171achill]

44 minutes ago, Niles said:

……so you never know who might meet -  @jhb171achill is just one of the celebs who'll be on board.

The bottom of the barrel is well and truly scraped!
 

Seriously - everyone who can should try to support this venture. Most of our railway heritage groups have suffered very extremely due to covid lockdowns, several to a point which could place their existence in doubt.

Edited July 23, 2022 by jhb171achill

[Niles]

41 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

The bottom of the barrel is well and truly scraped!

We tried to get Garth Brooks so you were next on the list after he declined. 

[jhb171achill]

7 minutes ago, Niles said:

We tried to get Garth Brooks so you were next on the list after he declined. 

You know I won’t sing culchie & western songs - that’s why……

[Niles]

Sneak peak of a 4th badge which will be on sale on the day...

[WRENNEIRE]

Original Maedhbh badge from 1939, no colour TV then. 193

 

 

[Niles]

41 minutes ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Original Maedhbh badge from 1939, no colour TV then. 193

 

 

Lovely - were these GSR issue?

I have a Gomm one of Maedbh from the 90s in light GS green, which is why we decided to go with the darker CIE shade for this one (and 3/4 view versus side on).

Edited August 4, 2022 by Niles