The Railway Touring Company delivers strong experiences with attentive staff and good itineraries, but inconsistent service quality, mechanical failures on premium trips, and infrastructure issues undermine the premium positioning at 4.0/5.
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The train was on time and we had good views from our seats. The staff were mostly friendly & welcoming with the exception of the man on the buffet bar. He was rather miserable, the cold drinks were not on view so I had to ask what was available, He was a bit reluctant to tell me. We wanted a hot breakfast & were told by him that there "might" be some sausage or bacon left after the first class passengers had had their food. We found this a little cruel as we had left our home very early in order to catch the train & had not had a breakfast. There were some cold sandwiches but we couldnt understand why cant everybody be catered for with hot food, as we were willing to pay. The journey was good and Buxton was nice, we would have liked more time to look at the train but there were lots of people that were not passengers crowding round so we had difficulty trying to get near it! Maybe keep the area more private in future as we paid for an experience we couldnt get the full value of! We did however enjoy the day.
It was a very good trip with excellent time keeping.
Finding toilets "out of order" is something tha happens all too frequently on your excursions and this was no exception. I was in the back coach and the public address system was inaudible - though for me this was a "Plus" as I consider 90% of the announcements unnecessary and irritating. The steward sometimes made announcements in the coach, but just stood in the middle and I could not hear a word he said; he did not come to each seating bay and repeat the announcements as I would have expected. As far as the operation of the train goes, the time-keeping was good in spite of the locomotive stalling on the Copy Pit incline and needing to be pushed by the diesel to re-start (not your fault of course). I was saddened that the original plan to travel to Blackburn via Darwen had to be cut from the itinerary (again not your fault, though it puzzles me why problems of "gauging" and "pathing" - the reasons given for this change - sometimes arise shortly before the date of a tour when one would have thought that everything had been sorted out and agreed with Network Rail or whomever months previously). You also were apparently forced at short notice to make another change - going outward to Buxton via the L.N.W. route and retrning via the Midland instead of the other way round - but here, fortunately, the Midland route via Great Rocks was still covered in daylight - that was my main reason for booking on this trip as the last time I had done that line (the 29th of October 2023) it had been in the pitch dark.
Another fantastic trip with very friendly staff well done RTC.
It was a long day, but perfect all the way, we left Euston at 6.50 and returned at 22.30. The carriage and trains were very comfortable, the food absolutely gorgeous and the staff very attentive, polite and happy. Even the weather was kind to us as we went under steam, the sun shining over stunning countryside. Certainly will look at doing more!
Based on 20 verified customer reviews, The Railway Touring Company holds an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 — rated Great on ReviewTerminal. 75% of customers gave 4 or 5 stars.