I received this email today from Guy Watts, organiser of the event which included positive comments about TransWilts. Costs seem to have been covered and plenty of money raised for charity, so let's hope similar tours can be arranged in the future..
Good evening all,
Just to summarise the events of Saturday which in my eyes proved to be a success given the challenges in the planning most of the activities on the day went to plan. Even with an extended stay at Taunton and a minor fault on the way back to Weston everybody on the train had a smile on their face at one point or another.
The main aim for the day was to create something special in memory of Bob Smart former Visit Somerset chairman, with his relatives on the train too we pulled out all the stops and by all accounts they had a great day and his sister asked if she could be invited to the next outing!
Alongside this, the aim was to break even with operating costs and raise a profit to which the revenue would be donated for Weston Hospicecare.
At a first glance the revenue raised from pre booked tickets standing at £8,682! Minus the fees the total is £8,137.56. On the day we had 193 people on the train and there is an outstanding amount to be added that makes the total raised from ticket sales alone £10,537.56.
In conjunction with this we had a merchandise trolley with the use of my personal decommissioned catering trolley which was packed to the rafters. At a first count we raised £1,820.02 on the day. The 125 group were also loaned a 1st Class Trolley and they raised £252 for Weston Hospicecare which is already with the charity.
We also had prizes donated on the day by attendees which was amazing and the positive feedback was overwhelming. Along with the requests to do something similar again.
The land cruise option proved a big hit although lessons learnt from the maiden voyage that it was a lot to do in one day but very positive comments about our extended First Group family and how professional our colleagues were. This is something that we are ooking to schedule on a regular basis and provide a packaged day out for all using exsisting GWR▸ train services to Somerset.
There was also involvement from the Trans Wilts partnership. They in turn provided great promotional items across social media and the relevant forums which really helped spread the word and fill those seats.
I must thank everyone for their feedback. From a personal point of view I would love to do something similar again but with the massive change in rolloing stock, at this moment in time we cannot put anything in stone. Although with hthe changes comes more oppertunities and we will do what we can within our power to create another explorer.
If anyone did take a picture at Taunton, please feel free to send it to me as I would like to get some copies made and distribute to each attendee via email and use it for our business case for future charters.
Once we have a final figure we will of course make a further statement to inform you all. Once again a massive thanks to everyone involved and hope you enjoyed partaking in the this special day. Look out for possible charters later in the year....
Best wishes Guy,
Guy Watts | Fares Implementation Manager - Major Projects | Great Western Railway |4th Floor | Milford House | Milford Street | Swindon |SN1 1HL
