LIVING THE STEAM DREAM
David Buck, owner of railtour operator Steam Dreams and Thompson B1 4-6-0 Mayflower talks to Gareth Evans about the company and locomotive, as well as his private railways and railwayana collection.
It’s a damp, dreary afternoon in late January in the Berkshire countryside but the welcome inside David Buck’s home is decidedly warm. Greeting me with a smile and a handshake, he asks: “Can I get you a cup of tea? I don’t do coffee.”
There follows some friendly banter about how tea is the fuel of railwaymen.
It’s the first time we’ve met, but David quickly strikes me as the sort of person who is great company to catch up with over a pint or a brew. He’s friendly, approachable and chatty – he doesn’t ‘waffle’. It’s also all too apparent that both his feet are firmly on terra firma.
Background
Heritage Railway (HR): Tell us about your background. How did you become interested in railways? How did you get to where you are today?
David Buck: (DB): I’ve always had an interest in railways – steam in particular. Born in Ipswich, close to the East Suffolk Line, I could hear the LNER B17s chugging up the bank. I was fortunate that my father had an office right by the railway station, so during school holidays, it was convenient to get dropped off at the station in the morning. I spent a lot of the last days of steam at Ipswich station with B17s, B1s and Britannias – a wonderful place and time it was too.
My father also had a railway hobby background. He was the first secretary of the Hornby Railway Society in Ipswich. One of my prize possessions is the original certificate signed by Frank Hornby himself.
It was a time when Dick Hardy was shedmaster at Ipswich, a legendary figure. I then moved to London and started my working career as a television engineer with the BBC.
My training is in electronic engineering with mechanical engineering not far behind. I was in the TV business for a number of years, before moving across to the film industry. In 1975, I set up my own motion picture film processing business in Slough. The core business was making copies of films for cinema. It was a busy 24/7 operation. We were producing millions of feet of 35mm film – big rolls every week.
It was all about deadlines, quality and service. There was no question of it being late – people would be queuing outside to watch it. It was a very interesting business. I sold it in 2014 with the transition of 35mm film to digital. The business is still going strong but primarily in the digital area.
As a break from the business, my hobby was railways. That’s when I built the railways I have in the grounds of my home. It was a very time-consuming and absorbing hobby – but it was important to have something completely different to do from the day job.
After selling the business, I was able to concentrate on what really interested me – railways.
The one thing I always wanted, which until then I’d not been able to get, was a main line steam locomotive. I had smaller full-size locomotives here – the challenge was to find something which matched my requirements. Due to my eastern heritage, it had to be an ex LNER loco – there aren’t many of them about.
Very fortunately, the one locomotive I never expected to be able to buy became available – Mayflower – which had been in the same ownership for 30 years. It’s a beautiful engine, which always had a reputation for looking immaculate. I could not have been happier when I acquired it.
I bought it and immediately prepared it for
main line operation. It had not worked on the national network since 1979.
I took it to the North Norfolk Railway, where it was prepared for main line service. Its first main line trip in my ownership was in February 2015 – that’s been the highlight of owning Mayflower so far. We went from Norwich to Windsor – from my original East Anglian roots to where I live now. It was a most wonderful trip – the first time on your own engine – and a B1 at that!
In 2015 we worked with a number of tour operators, but primarily Steam Dreams. I got to know Marcus Robertson and his team – we worked well together.
Unfortunately, at the end of 2015 various boiler issues became apparent with Mayflower. What I expected would be a three-month job on the boiler turned out to be three years. Until you take them to bits, you don’t know what you’ll find. It turned into a full general overhaul. It’s come out the other end as a beautiful engine, with a new 10-year certificate, which runs like a sewing machine.
It returned to the main line in March 2019 and has run exceptionally well over the past year. It’s hauled in excess of 40 main line trips, clocking up over 11,000 miles all over the country. It’s performing very, very well.
It’s recently been undergoing winter maintenance at Southall. It will be kept very busy in the 2020 season. The B1’s first trip is on March 12. In the coming months, it will be going all over the country – including to Penzance for the Mayflower 400 celebrations and a number of other exciting trips are planned for it too.
Private railway
■ HR: You have standard and 5ft gauge lines in the grounds of your home, along with largescale models. Tell us about them.
■ DB: The first bit of railway to be built on site was 5in and 2½in dual-gauge – about 1100ft long, so it’s a big railway. I constructed it for my children – officially!
It’s 40 years old now, but it keeps going. It’s now enjoyed by my grandchildren. While I do use steam on it, I tend to run diesel outline battery locomotives as the children can drive them. It’s always great fun.
The first standard gauge engine I bought was Hornpipe in 1985. It’s a lovely little engine. I bought it because it was the sister of a Peckett I knew in my childhood in
Ipswich. Although that locomotive still exists, I couldn’t get hold of it, so I was offered Hornpipe and it’s been our mainstay ever since. Currently undergoing a 10-year overhaul, it’s expected to return to action by the summer.
It’s been incredibly reliable. Built in 1928, it spent all its working life at the APCM cement works at Holborough in Kent. Bought for preservation, it moved to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road, from where I purchased it.
The next steam engine I bought was Aveling & Porter Traction Engine Locomotive Sir Vincent – also from Quainton Road. It’s exactly 100 years old. I was attracted by the fact it’s such an interesting locomotive – it’s a traction engine on wheels. It’s got a big flywheel on one side and a large gear wheel on the other, which drives the wheels. It’s now fully operational, having had a 10-yearly overhaul in 2019.
The locomotives are maintained in the engine shed built about 10 years ago, which includes a pit. I’m fortunate to have some expert friends who can help with the hard work. I operate it with and for friends who come along on open days. There are two or three regular people who are very experienced, who help here.
The railway itself has expanded over the years – it’s now about half a mile. Originally it ran out and back, it’s now a balloon loop. That means that as you go around, you reverse on each circuit, which adds some interest.
Also inside the shed are two trolleys. One is a diesel-hydraulic Track Rat. Currently undergoing maintenance, it’s great fun. It’s a go-kart on wheels! The other trolley is used for maintenance purposes – it can pull a trailer too, so it’s useful for moving items down the track.
While it is adorned with a sign from Maidenhead West, the railway’s signalbox is actually from Jackfield Sidings near Ironbridge, Shropshire. It’s fully operational – I’ve had it 15 years.
Other stock includes a GWR Toad brake van, which is used as a mess room. It can’t actually run along the full-length of the railway due to the length of the wheelbase. It will go up and down, but it can’t negotiate the curves.
“On the main line, you need the paintwork to look pristine. I’d do it in black for a year or so. The thing to remember is that the great British public like a brightly coloured engine – they like a green engine. They’re much happier with an apple green Mayflower. People like a steam locomotive to have a name and a nice colour.”
Two five-plank open wagons have been converted to passenger-carrying vehicles with the addition of rows of seats. A boxvan is used for the storage of firewood and coal.
What looks like a brakevan is our director’s saloon, which came from the Fawley Hill Railway. Our normal train would be one or two wagons with the saloon at the end.
I’ve also got a rare beast – a Baguley fire engine, originally from MOD Bramley. Currently under restoration, it’s a fun machine again. It’s got a blue flashing light and a bell on it, but it only goes about 5mph! There’s a comedy element to it.
Even some of the trackwork has an interesting story. I bought six sets of turnouts from the yard at Swindon Works upon its closure.
Andrew Barclay diesel No. 352 of 1941 forms the mainstay of operations. I’ve had it for 10 years. I use it for shunting and winter operations. It can offer a ride at the touch of a button. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it starts. It’s a lovely little machine and does the job very well. It’s very simple – a Gardner 6L3 engine and gearbox. It’s totally reliable.
My 5ft gauge Finnish Pacific runs on its own section of track. It’s currently the biggest working steam locomotive in Britain.
I’ve taken a lot of the continental features off it and made it look more British. It will be finished in lined Brunswick green and numbered 91016.
The railway’s next public event is on August 9 this year. We typically get 1000 people through the door on the Fifield Village fun day. Trains run at regular intervals.
■ HR: Can you tell us about your interest in railwayana?
■ DB: Most of my collection is Ipswich and East Anglian-related, all obtained over the last 40 years. I’ve almost succeeded in collecting all the named engines which were shedded at Ipswich in my loco spotting days in the 1950s – I’m only short of a couple now. My latest acquisition is B17 Quidenham, which hasn’t got a splasher. I’ve got Mayflower, the diesel nameplate and some spare whistles. My collection also includes all the Felxistowe branch signs, as well as carriage internal doors and even a snooker table, which came from St Pancras station.
I’ve got assorted steam engine parts too – including the smokebox from B1 No. 1264, which was originally fitted to Springbok, hence why it’s got that number on it.
Other parts include the chimney cowling off A4 Dominion of Canada.
Steam Dreams
■ HR: What’s your involvement in Steam Dreams as a business?
■ DB: When the Mayflower was about to come back into service, Marcus approached me and asked if I was interested in taking the business over. After a moment’s hesitation, I thought what a wonderful thing to do – that was July 2018. It’s got a fantastic team, with a fantastic product. I insisted Marcus remained involved as a consultant – which he still is.
■ HR: What’s a typical week for you?
■ DB: Every week is different. We have an exceptionally good team based at the office in Guildford. I go to the office to see everyone from time to time, but essentially I do virtually everything else remotely. We frequently have meetings up here in Fifield,
Berkshire, as we’re then away from the dayto-day distractions of the office.
Also, I meet the team regularly on the trains. I will determine overall policy, the company’s direction and maintain a close eye on the finances, but I try and avoid micromanaging. I let the team get on with it as they know exactly what they’re doing.
However, we are making changes. They’re not sudden changes – we’re responding to changes in the market.
■ HR: Could you elaborate on what those changes are please?
■ DB: Steam Dreams was created 20 years ago by Marcus Robertson – he had the dream!
He created the concept of regular, almost timetabled trips – which is what we’ve now gone back to with our Windsor and Sunset trips. Then Marcus expanded it into day trips and steam holidays.
I’m moving it in a slightly different direction as there’s less room on the network to do all the things one might have been able to do in the past.
Running steam on the national network is extremely expensive, so you have to make the trains attractive to a wide range of passengers. Unfortunately, you can’t do the enthusiast-only trips these days as it’s not financially possible to do that. Being an
enthusiast myself, I like to try to bring in some enthusiast elements. We’ve got a couple of exciting trips this year, which will shortly be announced, that will tick those boxes.
I felt there was a market for regular tourist steam trips from London – that’s why we created the Windsor excursions.
The new evening dining trains, which are in an entirely different market segment to our normal day trips, have proved to be extraordinarily successful – we’re expanding them this year. The good thing is it’s brought a new demographic to the steam world – younger people and those who had no idea steam existed on the main line. That’s had a knock-on beneficial impact to the rest of our business. They ask what else we do – and then they travel on those with friends and family.
Expanding that part of our business is one of the keys to the future. That doesn’t mean to say we’ll cut back on our day trips. We’ll still offer a wide range of day trips, primarily in the south east.
For the Windsor and Sunset dining trains, instead of running out of Waterloo, we’ll be running out of Victoria this year. That’s more convenient for a lot of tour passengers using Victoria Coach Station, as well as being more central. Another area we’re expanding in is our own catering. Rather than hire in external caterers, we employ our own chefs – we have our own kitchen car and on-train catering team, so we’re able to completely control the whole product on the train. We like to think that makes a great difference to the way we present our product. It also means we have the ability to take more dining passengers. That makes a very big difference to the numbers.
Customer demand is increasing for the full dining option and we can now support this.
I would like to stress though, that we will very much always have accommodation for enthusiasts or for those who want to bring their own food. There will be enthusiast-type trips, but we have to have the dining element to make it viable.
■ HR: Touching briefly on Steam Dreams’ 20th anniversary, which you celebrated with a tour on December 17 – give us your thoughts on the day.
■ DB: It was Marcus’ day as far as I was concerned. He had achieved so much and
“I believe it’s very important indeed that I travel on as many of our trains as possible and to ride with the passengers. My wife and I enjoy talking to our passengers to get a feel of what’s going on. Feedback can be most valuable. I believe it’s far more important to be on the train than sitting in the office.”
he started it up. Here it is 20 years later still going strong and moving forward – we’re incredibly delighted to be taking the company into a new era. The future is looking extremely good. More trains, more everything!
■ HR: How’s business? Does Steam Dreams make a profit?
■ DB: Business is extremely good. The Windsor and Sunset Diners went very well last year. That acts as a core from which we can do other things.
No business can continue unless it makes a profit. Running steam trains is never going to be a gold mine – certainly on the main line. Owning and running a main line steam engine was a desire rather than in any way ever a means of making money from it. You’re extremely lucky if you can cover your costs with a main line steam locomotive.
Steam Dreams is different – it’s got to run as a proper business and of course, it’s got to be profitable or otherwise it would not survive like any other business.
Yes, is the short answer.
■ HR: What was your highlight in terms of Steam Dreams in 2019?
■ DB: Our Highlands and Islands holiday to Scotland, when we went up with Flying Scotsman, double-heading all the way to Inverness. Over the Forth Bridge – what could be better?! We then did the Highland branches – that was just wonderful.
Holidays are a larger proportion of our business now – everything from short breaks to nine-day breaks are a growing part of what we do, including overseas tours. They’re not primarily enthusiast breaks, but they are very much railway-focused.
We run three to four holidays per annum. We did our first major European holiday last year – to the Harz, but we travelled by main line steam across Europe and back, so it wasn’t a case of flying out there. We’re planning similar trips in the future.
Holidays in Britain are to scenic, interesting places. This year we’re doing our Moors & Mountains trip, which goes from Cornwall, along the Heart of Wales line, then up north, including the Settle-carlisle line. We cover interesting routes and stay in four and five star hotels. We provide the complete package, i.e. full escorted. It’s largely the same team we have on our day trips.
■ HR: While Mayflower flies the flag for Steam Dreams, you also use other locomotives. With Tornado now being operated by West Coast Railways (WCR), would you look at making more use of the A1 Pacific?
■ DB: We’re not going to be running exclusively with Mayflower. We’ll use other engines for trips where appropriate.
Mayflower does have the advantage that it’s a ‘go anywhere engine’ – meaning it can run where some other locomotives cannot.
Steam Dreams was the biggest user of
Tornado in its earlier days. If you look at what we did in December, we used Tornado to go to Lincoln.
We certainly would hope to be using
Tornado more in the future. In fact, it would be wonderful to run a double-header with Tornado and Mayflower as they’re both in the same livery. Tornado is very much on our list.
■ HR: Diesel assistance – what are your thoughts?
■ DB: It’s very simple. As a steam locomotive owner and enthusiast, I would prefer not to have a diesel on the back. In practice however, particularly as we operate out of main London termini, we have to have a diesel to bring us in. You can’t run from the centre of London without a diesel as you can’t get into the station, so you have
to bring a diesel anyway. There are times we’re then able to drop it off and not use it for the rest of the trip. However, there are so many destinations where you’re forced to have a diesel due to turnbacks and other operational requirements. If it’s not necessary, I won’t have one. It’s only there if it’s operationally necessary.
It seems to disproportionately affect our trains as we run out of London.
There’s a common misunderstanding regarding a diesel presence on steam tours. It’s not diesel assistance – it’s having a diesel there for operational reasons to get you in and out of stations.
“We were the first people to use Tornado after WCR started operating it. We certainly would hope to be using Tornado more in the future. In fact, it would be wonderful to run a doubleheader with Tornado and Mayflower as they’re both in the same livery. Tornado is very much on our list.”
■ HR: What are you looking forward to in the coming year in terms of Steam Dreams? ■ DB: Personally, it’s being back on the footplate as much as I can – and enjoying being back travelling with the passengers. My normal ‘plan’ is travelling on the footplate on the outward leg, then joining the passengers on the return.
I believe it’s very important indeed that I travel on as many of our trains as possible and to ride with the passengers. My wife and I enjoy talking to our passengers to get a feel of what’s going on. Feedback can be most valuable. I believe it’s far more important to be on the train than sitting in the office.
Mayflower
■ HR: What’s involved in owning and keeping a main line steam locomotive operational?
■ DB: You need very deep pockets to start with! The main thing is having a good team, who look after it as part of the support crew. Trevor Wrench, who I’ve worked with for many years, looks after the engine on a dayto-day basis and organises the support crew. We generally have a small support crew of very competent and highly dedicated people. That’s key to having everything as it should be. The standards required to work on the main line are extraordinary – and everyone involved has to realise we’re a professional railway and you can’t put a foot wrong. We work very closely with our friends at WCR to achieve that. It’s very hard work. With the exception of the financial rewards, the other rewards are very worthwhile.
WCR is the sector’s biggest player. The engine’s overhaul was finished off at Carnforth. Without WCR, we wouldn’t be on the main line. WCR’S Southall base is extremely convenient too. As the majority of our trips come out of London or the south east, we need that.
■ HR: What are your highlights of owning Mayflower?
■ DB: First trip was a major delight. Any trip to East Anglia is very special. We’ve got some more planned this year. It’s going to parts of the network I’ve not been to before.
When we go to Penzance, it’s virgin territory for example – and I’m looking forward to going to the north of Scotland – beautiful! I do enjoy going to Scotland – we’re planning another Scottish trip for 2021. Watch this space.
■ HR: What are your low points of owning Mayflower?
■ DB: When we hit the boiler problems, with the amount of work and time required to deal with them. That was certainly not a fun time. It’s history now. The issues can take longer than you anticipate but the work has to be done properly – there were no shortcuts.
■ HR: Do you welcome enquiries from heritage lines for the hire of Mayflower?
■ DB: Yes, absolutely. The only problem is that with our very busy main line programme, it’s quite difficult to fit in requests to go to heritage lines. The economics are such that we cannot turn down a trip on the main line to go to a heritage railway. We’ve got to run on the main line to obtain a sensible return. Visits to heritage lines have to be done in the shoulder months.
■ HR: Mayflower was meant to visit the Nene Valley Railway (NVR) last year when it was in between main line tours, but the visit didn’t go ahead.
■ DB: Yes, the way it was planned to work was that Mayflower was going to be on a trip which finished at Peterborough – the train was due to continue diesel-hauled. As we were going to be there, a weekend at the NVR fitted in nicely. It didn’t work out as we didn’t run that trip in the end but that sort of thing can be done as it fits in with main line operations.
Similarly, when we ran a trip out of the Bluebell Railway last year, we stayed down for the line’s gala.
■ HR: Would you consider having any more tours starting at the Bluebell?
■ DB: We can’t for the next 12 months or so, due to bridge works going on which precludes bringing a main line engine out of the Bluebell. Hopefully, we’ll go back there – and other railways in the near future.
■ HR: Will Mayflower ever be seen in BR black again?
■ DB: Yes! I only remember B1s in BR black and undoubtedly I will bring it out in BR black at some stage. However, the current apple green livery suits it very well indeed and Mayflower looks absolutely beautiful.
Having just done a complete repaint, this is not going to happen in the next couple of years – it will wait until the next repaint. It will happen, however.
On the main line, you need the paintwork to look pristine. I’d do it in black for a year or so. The thing to remember is that the great British public like a brightly coloured engine – they like a green engine. They’re much happier with an apple green Mayflower. People like a steam locomotive to have a name and a nice colour.
That goes back to its core purpose with Steam Dreams, which is to haul members of the public on main line excursions.
The current livery is historically appropriate – it’s exactly how it was delivered to BR in 1948 from the North British Locomotive Company. It lasted in that livery
for five weeks – when it was painted black – a scheme it retained until withdrawal.
Future
■ HR: What’s the future for Mayflower?
■ DB: It’s got a new 10-year ticket and I fully intend for it to be very busy for those 10 years on the main line. Essentially, it’s got to earn its keep – we have to pay for the next overhaul.
The costs of getting a locomotive to main line specification and keeping it there are such that it’s got to run a lot of trips to cover those costs and build up the pot for the next big overhaul.
■ HR: A widely-held view is that running main line steam is getting harder. What do you think?
■ DB: Main line steam operations are getting more difficult, but I see no problem in them continuing. They might change a bit – but as long as we keep our house in order, I see no reason why they will not continue for the foreseeable future.
If we were starting from scratch, it would be an almost impossible job. However, we’re there – we’ve got processes and systems in place, plus a great team. The biggest problem is network capacity. It will undoubtedly be more and more challenging to operate on the busier parts of the network. There’s no danger of us suddenly being stopped from running on the main line.
There’s still a long-term future for main line steam. ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) is a network change, therefore it’s not the issue it may have been perceived previously. Mk.1 carriages have a derogation until 2023 and as long as they’re maintained to the required standards, there’s every likelihood they’ll be able to continue, so it too is not the issue it was previously.
■ HR: A reader asked whether you would consider taking a tour to and from Hull
Paragon in the future? The area rarely gets steam haulage.
■ DB: I would love to take Mayflower to all parts of the network, particularly those areas which saw B1s in their heyday. So yes, I would really like to do that. To make it commercially viable, the visit would have to tie in a visit elsewhere.
■ HR: Another reader said that as an Ipswich boy, could you have Mayflower hauling tours starting from your home town? Could Mayflower run along the East Suffolk Line, then to Norwich and back to Ipswich?
■ DB: I fully intend to take Mayflower to my roots as much as I possibly can. One trip we will be doing this year is on the East Suffolk Line in the Down direction – so we’ll be going from Ipswich to Lowestoft, which as far as I know hasn’t been done since the days of steam. They’ve always gone the other way due to a gauging issue, which has now been overcome.
We also hope to do the other Suffolk branches, including Felixstowe in due course.
■ HR: Trying to see it from a business angle, there are certain fixed costs which are the same whether the train travels five miles or 50 miles and you have to get the numbers to work.
■ DB: Absolutely. Fixed costs are there and don’t move, or only move very slightly. Our income has to be above that line and we can’t do that by only running trips we want to do. The itinerary has got to be attractive to lots of people, including the diners – and it’s got to be in the right area for people to be able to afford that.
■ HR: Many thanks for your time and for providing us with valuable insight into your business and professional life.
■ DB: I’m delighted to talk about it. It’s not a quiet retirement I’m having. I want to keep active and busy – it’s fun although it’s not always easy!
■ Thanks to those readers who suggested questions and topics they would like us to raise with David.