The Railway Touring Company Anmeldelser 

The train ran on time.
First class carriage was clean and comfortable.
The food including breakfast and evening meal was excellent.
Bucks Fizz at the start of the trip was fantastic.
The catering staff were fabulous, friendly, courteous, helpful and efficient. A fantastic experience.
Booking the trip the phone line was excellent too.

After paying £770 for the two of us to spend a day on The Waverley I’d love to have given this a 5 star rating. But…..to have not been offered any water at all, even tap, at any point except for the privilege of spending an additional £4 for two small plastic bottles the value for money element of this excursion places it firmly at the absurd end of the spectrum. Really unimpressed and good luck to others who choose to spend their money in this way. Not for us though and a poor reflection on what could otherwise have been an absolutely superb experience. Short-term thinking by the operators and a cash-cow mentality that sadly falls well short of what could reasonably be expected at this price.

We very much enjoyed our Waverley charter train, starting from York. Although The Railway Touring Company was prevented from using the intended steam locomotive, the substituted vintage class 37 diesel was the next best thing and pleased my train mad grandson.
The trip and scenery were excellent, as was the carriage, food and service. The staff went out of their way to make the experience enjoyable throughout. We are four very satisfied passengers.

Was in first class and the service was very good.. Plenty of tea and coffee...

David Bickerton is an experienced Tour Manager who is friendly and approachable and overall did a good job. This was his first time on the Far North & Orkney, so I am sure he will have picked up on one or two small issues for next time. For example when we went to Skara Brae etc there was confusion over where the guide would meet us. On another occasion there was some doubt over whether we were having lunch in the Inverness Hotel or having a picnic provided by the hotel. I expect there are other things I don't know about.
John was our coach driver for all but the last morning. He was an excellent, safe driver who was also very knowledgeable about the places we visited. He often gave advice on places to stop which would otherwise have been missed. One example was the visit we made to the Orkney Fossil & Heritage Centre at Burray. This was unscheduled but was in fact a worthwhile stop to learn about the Churchill Barriers, geology and island life. For those not interested there was a good cafe and facilities.
The hotels were generally satisfactory and there was nothing wrong with my rooms which served their purpose. However, the Sandman in Aberdeen was a labyrinth of corridors possibly the result of converting a university faculty building into an hotel. I may be wrong, but I got the impression that the hotel was situated in a rather rough area and so I did not feel comfortable going out alone. For this reason and in order to meet fellow travellers, I do think it would have been helpful to have had a group dinner on the first night after a long journey. By not having a group dinner and not wanting to walk the streets, I ended up eating in the hotel. The food was acceptable but the service was very slow despite them not being busy. On the second day we had a good and filling lunch at the Milton Brasserie, so I didn't need dinner that evening even though once again you were left to your own devices. At the start of the holiday I don't think it was very good having to find meals on the first two nights.
Being in Kirkwall on a Sunday, it was helpful to have a group dinner in the hotel when so few places are open.
We arrived at the Kirkwall Hotel close to midnight on a Saturday after an evening ferry crossing which was enjoyable. Unfortunately, the drinkers and revellers had not dispersed by the time we arrived and carried on making a noise, shouting and screaming until about 0300 which was very annoying . My room was at the front of the hotel where the crowds were gathered. The hotel or the Police should have dealt with this nuisance.
The itinerary was good and I enjoyed all the things we did and places visited. The three heritage train rides were good fun along with the other places we visited on those days.
On Orkney, I think my best day was when we went to the neolithic sites - The Standing Stones of Stenness, The Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae - all wonderful places to see.
This was a most enjoyable holiday which I would recommend to others. It was a good combination of heritage railways, but also included plentiful sightseeing that enabled one to get an overall impression of Orkney.

Wonderful sightseeing in Orkney. The whole trip was well put together and our tour guide, David and our driver John were both extremely helpful and made the holiday very enjoyable.
The long day travelling from Orkney to Inverness could do with a slight alteration as we didn't eat our evening meal until turned 9.30pm. It would have been better to have had a full lunch on board the ferry and asked the hotel to have sandwiches ready for a quick snack on arrival.
The trip to Fort George was a bit rushed as there was plenty to see there.
All in all a great trip and would highly recommend it.

Had a lovely day out on The Cumbrian Coast Express, and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway trip was excellent also. Enjoyed some lovely scenery and the staff really looked after us on the train. Will book again next year

A great trip notwithstanding not being able to use all the Cumbrian coast line. To revisit the "Ratty" in the sunshine more than made up for it.
A special mention for the on-board catering staff who were unfailingly cheerful, competent and professional throughout the journey.

You are to be commended for running this truncated trip along the Cumbrian Coast, due to the closure of Bransty Tunnel,and also for adding the ride along the Ravenglass Railway to the itinary.The stewards made their announcements clearly and were very approachable.Likewise, the catering stewards who were also very friendly,polite and helpful.
With the tight schedule,it was not possible to "stretch ones legs"too far at Dalegarth,neither was there not time to visit the museum etc at Ravenglass but this didn't detract anything from the day's experience.If the line does re-open,I would definitely book on this trip again if it features in your programme.The booking process was easy and regular updates were sent regarding the trip.I would thoroughly recommend a trip on one of your days and by the way,the train ran to time.Thank you for providing an unforgettable day out.

Great trip as usual
Even without steam on the main line it was another great trip

We went on the slate miner trip, we were very happy with the friendly train crews, the food service and the timings. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay

It was a lovely experience and the staff on the train were very helpful.

Well organised informative stewards amazing food all served by a really efficient friendly team a really lovely day

Very good journey shame about 50 min delay but it would be useful if we knew what platform train was going from because information at station was poor but I will do another trip next year

An outstanding and memorable day out. We were initially disappointed that, due to the Network Rail ban, steam locomotives would not be hauling our train. However, the service we received from the staff and volunteer stewards meant that we soon forgot about this and enjoyed the luxury train and superb meals. Special mention must go to the chef, who despite working in the cramped gally of the kitchen car, produced such excellent meals. I would certainly recommend RTC and look forward to travelling on one of their trains again, soon.

Fantastic staff, gorgeous scenery, beautiful coaches, delicious food.
A brilliant day out, thank you.

A great and well organised trip with a booklet fully explaining the journey and what you can see as you travel. Easy to book, good communication and friendly staff. Nice food/drink choice on board - cash only and reasonable prices, also frequent rubbish collection through the carriages during the trip. Despite the steam ban really enjoyed the electric/diesel hauled journey and already booked our next trip!

Absolute con
Booked for steam excursion and have diesel within a few days of travel
No refund- just hid behind terms and conditions
Can re book within 6 months - useless
Appalling customer service

First railway excursion trip. Quite understood about no steam pulled engines fue to weather. Everything was great.

Absolutely brilliant day out. Would recommend these tours to those who are thinking about such a day trip.