Gravy train catering in Lancaster

Very disappointed with the trip. A woman called Tracy ruined it for me with her behaviour towards her colleagues. She was having a go at one guy, who was working hard and the way he was dealing with us was great. I don't know if it was because he is black. But her behaviour is unacceptable. I have been on this train before and its not the first time she has done it. She shouldn't even be working on the train behaving like that.

The experience was great and having Del in our carriage was wonderful. He was a great steward and made our trip perfect.

Saturday 12th August – Liverpool Lime Street to Stratford Upon Avon. What a trip! Purchased as a celebration for a joint birthday and what a present it was. Right from the beginning of the trip, everyone had an amazing day. We were greeted by lots of smiley and welcoming staff when we boarded the train in Liverpool and a beautifully set table ready for breakfast and very comfy seats! Once on the move we were served a tasty breakfast consisting of porridge, scrambled egg or a full breakfast, toast and croissants and plenty of cups of tea and coffee. The added extra of a bucks fizz was a lovely little treat. After spending nearly three hours on the outbound journey the staff came round to take the orders for the complimentary quarter bottle of wine and any other drinks that we could order ready for the return journey. Once we arrived in Stratford Upon Avon, we had nearly four hours to explore all the Stratford Upon Avon had to offer. The town has plenty to explore and although it was busy, it was nice to see especially after the last few years. Upon our return to the awaiting train, we were welcomed back on board and greeted with a beautifully set table ready for our return journey. As we began our return journey, our bottles of wine were delivered to the table along with the extra drinks we had ordered. The staff then came round with another added extra, a complimentary glass of champagne, it certainly went down a treat. A stunning three course evening meal was still to come, chicken liver pate or vegetable soup along with a lovely soft fresh bread roll, followed by a stunning roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings and apple crumble sponge and custard to finish off. The dessert was that good that one member of our group cheekily asked for seconds, although the staff laughed at this cheeky request, nothing was too much trouble and out came a second bowl of dessert for the cheeky guest. The youngest member of our group had asked a member of the team if she could meet the chef. Again, this was not a problem at all and once all the food had been served and everything had been cleared away, she was taken to the kitchen and meet the man himself. She was absolutely made up and finished off a brilliant day for her. The staff were more than happy to spend plenty of time talking to us as they cleared away the remaining items from the tables and not question was too much to answer. Once we arrived back in Liverpool at the end of our journey, there was only a few members of the team left onboard as some of them had left the train at an earlier stop. When we asked for a picture, the remaining staff were more than happy to accommodate this and gathered around for us to take a picture. A lovely end to an amazing day. We will be back on another trip, a great way to visit new places in luxury. The Gravy Train Catering Company are the perfect team for the job!

When deciding to book on a heritage steam trip , make sure before you book that you find out which company is providing the on-board catering on the excursion. Many of these Heritage Steam railway excursion companies use GRAVY TRAIN CATERING , such as The Railway Touring Company , based in Kings Lynn. Gravy Train Catering are a shameless bunch of cowboys have no reservations about serving customers on board luke warm dull tasting instant coffee , a cheap packaged roll and a stale bun in a bag. Its truly CRAP. Should you try and complain it will get you nowhere as the stubborn Manager of Railway Touring just ignores any complaints with her charmless take it or leave it approach and the usual line of 'we will feed your concerns back to the catering company'. What a load of fob off. She should take ownership and responsibility for appointing such an awful catering company in the first place. I hope Gravy train and Railway touring go out of business , they do not deserve to be trading with the way both businesses take customers for granted and show them no respect whatsoever. These two companies , Gravy Train and Railway Touring are shameless rip off merchants , with no customer care or after sales whatsover and their excursions do not represent value for money , infact they are a total rip off - be warned before you book to avoid disappointment.

These are the main catering company for West Coast Railway, always great food, and friendly staff, drinks are available