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Aysgarth Station - Wensleydale Railway

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otto52

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Askrigg station building is now occupied by the vets. They have built a lambing shed in the grounds, and another building is used by the brewery. The trackbed itself is clear apart from a lot of vegetation!
 
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Pinza-C55

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It's a pity it wasn't Waterman. His last estimated net worth was $50 million and he is certainly into railways. He can draw on expert sources too.
 

nanstallon

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Who do you think it is?

Once the sale has been completed, the name of the buyer (and the price paid) will be in the public domain, obtainable for the price of a search in the Land Registry.

The whole episode indicates desperation - quick sale rather than waiting for the property to be marketed properly and taken to auction. A shame, because it will make it difficult to achieve the ultimate goal of reinstating the railway all the way to Hawes and Garsdale. I suspect that the idea was born in the heady atmosphere that followed the successful campaign to save the Settle & Carlisle and its booming traffic since the reprieve.

I have had several trips on the line, steam, diesel loco and dmu. I enjoyed them all, and hope that the WR will do well in spite of present difficulties.
 

RichmondCommu

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1. It lacks working, interesting steam locos. Like it or not, steam always attracts lots more "casual" / non-enthusiast visitors than diesel locos or dmus; fine scenery alone will not bring enough paying customers.

For the vast majority of visitors it doesn't even have to be an "interesting steam loco", it just has to be a steam loco.
 
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Whilst I wish them well, I fear that Wensleydale Railway is always liable to struggle to attract visitors.

1. It lacks working, interesting steam locos. Like it or not, steam always attracts lots more "casual" / non-enthusiast visitors than diesel locos or dmus; fine scenery alone will not bring enough paying customers.

2. Access by public transport is very poor.

3. The local population is not huge.

The J72 belonging to NELPG has been running at the Wensleydale for a few seasons now and will probably be operating the Santa specials.;)
 

XDM

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Once the sale has been completed, the name of the buyer (and the price paid) will be in the public domain, obtainable for the price of a search in the Land Registry.

The whole episode indicates desperation - quick sale rather than waiting for the property to be marketed properly and taken to auction. .

Agree with second para but not first.
I am afraid the buyer could spend £50 on setting up a company & all you will find on the land register will be a company name.
If they spend £400 they can register the company in the British Virgin Islands & be forever anonymous.
But it will be very interesting to spend £3 online at the Land register to see if anything is revealed. Let us pray the buyer will stick to their word & keep it a railway site. At this stage no reason to think otherwise.
 

alexl92

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How do you like your jubilees, red, or black???

Beet or Smith?

The J72 belonging to NELPG has been running at the Wensleydale for a few seasons now and will probably be operating the Santa specials.;)

But they don't seem that interested in tapping the interest in steam any further. When the J72 failed last year(?) early in the season and needed some serious work, they said on social media that they were looking for an alternative loco, then knocked back a number of valid suggestions of possible alternatives because 'the water capacity would be too low' despite most being able to carry more than the J72, and then just went quiet and didn't hire anything else in. It's their choice but it's well known that steam is more popular with the non-enthusiast public so if they aren't offering a steam service, some potential customers will choose to go elsewhere to get their fix - it's lost revenue essentially.

Other than the rail tour with the K1 and K4, iirc the last visiting steam loco was Bittern in 2014, though to be fair a visit by the NELPG Q6 was cancelled for reasons beyond their control. But my point is, if you want to attract visitors who don't live directly around the area or aren't specifically enthusiasts, you really need to make steam a central part of your offering.
 

TheBeard

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So there is effectively a new Owner of the Wensleydale, at least West of Redmire. Won' be good for us diesel cranks, but ran with an excellent set of steam locomotives, in the summer on the tourist section it can go from a scenic line be a to one of the great lines of the nation. If he runs it through to Garsdale, the finest in UK! If we are nice to him he might put all sorts of motive power on for us too! It could be the jolt it needs, although heart goes out to the volunteers who have worked so hard, and hope there will still be room for you.
And yes, people go to a steam railway to get a ride on a steam train. It's a really exciting development now its happened!
The Lost Transpennine route, from PeakRail, Woodhead, Wensleydale, Stainmore and (Southern UPlands) Waverley, all stir from their slumber. And they are all magnificent and the greatest 'lost lines'.
 

mushroomchow

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Where HSTs Still Scream. Kind of.
You're certainly an optimist, TheBeard, but I don't see any of that coming to fruition.

Where are the steam locos coming from?

Who's paying to bring them in?

Who's going to permit their extended stay unless covered accommodation is provided?

Who pays for the covered accommodation to be built?

How long will it take to get planning permission and have it in-situ before long-term residence for steam locos is a genuine option, given the line seems to now be pinning its hopes on more regular services and steam traction? Surely that's a vital, short-term priority?

When is any of the track on the section you mentioned being relaid for this "scenic" journey - given that none of the current route actually falls within the tourist trap of the Yorkshire Dales but is more of a footnote to the route in and out of its eastern flank from the A1? With the greatest of respect, very few tourists are going to go out of their way to take a train finishing up at Leemings Bar, or even to Redmire.

How are enough visitors to be brought in for services on the existing route to make the initial impression with the public necessary for regular steam services, with their added running costs?

There are so many factors that are stacked against the success of the proposals.

Methinks you've been hoodwinked. I admire your optimism, but you're having a laugh if you think the sale of Aysgarth is going to have anything other than a negative impact on the railway's medium to long term viability.

The Wensleydale just sold its sword to the executioner.
 

Pinza-C55

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You're certainly an optimist, TheBeard, but I don't see any of that coming to fruition.

Where are the steam locos coming from?

Who's paying to bring them in?

Who's going to permit their extended stay unless covered accommodation is provided?

Who pays for the covered accommodation to be built?

How long will it take to get planning permission and have it in-situ before long-term residence for steam locos is a genuine option, given the line seems to now be pinning its hopes on more regular services and steam traction? Surely that's a vital, short-term priority?

When is any of the track on the section you mentioned being relaid for this "scenic" journey - given that none of the current route actually falls within the tourist trap of the Yorkshire Dales but is more of a footnote to the route in and out of its eastern flank from the A1? With the greatest of respect, very few tourists are going to go out of their way to take a train finishing up at Leemings Bar, or even to Redmire.

How are enough visitors to be brought in for services on the existing route to make the initial impression with the public necessary for regular steam services, with their added running costs?

There are so many factors that are stacked against the success of the proposals.

Methinks you've been hoodwinked. I admire your optimism, but you're having a laugh if you think the sale of Aysgarth is going to have anything other than a negative impact on the railway's medium to long term viability.

The Wensleydale just sold its sword to the executioner.

Except that nearly everything in this thread is pure supposition since nobody here knows who the buyer is, what their intentions are for Aysgarth or whether they have any ambitions for the WR.
 

WensleyDale

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Except that nearly everything in this thread is pure supposition since nobody here knows who the buyer is, what their intentions are for Aysgarth or whether they have any ambitions for the WR.

Except it's the worlds worse kept secret and many on here know only too well who the buyer is.
 

paul1609

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I think that the Wensleydale could make a lot more of Redmire it's a very attractive area with short walks to Castle Bolton, the river valley below the village and even the village pub. The station really needs maning and some basic facilities. I've arrived back for the last train a couple of times and it really does feel like you've arrived at a disused freight terminal
 

WensleyDale

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I think that the Wensleydale could make a lot more of Redmire it's a very attractive area with short walks to Castle Bolton, the river valley below the village and even the village pub. The station really needs maning and some basic facilities. I've arrived back for the last train a couple of times and it really does feel like you've arrived at a disused freight terminal

Redmire is a disused freight terminal. Apart from the pub, ten minutes walk into the village (which is excellent by the way) there are no facilities at all - not even somewhere to shelter from the rain. That was the whole point of the Aysgarth Ambition - Aysgarth was the somewhere that people would want to go.
 
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Worf

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Except that nearly everything in this thread is pure supposition since nobody here knows who the buyer is, what their intentions are for Aysgarth or whether they have any ambitions for the WR.

If you read your way through the thread, you should have put 2 and 2 together by now.
 

Pinza-C55

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If you read your way through the thread, you should have put 2 and 2 together by now.

I've read my way through the thread, attempted to put 2 and 2 together and failed to make sense of it.
What is the obvious answer I am missing ?
 

Worf

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I've read my way through the thread, attempted to put 2 and 2 together and failed to make sense of it.
What is the obvious answer I am missing ?

The Queen has had more than one of them. This guy has a red one.
 
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paul1609

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Redmire is a disused freight terminal. Apart from the pub, ten minutes walk into the village (which is excellent by the way) there are no facilities at all - not even somewhere to shelter from the rain. That was the whole point of the Aysgarth Ambition - Aysgarth was the somewhere that people would want to go.

I've walked the formation beyond Redmire apart from the obvious missing bridge the formation was largely of ash which would need total rebuilding. Taking in to account the administrative costs for aTWA, environmental investigation etc etc you wouldn't have much change from £10 million and I haven't included land costs in that. Short of some fairy Godfather that's way beyond the means of the Wensleydale, they should concentrate on securing what they've got IMHO.
 

torten

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4 Sep 2017
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The Queen has had more than one of them. This guy has a red one.
Ah. I won't say who it is, but do they own any suitable industrial engines they might use on the "private railway?" I doubt a mainline engine would be of much use.
 

TheBeard

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Ah. I won't say who it is, but do they own any suitable industrial engines they might use on the "private railway?" I doubt a mainline engine would be of much use.
Depends if you run Nice Maroon Jubilees at 50mph through to Aysgarth from say, York? Lovely Jubbly!
 

otto52

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Aysgarth Station to be sold by Wensleydale Railway

Why the WR persisted with the idea that it should be part of the public transport system for so long is a mystery to me. The public didn't use it sixty years ago - before mass car ownership - which is why it closed in the first place. Even the bus services in the upper dale survive only because of volunteer drivers. If the WR had concentrated sooner on being a shorter heritage steam railway at the west end of the present line, where the tourist money is, perhaps they wouldn't have got into this mess.
 

fireftrm

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Aysgarth Station to be sold by Wensleydale Railway

Why the WR persisted with the idea that it should be part of the public transport system for so long is a mystery to me. The public didn't use it sixty years ago - before mass car ownership - which is why it closed in the first place. Even the bus services in the upper dale survive only because of volunteer drivers. If the WR had concentrated sooner on being a shorter heritage steam railway at the west end of the present line, where the tourist money is, perhaps they wouldn't have got into this mess.

The bus services survive with volunteer drivers not because people don't want to use them, but because the Tories took away the subsidies. If subsidised properly public transport will work, only major areas of population have public transport that can cover its own costs. That is basic economics.
 

Worf

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The bus services survive with volunteer drivers not because people don't want to use them, but because the Tories took away the subsidies. If subsidised properly public transport will work, only major areas of population have public transport that can cover its own costs. That is basic economics.

I am on the Wensleydale bus route. Buses regularly pass my door empty or with a single passenger. I have travelled numerous times on the bus on my own up to Hawes and then Garsdale. People use cars. Nowt to do with the Tories. That is basic economics.
 

otto52

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Exactly. Basic economics works both ways - the subsidies were removed because they were supporting a service few people used. If the local public transport requirement cannot at least half fill a 16-seat minibus, how is it going to fill a train, or even a "Bubblecar"?

The D&S article I linked to above states the WR wants "to develop a ten mile steam heritage line from Leyburn to Castle Bolton". Leyburn to Castle Bolton is actually abut five miles; maybe they were referring to a return journey!
 
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