All The Stations - project to video every British Railway Station

[bbrez]

Yes, I do understand your point of view on this; maybe it's just a clash of personality that for some reason makes this 'project' really stick in my throat. Or maybe it's the audacity to ask for money for this five-minute wonder.

How else were they going to fund it? I know I wouldn't be up for using my savings to travel around the UK for three months solely on trains.

People paid money if they wanted to, the beauty of kickstarter campaigns. If you don't want to contribute - don't. No need to bang on about it.

I've enjoyed every video so far. I've seen places that I'd like to visit too, Matlock being one. A wonderful series which highlights the beauty of the railways. Win, win.

 

[nlogax]

As are the constant negative comments about the project. If you don't believe in it, don't follow its progress. Ignore this thread and move on.

Excuse me. It's the negative comments to which I was referring.

 

[Girner]

It is anything but a jolly. Visiting every station on the Network is a very long drawn out, tedious effort. I enjoy their videos. Not long enough to bore you yet short enough to want more. Hats off to them.
People need to stop moaning. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

 

[PR1Berske]

For some reason I keep coming across links to these irritating videos every time I look on google researching other stuff. It's rather irritating to keep seeing the face popping up - I thought it was supposed to be about the stations not some kind of floor-show for the presenters, one of them in particular. I don't know why they don't just get a job on the railway, then they can play trains all day and get paid for it, plus have the full experience including 0445 starts and 0130 finishes et cetera.

"Play trains all day" is not what they're doing. Needing to work almost 24 hour days is not what they're doing. They have provided a snapshot of the Railways and connected towns on their own bat, including interviewing people who have connections to the Railways, and done so with delays, cancellations, terrible weather and wafer thin connection times. It's not been easy or a "floor show"

But I suspect there's going to be this division between supporters and critics for ever more. I think they've created something that gives a good insight into train travel in 2017. That's about the head and tail of it for me. Critics can make their own version if they want.

 

[trash80]

I've enjoyed every video so far. I've seen places that I'd like to visit too, Matlock being one. A wonderful series which highlights the beauty of the railways. Win, win.

This. I've found the videos very useful as a "reconnaissance" to discover places i need to visit too, for example i didn't know there was a bus museum next to a station in St Helens, thats on my list to visit now

Project is almost over. I'm sure there will be something else for people to moan about come up.

 

[Ianno87]

I did't contribute to the kickstarter for this project,but i wish i had done as it"s been a entertaing time following the youtube videos,vicki's facebook lives and geoff's periscopes plus the instagram pics-if they need some more kickstarter funding for a future project i'd deffinetly consider stumping up some cash (and i'm seriously considering buying a I♡pacers T shirt from thier online shop

Neither did I, but I've enjoyed their work so much I've bought a couple of items of merchandise from them.

 

[tankmc]

Yes, I do understand your point of view on this; maybe it's just a clash of personality that for some reason makes this 'project' really stick in my throat. Or maybe it's the audacity to ask for money for this five-minute wonder.

They are not forcing you to pay for anything and 90% of the viewers are getting all this content free.

I know first hand how much time, effort and money it costs to make youtube videos.

Not only the time actually filming but planning, editing, exporting and uploading videos is not a 10-minute job.

I applaud them for taking on this challenge and if you do not like them dont watch them

 

[Taunton]

I bet they are really disappointed at all the invective being thrown around here. I think it's very ingenious what they have done, the programmes are well worth watching, and the total cost is probably 1% per programme of what is paid out for Portillo's overscripted stuff. Well done to the two of them.

 

[DarloRich]

It is anything but a jolly. Visiting every station on the Network is a very long drawn out, tedious effort. I enjoy their videos. Not long enough to bore you yet short enough to want more. Hats off to them.
People need to stop moaning. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

but they clearly are not visiting every station. They are travelling through every station. That is still a big task but not as big as visiting every station

Yes, I do understand your point of view on this; maybe it's just a clash of personality that for some reason makes this 'project' really stick in my throat. Or maybe it's the audacity to ask for money for this five-minute wonder.

I wonder what the commercial spin off will be from this project? BTW it seems criticism or skepticism doesn't sit well with many here.

 

[AlterEgo]

I wonder what the commercial spin off will be from this project? BTW it seems criticism or skepticism doesn't sit well with many here.

No doubt they will have an increased media profile (Geoff is a former BBC producer anyway), but I don't see that as necessarily something to sceptical about.

It's no different to Joe Bloggs going in the front door of the BBC and pitching his idea for a show about trains - ultimately, it will either get funded, or it will not. If it is funded then great! The show gets made and Joe Bloggs might be asked to make another. God forbid you make a good show with money other people gave you in good faith and then have the temerity to sell merchandise or get well-known.

Nearly all TV shows get made by someone going and asking for money off someone else. In this case, the people giving the money didn't ask for anything back, other than to see all the shows being released (and no venture capitalist got richer!).

 

[DarloRich]

No doubt they will have an increased media profile (Geoff is a former BBC producer anyway), but I don't see that as necessarily something to sceptical about.

It's no different to Joe Bloggs going in the front door of the BBC and pitching his idea for a show about trains - ultimately, it will either get funded, or it will not. If it is funded then great! The show gets made and Joe Bloggs might be asked to make another. God forbid you make a good show with money other people gave you in good faith and then have the temerity to sell merchandise or get well-known.

Nearly all TV shows get made by someone going and asking for money off someone else. In this case, the people giving the money didn't ask for anything back, other than to see all the shows being released (and no venture capitalist got richer!).

The difference is that people contributed from their own reserves to make this "show" happen. In a commercial transaction I could hope to make a return on my investment through syndication or merchandising. Here I can not. I wonder if the same people who contributed via the crowd funding mechanism will pay again to buy, say, a spin off book.

If it were me I would certainly be looking at the commercial revenue to be earnt from an increased profile via this project. I would already have retained a literary agent. But then I am cynical.

BTW - I have nothing against these people. I hope they make a success of what they set out to do and if they can make money good luck to them. What does grate, a little, is the way this project was funded however I do admire their chutzpah.

 

[Feathers44]

BTW it seems criticism or skepticism doesn't sit well with many here.

As a relative newcomer and low-poster, I'd argue with this in the wider sense that in certain areas (of knowledge) there can be quite a lot of what appears to be almost blinkered arrogance in the sense of 'I don't see the value in this so there clearly isn't any value in it' and I think it's that aspect on this thread that is grating on some (me included in some areas). As examples, with no individual attribution, I'd cite:

If a user finds no value in the output of a particular project, that's fair enough - everyone is allowed a view and no-one has to watch it. Criticising those who do find value in it, however, ought to be very carefully thought through.

If a user question someone's right to fund something via kickstarter, that steps over the boundary (in my opinion). No-one here makes rules for Kickstarter as far as I know so what on earth gives anyone the right to administer that sort of kicking. That's what I think of as arrogance in the form of 'I didn't fund it and I'm so correct that no-one else should have funded it either'.

To be perfectly clear, just because I'm responding to a specific post, I am in no way accusing that poster of any sort of arrogance in this or any other thread!

but they clearly are not visiting every station. They are travelling through every station. That is still a big task but not as big as visiting every station

With all due respect, that's a personal opinion and may be a good reflection of your thoughts on the topic but is not necessarily a 'fact' (in true Trump style). My personal opinion is different, in the main because they explained the rules and definitions they were working under before all of this started and those definitions have been met in the content they've put out. I'm happy to accept their definition where you're not. If they'd not laid it out up front, of course, I may have been more inclined to agree with you.

 

[DarloRich]

With all due respect, that's a personal opinion and may be a good reflection of your thoughts on the topic but is not necessarily a 'fact' (in true Trump style). My personal opinion is different, in the main because they explained the rules and definitions they were working under before all of this started and those definitions have been met in the content they've put out. I'm happy to accept their definition where you're not. If they'd not laid it out up front, of course, I may have been more inclined to agree with you.

If people want to contribute that is their wish and I don't criticise them for that. I have put money (more money than i should have done) into keeping my football team alive. Many might question the wisdom of that but it is of interest and importance to me just as this project is of importance and interest to others.

BTW - you can call me whatever you like.

With all due respect, that's a personal opinion and may be a good reflection of your thoughts on the topic but is not necessarily a 'fact' (in true Trump style). My personal opinion is different, in the main because they explained the rules and definitions they were working under before all of this started and those definitions have been met in the content they've put out. I'm happy to accept their definition where you're not. If they'd not laid it out up front, of course, I may have been more inclined to agree with you.

I am happy to disagree.

When I get an LM train to Crewe I never feel I have visited Rugeley or Stone simply because the train stops there. I have traveled through. I accept they set out their own rules (which is perfectly fine) but I disagree they have visited every station in a meaningful sense.

There are people ( mad people imo ) who have properly visited every station. One of them posts here I think.

 

[Kite159]

Everybody has their own definition of visiting stations. Some count it if the train stops (or is scheduled to stop if a request stop), some will count stepping onto the platform.
Some have to alight or board a train for the station to count, and in extreme cases have to board & alight a train from the station.

(I believe there was someone who was very extreme and only counted a station as visited if they boarded & alighted from every platform)

---

As for the crowd funding, they are also getting revenue from spin-off tee-shirts and other branded stuff, these things are expensive once you have to budget in accommodation [which this time of year in some places isn't cheap].

(As Darlo would say I'm one of those mad people who has alighted or boarded from nearly all 2563 stations in GB [current status is 2480 after this weekend's trip to the Cambrian coast], doing it as a personal challenge and for something to do with my time, like some people play video games or follow football teams across the country) Some stations have merit, some are just random platforms in the middle of nowhere which somehow survived Dr B's cuts.

 

[Hornet]

There are people ( mad people imo ) who have properly visited every station. One of them posts here I think.

How dare you call me mad! As the old saying goes "been there, done that, got the T shirt" (Photo wise).

 

[Seacook]

but they clearly are not visiting every station. They are travelling through every station. That is still a big task but not as big as visiting every station

I may be mistaken, but are they not using the same definition of 'visit' as the various Challenges organised by RailUK members?

 

[DuncanS]

...and was clearly defined by them before/during the Kickstarter period.

 

[overthewater]

Personally I think there doing all the train lines, which and not all the stations, expect there not since I doubt there do the Fife - Glasgow train that goes past Kirkliston

Lets be clear hear there wanted to have an adventure, there did kickstarter got some pennies, and are highlighting there travels. One wonders if there are buying single tickets or Day or weekly tickets like " All Line Rail Rover (7 days) First class" ? Or Scotrails Central scotland Rover ticket at £39.00?

ON the subject of Youtube, its no longer what it used to be like and its becoming to highly polished and commercial. There not doing simple U tube videos there making and producting higher class of thing ,

 

[PR1Berske]

I may be mistaken, but are they not using the same definition of 'visit' as the various Challenges organised by RailUK members?

Exactly the same.

 

[DuncanS]

Lets be clear hear there wanted to have an adventure, there did kickstarter got some pennies, and are highlighting there travels. One wonders if there are buying single tickets or Day or weekly tickets like " All Line Rail Rover (7 days) First class" ? Or Scotrails Central scotland Rover ticket at £39.00?

They've said in the past they were using Rovers (or equivalents) when they were doing several days on the trains in a row.

 

[AlterEgo]

One wonders if there are buying single tickets or Day or weekly tickets like " All Line Rail Rover (7 days) First class" ? Or Scotrails Central scotland Rover ticket at £39.00?

RDG stepped in and gave them free passes, which I expect they have to return after their trip.

 

[jon0844]

Indeed. They're becoming bloody tiresome.

You're not obliged to watch their videos, and it's easy to skip forward and back on YouTube too.

I haven't watched all the videos, even though I've conversed with Geoff in the past and know the video editor well. I just haven't had the time.

It seems odd that some people have the time, but would perhaps be better off using that time to not watch something they don't like.

I am sure these videos, and the social media interactions, has made some ordinary people more keen to use the railway and travel to places they may never have seen before. Even regular rail commuters may never venture very far beyond their A to B route.

Just a few days after their trip from Carlisle to Settle, I did the same route. It was a very good experience that I knew all about long ago, but had never got around to, but now I am sure a lot more people will seek this out - and that's just one of hundreds of stations that I am sure people would now be interested to visit.

BUT most people aren't going somewhere for the station, or the rolling stock used, they're going because it links you to a village, town or city that has something worth visiting for. So venturing outside of the confines of Network Rail property seems like a sensible idea.

Finally, I am sure the videos changed as time went on and for good reason. For one, to stop becoming repetitive, but also because they invited feedback throughout and would have concentrated on giving people what they wanted.

They got a lot of requests and could also see which videos got the most views (and YouTube analytics shows which parts of any video gets the most views, where people stop watching etc).

I think they've done a fantastic job, but anyone who thinks they could do better is perfectly able to give it a shot. It's not something that anyone else is restricted from doing; you just buy some ALRs, plan your journeys, buy the necessary camera equipment, get the right editing software and computers, make sure you've got enough data to upload your videos (and time to encode/upload in rural areas with ropey mobile data and Wi-Fi), sort out hotels and transportation, plan your sustenance and make sure you come up with interesting things to say on camera for the next couple of months.

 

[nlogax]

You're not obliged to watch their videos, and it's easy to skip forward and back on YouTube too.

Yes. We're violently agreeing..

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=3089644&postcount=452

 

[Blindtraveler]

One point of John's post that stands out is the fact that their work could well encourage people to use the train more and explore new places. I have evidence to suggest that just that has happened for one person I know of.

My neighbours 17 year old daughter and her very serious boyfriend have just gone off today to do the Sky Circular and a bit of walking, a trip enspired by the idea that the train can take you somewhere different and which I was glad to help orgonise.
I was a little surprised to find a teenage girl had been watching the series but it transpires she quite likes railways and knowing I did too enlisted my assistance

 

[Agent_Squash]

Personally I think there doing all the train lines, which and not all the stations, expect there not since I doubt there do the Fife - Glasgow train that goes past Kirkliston

What about the freight only lines? They're visiting all the stations (including all the awkward ones) - even if they're not getting off.

ON the subject of Youtube, its no longer what it used to be like and its becoming to highly polished and commercial. There not doing simple U tube videos there making and producting higher class of thing ,

The videos are not monetised. It is purely being done to provide a 'state of the railways'.

 

[overthewater]

What about the freight only lines? They're visiting all the stations (including all the awkward ones) - even if they're not getting off.

Sorry but I can't deal with that, because all you doing is seeing the station from the trains, doesn't matter what there doing, there not visiting a station...

The videos are not monetised. It is purely being done to provide a 'state of the railways'.

Can you prove this? I do know there been ask for missing subscribers etc even then THAT NOT MY POINT, so I dont know why were dragging this point into me?? I said the following:

ON the subject of Youtube, its no longer what it used to be like and its becoming to highly polished and commercial. There not doing simple U tube videos there making and producing higher class of thing

 

[bramling]

RDG stepped in and gave them free passes, which I expect they have to return after their trip.

Great. Free passes for everyone when they go on a jolly? Perhaps they could roll out some red carpet too?

 

[overthewater]

Great. Free passes for everyone when they go on a jolly? Perhaps they could roll out some red carpet too?

There did for welsh heritage mini trains which got free first class tickets..

 

[DarloRich]

You're not obliged to watch their videos, and it's easy to skip forward and back on YouTube too.

I haven't watched all the videos, even though I've conversed with Geoff in the past and know the video editor well. I just haven't had the time.

It seems odd that some people have the time, but would perhaps be better off using that time to not watch something they don't like.

I am sure these videos, and the social media interactions, has made some ordinary people more keen to use the railway and travel to places they may never have seen before. Even regular rail commuters may never venture very far beyond their A to B route.

Just a few days after their trip from Carlisle to Settle, I did the same route. It was a very good experience that I knew all about long ago, but had never got around to, but now I am sure a lot more people will seek this out - and that's just one of hundreds of stations that I am sure people would now be interested to visit.

BUT most people aren't going somewhere for the station, or the rolling stock used, they're going because it links you to a village, town or city that has something worth visiting for. So venturing outside of the confines of Network Rail property seems like a sensible idea.

Finally, I am sure the videos changed as time went on and for good reason. For one, to stop becoming repetitive, but also because they invited feedback throughout and would have concentrated on giving people what they wanted.

They got a lot of requests and could also see which videos got the most views (and YouTube analytics shows which parts of any video gets the most views, where people stop watching etc).

I think they've done a fantastic job, but anyone who thinks they could do better is perfectly able to give it a shot. It's not something that anyone else is restricted from doing; you just buy some ALRs, plan your journeys, buy the necessary camera equipment, get the right editing software and computers, make sure you've got enough data to upload your videos (and time to encode/upload in rural areas with ropey mobile data and Wi-Fi), sort out hotels and transportation, plan your sustenance and make sure you come up with interesting things to say on camera for the next couple of months.

As I didn't contribute it feels wrong to consume the product ( much like when I didn't have a TV license I didn't watch TV) but I will admit to watching the section of the video that dealt with my little line. That is the only one I have seen. It was perfectly fine and the people involved seem like nice people.

 

[Feathers44]

RDG stepped in and gave them free passes, which I expect they have to return after their trip.

That's easy to say but can you prove it please? Just last week they were still talking about buying 14-day All Line Rovers so this just looks like rumours/sour grapes at the moment.