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Ordinary passengers using Heritage Railways as normal transport?

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I am just wondering do ordinary passengers ever use heritage railways as normal transport (in the same way they would use a normal train) to get to and from different places? When i ever go to heritage railways i only ever really see enthusiasts. I guess the limited timetables and days of operation and high fares might make it more difficult to use?
 
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I am just wondering do ordinary passengers ever use heritage railways as normal transport (in the same way they would use a normal train) to get to and from different places? When i ever go to heritage railways i only ever really see enthusiasts. I guess the limited timetables and days of operation and high fares might make it more difficult to use?

Ok as a start I must say I'm a member. But when I go to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, whilst volunntering for the LNER coach association. I travel from Tyneside to Grosmont [outbound via Darlington and Middlesbrough, return via Middlesbrough and the Coast line through Hartlepool and Sunderland]. I then use my Moors "staff pass" from Grosmont to Pickering. Which has surprised various fellow members over the years, using the line as it was originally intended. Indeed when I first volunnteered twenty years ago I was offered a lift/pick up from Maltron on the Scarborough line. The responce was a surprise when I declined pointing out I could travel the way I've outlined above.
 
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broadgage

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Some people do use heritage lines as a means of transport, but not that many.
Most heritage lines are either too short, or run too infrequently, or run for only a limited season, to be of much use for regular commuting.

I certainly use the West Somerset railway for shopping trips as it is more comfortable and more reliable than the bus.
 

infobleep

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For a long time I've wanted to use a heritage line as normal transport but not done so yet.

I considered going to Whitby using public transport via the North York Moores Railway but that would require a bus for part of the journey and I just didn't get round to it.

It's possible to buy singles and day returns but when I looked at it, it wasn't possible to buy a period return.

Since then I've seen that it's possible to get to Snowdon YHA using the Welsh Highland Railway. However I'm not sure that it's possible to do it in one day as it takes time to get to Portmadoc. I think it may be easier if they still had mainline services to Caernarfon.

I do look forward to the day when services run from Haywards Heath to East Grinstead. Then I'll go shopping in East Grinstead and use the Bluebell railway to get there. That is quite some years away of course.

How many heritage railways pull into towns connected by non heritage railway services?

There is the Watercress line which starts and ends at Alton.

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Ianno87

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Some railways (including the East Lancs Railway, which made the fares reasonably competitive with local buses/parking costs) offer discounted travel for local residents. The ELR actively promoted using Heywood as a Saturday "Park & Ride" for shoppers heading to Bury.
 

Firesprite

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Swanage has a Residents Discount Card. Well used by the people of Corfe Castle (With the card the fare is about same as the Bus). Non car owners in Harmans Cross depend on it, since the lost of the bus route through the village. Not forgetting its Park and Ride service from Norden. How many lines run train services up to 11pm through out the summer apart from Swanage.
 
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MotCO

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I believe that children used the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway to go to school. (Wikipedia says it ceased in 2015.)
 

6Gman

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How many heritage railways pull into towns connected by non heritage railway services?

There is the Watercress line which starts and ends at Alton.

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Ffestiniog
Welsh Highland
Talyllyn
Ravenglass & E
East Lancs
Strathspey
North Norfolk
Nene Valley

I'm sure there are others ...
 

Nippy

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Severn Valley
Soon to be Swanage Railway and Chinnor to Princes Risborough
 

Solent&Wessex

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The KWVR has had a residents railcard which offers half fare travel every day except events for over 20 years. Some people do use it as actual transport. There is a regular local resident who uses it on Sunday mornings to get to town as the local bus doesn't start till lunchtime on Sundays. I am sure there are others who use it from time to time too.

If nothing else it encourages a lot of local people to use the train to bring the children, friends and family for a trip out, which they otherwise might not have done.

And the KWVR shares the station at Keighley with Northern services - Northern use platforms 1 and 2 and the KWVR uses 3 and 4 with just a cross over the footbridge needed. It also has a physical rail connection for stock and loco transfers.
 

ASharpe

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I've used the Ravenglass Railway a couple of times to get into or out of the central lake district for backpacking holidays.

On one occasion (early July 2012) we got the first train up in the morning after some very heavy rain and part of the track had washed away. The volunteers had the track relaid much quicker than NR ever would. :)
 

neilmc

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This has its limitations. Last week I was staying at Carrog on the Llangollen Railway and took a day out with an all-day rover for £15 (Seniors price) which was quite acceptable. On the Saturday my wife drove into Llangollen early and I said I would follow by public transport later in the morning. I found that, due to it being a Thomas The Tank Engine day, I could not book a single ticket and the only thing available was an all-day ticket priced at £16 even though I only wanted to take a single journey. Furthermore, if any local people were used to travel between Llangollen and Corwen - a reasonably large village/ small town - it was tough because services were terminating at Carrog for the Thomas festivities which also took place on FOUR consecutive days this week.

Fortunately there is a reasonable (for a remote area) bus service which parallels the line and I used this, but it reinforced the fact that local people should never rely on a preserved railway for normal travelling needs - not only is it very unlikely to run at all in winter, and weekday services generally only operate in school holidays, but your requirements will come a very poor second when event days are planned. This is only to be expected, since in practice local people will only produce a small fraction of the revenue required to run the operation.
 

Crawley Ben

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I believe that children used the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway to go to school. (Wikipedia says it ceased in 2015.)

That's correct. Not sure how the service operated for (in terms of years etc) but believe it ran twice daily during term time for the children concerned. Believe the council ended the arrangement (cost cutting measure?). Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong with the above.

Cheers

Ben
 

bradford758

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This has its limitations. Last week I was staying at Carrog on the Llangollen Railway and took a day out with an all-day rover for £15 (Seniors price) which was quite acceptable. On the Saturday my wife drove into Llangollen early and I said I would follow by public transport later in the morning. I found that, due to it being a Thomas The Tank Engine day, I could not book a single ticket and the only thing available was an all-day ticket priced at £16 even though I only wanted to take a single journey. Furthermore, if any local people were used to travel between Llangollen and Corwen - a reasonably large village/ small town - it was tough because services were terminating at Carrog for the Thomas festivities which also took place on FOUR consecutive days this week.

Fortunately there is a reasonable (for a remote area) bus service which parallels the line and I used this, but it reinforced the fact that local people should never rely on a preserved railway for normal travelling needs - not only is it very unlikely to run at all in winter, and weekday services generally only operate in school holidays, but your requirements will come a very poor second when event days are planned. This is only to be expected, since in practice local people will only produce a small fraction of the revenue required to run the operation.
Yes, I too was disappointed that single tickets were not available to Langollen on a diesel enthusiasts' day (I had a day ticket for the bus).


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--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Another use is to travel to the football match, eg Bury, Kidderminster, Matlock and rugby league at Hunslet.
Unfortunately this also means a single journey as preserved railways often finish for the day at full time 4.50 pm.

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Waldgrun

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As has been said preserved lines are not really suitable for day to day use. However, I have seen a a couple of lines which have been used to serve local needs.
On the Bure Valley Railway one Sunday lunch time I witnessed a Local party travelling in to Aylsham from either Brampton or Buxton, for a Sunday Lunch date, as the train was cheaper than the local taxi service.
At one time on the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway childern from Llanfair used the train on a Saturday morning or even during the Summer holidays to travel to Welshpool,for a day at the swimming pool. Out on the first train and returning on the last.
 

Baxenden Bank

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I've certainly used the Ravenglass & Eskdale line as a 'normal' passenger service, taking the train one way and walking the other, walks from intermediate halts and many walks from Dalegarth up into the mountains. As there is no local bus service it is the only way to get up the valley without a car. The service is frequent (depending on time of year) and with their rover ticket not too expensive. Never been let down by them either.

I've never used any other preserved line though. Preserved railways always seem rather expensive for a simple 'transport only' requirement, rather than a 'family leisure and heritage experience'. This is particularly the case if there is a parallel bus service. For example Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadoc has an hourly bus service year round but only a seasonal (up to four per day?) rail service at a much higher price and longer journey time. It is a nice trip though.
 

duffield

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I've used the EVR (Ecclesbourne Valley Railway) as 'public transport' one way from Duffield to get to Wirksworth to start a short walk along the High Peak Trail (from Black Rock to High Peak Junction to Cromford NR station)

I'm also planning to do the following using the EVR

Duffield to Idridgehay on EVR.
Walk from Idridgehay to Kirk Ireton, to and around Carsington Water, and then to Wirksworth.
Wirksworth to Duffield on EVR.
 

cav1975

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The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has a local residents' season ticket which is very keenly priced relative to normal fares. It does have a handful of blocked out days for specific special events which are made known to prospective purchasers before they buy.

The ticket covers the whole season - March to October.

I don't have any information about how many are sold/used.
 
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61653 HTAFC

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I've used the West Somerset for reasons other than the fact that I like trains- about 10 years ago I'd driven from my home in Taunton to Minehead for a walk on the beach, when just beyond Dunster I felt my airways begin to tighten as a result of what I assume was a rather extreme bout of hayfever.

I began walking back whilst trying to stay calm and regulate my breathing, as I knew I had an epipen and inhaler in the car. I decided to head inland where I was more likely to encounter another person, or be easily found if I was unable to get further and needed to call an ambulance. Shortly off the beach I noticed how near I was to Dunster station and it just so happened I could hear a Westbound train (a DMU) approaching so I walked as quickly as I could to the station where I spoke to the guard and explained my situation. The guard said not to bother paying but I insisted he sell me a ticket to Minehead!
 

miami

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Friends have used the Torquay kingswier train to visit other friends in Dartmouth, beats the bus from totness.
 
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Thanks for all the info. So it sounds like they are used a lot more than i thought.

I think that one of the problems is that some (not all but quite a few) heritage railways seem to just completly ignore and forget about their smaller intermediate stations and dont even mention them in the timetables. Also another problem is that many heritage railways only show the prices of day rover tickets but dont show the prices of any of the cheaper (and often more useful) single and return tickets. And then most of them have such limited days and hours of operation.

Yes that is a good idea about using newer DMUs when they get withdrawn. Thinking about it the 142 / 143 / 144 / 150 / 153 / 155 / 156 / 158 / 159 are all very likely to get withdrawn within the next five to ten years. They could be very useful for providing services aimed at ordinary passengers and commuters and shoppers.

It would also be great to have some sprinters and pacers in presevation (at the moment 141 103 / 141 108 / 141 113 are the only preserved second generation DMUs).

I think if heritage railways provide a service seven days a week from 06:00 to 00:00 (using second generation DMUs) then they could get well used. I think commuter services were trialled on the Weardale Railway with 141s? Im not sure when or why that stopped?

Personally i think the Spa Valley Railway could be useful for commuters who live in the western parts of Tunbridge Wells (they could change trains at Eridge). The Mid Hants Railway could be useful for commuters in Alresford. The Cholsey & Wallingford Railway could be useful for commuters in Wallingford. The Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway could be useful for commuters in Chinnor. Im sure there are plenty of other services that could be useful as well. There must be over 20 heritage railways that connect with National Rail Stations now.
 
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341o2

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I'd sugest going back to the first line to be preserved. or in today's speak, a heritage line - the Tallyllyn and LTC Rolt's Tallylyyn adventure. Locals still used the line, especially on Fridays, and Rolt felt it a duty to ensure that these peope were transported in preference to the visitors.

One of the reasons behind the Ffestiniog success is that the railway is in the Snowdonia natinal park.

try the original Mid Hants proposal to provide a diesel commuter service over the entire route which did not succeed

Or the Swanage railway which should be introducing a wareham - swanage service next year aimed at the commuter market
 
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Merthyr Imp

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You could maybe include the 'Butlin's Express' that ran from Bristol Temple Meads through to Minehead on the West Somerset Railway a few years ago. I think it only lasted one summer season though.
My son and I, staying at Butlin's, had a ride on it from Minehead to Taunton and back and on our journeys it didn't seem well used.
If I remember right, the reason we didn't use it ourselves to travel to/from Butlin's was because it would have meant walking with our luggage from Minehead station to the camp, whereas the bus from Taunton station took you right into it.
 

martinsh

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I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the Severn Valley yet. I have a client in Bewdley and when I have to visit them I normally take the train from Kidderminster (starting in Crewe). It's expensive, but worth it for the experience !
 

SpacePhoenix

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As well as Swanage running their DMU into Wareham next year it would be nice if SWT were to also run a service to Swanage 1 there 1 back each day, even if it's just during the summer holidays only
 

Simon11

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On the Talyllyn, we do have a commuter, who travels from Brynglas to Dolgoch everyday as she works in the hotel at Dolgoch.
 
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