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Strange pricing on rail timetable books

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pemma

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pemma

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Why does anyone buy a 'bible' these days. With the amount of info available online they are fast becoming obsolete

I imagine some the older generation would buy the book instead of using the online options but I can't see the books selling in huge numbers.
 

philjo

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That is Amazon for you - they tend to keep old editions listed if they still have stock & their pricing is sometimes not logical.
I noticed sometime last year that they still had a very early NFM CD in stock. their system was offering it to me instead of the one I wanted which was not listed.

I still purchase the large timetable book. My Dad likes to use it to plan his journeys - he does not use computers. Also I find it is easier to browse the printed version in specific tables than to view those tables on screen (& saves having to print those tables out)
 

Ivo

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Why does anyone buy a 'bible' these days. With the amount of info available online they are fast becoming obsolete

I shan't reveal who, but I know one person on here buys them so he can highlight XC HST journeys, allowing him to use them instead of Vomiters whenever possible. I have to say though, surely he would know by now? :p

The one time I went to buy the timetable I couldn't find anywhere that sold it. Mind you, this was in Wimbledon.
 

Anon Mouse

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For those of us who have not converted to Iphones etc, the bible is the only way we can check times on the go. Also I find a book easier to navigate than the huge database online or faffing about on NRES.

Of course, once the Wife allows me to get an Iphone my opinion may change! :)
 

pemma

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For those of us who have not converted to Iphones etc, the bible is the only way we can check times on the go. Also I find a book easier to navigate than the huge database online or faffing about on NRES.

I don't have an iPhone or the like and don't carry a big timetable book with me either.

I get the timetable information from the Internet or from the station in advance. If I'm doing a journey between Cheshire and West Yorks I won't exactly need the timetables for Merseyrail on me.
 

gswindale

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And if you know the route you are taking, why not get the timetable leaflet(s) that relate?
 

Anon Mouse

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I don't have an iPhone or the like and don't carry a big timetable book with me either.

I get the timetable information from the Internet or from the station in advance. If I'm doing a journey between Cheshire and West Yorks I won't exactly need the timetables for Merseyrail on me.

I think it depends where you are travelling to. I used to only carry the 'Bible' if I was doing a ALR or a random trip around an area that I'm not too familiar with the frequency or routes. I last bought one 3 years ago as married life has practically put a curb on my bashing as other prioritys come into place!
 

Peter Mugridge

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Why does anyone buy a 'bible' these days. With the amount of info available online they are fast becoming obsolete

I buy it each time; it's much easier than switching on the computer every time I want to look something up plus on complex journeys yes I do carry it around with me.

Unlikely I'll ever do another ALRR though; I'm getting too old for a solid week of very early starts!
 

Brucey

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The old version can be bought used for £2.51 including postage, so I'm not sure why someone would spend an additional £13.49 to get a brand new copy?
 

Peter Mugridge

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I buy them ( usually at WHS in the main London termini ) as soon as they come out, so I have them before the start date. There won't be any used ones around at that point!
 

Oliver

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I tried to order one in a local book shop a couple of years ago. They were unable to help me as they couldn't find its ISBN number - as far as they were concerned it didn't exist. Does the current version have an ISBN?
 

34D

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Why does anyone buy a 'bible' these days. With the amount of info available online they are fast becoming obsolete

You obviously haven't been in the situation of a blackberry/iPhone/whatever (whose batteries last less than a day) going flat and the sockets on the cross country coach you are sat in being inoperative?
 

Schnellzug

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Why does anyone buy a 'bible' these days. With the amount of info available online they are fast becoming obsolete

It's much more convenient to see how many trains there are, how often they run, how many stops they make, whether a later one would be quicker, & so on with an old fashioned printed Timetable than clicking through pages and pages on Journey Planners.
 

MidnightFlyer

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The library round where I live used to have the old offical timetable during its validity, then sell it for about £2 after it expired. Nowadays I tend to either research beforehand, get timetables at the station, or Internet / 84950 them off my phone.

Aren't the 'new' combined books meant to be littered with errors? I'm fairly certain they used to be.
 

pemma

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Aren't the 'new' combined books meant to be littered with errors? I'm fairly certain they used to be.

One thing that doesn't help is Northern not making their leaf fall timetables available in time for the printing of the May-December timetable, so they just have a footnote saying that the times will be adjusted by a few minutes in October. Hardly good enough for someone paying £16 to have all the timetables.
 

Peter Mugridge

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I tried to order one in a local book shop a couple of years ago. They were unable to help me as they couldn't find its ISBN number - as far as they were concerned it didn't exist. Does the current version have an ISBN?

ISBN 978-0-11-706975-5

Bar code 9 780117 069725
 
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