Great Western Coffee Shop

A Poster on the WNXX Interactive Forum, who organises heritage diesel galas, made some excellent comments there overnight concerning the organisation and running of such events sparked, it would seem, by some people having expectattions at a level that's too high to be realistic of achievable.   I won't quote the article at all, as it's only available to registered members ... if any of you are registered members then you can find the thread at http://www.wnxxforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&p=70319

And this struck a chord. I walked to Trowbridge Station on Saturday, pausing for a while on the aquaduct that carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the railway line just to the south of Bradford Junction, and I was happy to watch a TransWilts train come off the single track, and a little later another one pass on its way up to Swindon via Melksham.  Well - I may have been happy, but a camera-bedecked person, photographing trains beside me, was bemoaning the lack of interesting stuff in these parts.

As long ago as 2008, I visited a preserved railway and was shocked and saddened at the amount of decaying stock lying around in the open - http://www.wellho.net/mouth/1757_Preserved-railways-struggling-to-the-future-.html .  Preserved and heritage railways, and mainline charters, are largely run using equipment that went into that field second hand (at best) and worn out and restored from decay at worst.  So that equipment will come with the vagaries of age, and whilst there may be a period of good and easy use (as when something was withdrawn before it was knackered, as happened at the end of steam and in early diesel days) there is an ever-mounting toll that makes things harder to run, together with a faster and more sophisticated and safety and compensation based rail network that means that even if preserved stock stands still, it's falling behind if you get what I mean.  Diesel galas may indeed be running on 25 m.p.h. private railways, but guest locomotives have to get there is the railway has just one or two of its own stalwards - perhaps they have just one main line type, and can't make a gala out of it - perhaps (indeed) they have the quaintness of a Colonel Stephens line (Authentically so, of course, for the East Kent and Kent and East Sussex).

I have the most enormous respect for the heritage and enthusiast business and people - huge amounts of time put in, lovely people, a great leisure industry, and I very much enjoy the opportunity of trying out their services and remembering what things used to be like ... it's just as different as night and day from what we're about here in Wiltshire on the TransWilts.

I'm delighted to see that 153 come off the TransWilts, and a 150 go back up.   I'm delighted to catch the following 153 trip back up to Melksham, and indeed to have over a dozen people get off the train at Melksham and a far bunch get on as well.   And this is the general ebb and flow of traffic in the area, and not the "anorak". Yes, the anorak is welcome (I wear one sometimes!) as is his / her feedback, but the service that's running on this line cannot rely on the enthusiast's custom or the custom of the passenger travelling just once to try out the train.  I'm very relieved indeed to report my guestimate that at least 80% of our traffic is repeating business, and that the line is carrying well over the daily averages needed in the third year, even on a cold and wet midweek day when enthusiasts and try-it-once people are notable by their rarity.

Well said, Graham.  For some enthusiasts there is a child-like belief that the railway (in all its manifestations) is there primarily for their amusement and that all problems as they see them are simplistically solved.  Heritage lines are indeed for pleasure and often serve an educational purpose, but they also need sound business plans and staff with high-level skills.  The community rail projects will always be run with basic trains and services, certainly initially, but the effort put in by many voluntary and statutory bodies and individuals must not be underestimated. Please don't be discouraged, Graham, by a comment from someone who was looking for something in the wrong place.  I know how much time all parties put in (experience in the family) and each community rail partnership is a triumph (I was going to say 'small triumph' but thought better of it).

I'm not - on the contrary I'm encouraged by the rarity value of someone looking for things of rarity value, because they're the ones who will fade away when it's no longer rare.   We - after all - sought a regular / clock face service running like clockwork so that people can simply use it as part of their duly lives and whilst we're not quite at something I would describe as being at that level / style, we're clearly getting close enough to have the seeker of the unusual ignoring the service.


Oh - it may be small, but it's quality - "Look what we are achieving with just one carriage" comment to Claire Perry last Friday!   There's an irony in community rail that it's with smaller lines and services that the community involvement is encouraged (though we are just about the smallest of the small!), and I find myself wondering what could be done by a community partnership on something much bigger - taking even a main line service and giving more pride and ownership to the communities along the way.   

My own view is that Community and Heritage Rail are too differnet things.

As you say Community Rail is about getting, supporting and promoting  a viable rail service for the line in question in conjunction with the TOC concerned. Community rail is also an integral part of the public transport provision in its area.

Heritage Rail is is often a short disconnected line which provides train rides and but not public transport.

However there is an anomoly in that the North York Moors runs into Whitby over Network Rail track which is in itself a Community Rail partnership so an interesting co-operation between the two sectors. Whether there are other Heritage lines which could do the same, I can think ofI can think of the West Somerset into Taunton and possibly the Severn Valley to ?. But nither runs onto a Community Rail line.

What we haven't got is a true multi purpose railway which provides steam  tourist trains, Communtiy railcars, an ED Tram/train Suburban Service, Special heritage steam trains and a freight service.

All of which the Harz system does every day (including Christmas Day). Namely Steam Tourist trains to the Broken, Railcars mostly for school children, ED Tram Trains onto the Nordhausen Tram system. Heritage steam charter trains (1897 steam locos). Not sure whether the freight is still running but it used to be Stone traffic, in Standard gauge bogie  hoppers on metre gauge rollboks. Of course it's heavily subsidised by the local Lander even after the Broken line revenue is taken into account.