Which Preserved Lines have Electric Car Charging Points??

And for those that don't and aren't planning any right now why not?

I would have thought that given the likely length of a visit a standard 13A plug might suffice and a marked bay

 

who pays? what is the advantage to the Railway?

 

We have two charging points in Havenstreet car park.

 

I'd have thought the advantage is attracting the customer which only owns an electric car (which, although perhaps rare, is only going to become more common) and selling tickets to those travelling on it. If the railway is not served by brilliant public transport then driving may realistically be the only way potential customers are going to arrive. Putting an electric charging point in means those customers who own an electric car and might not be able to do a return trip on one charge are more likely to be able to visit.

(Yes, I know perhaps at the moment the number of people this may apply to is quite small, but it's only going to grow in number)

 

Which charging company do you use and do you charge?
Would it be worth adding this to Zap Maps? ( It is the definitive mapping of charging points.)

Cheers, Neil

( Haven Street is conveniently positioned between parents in West Cowes and Sandown!)

PS I hope they are marked "Electric Vehicles Only"!

 

I haven’t the foggiest, I should be in next Tuesday so will have a look.

 

but surely the need for a charge in the middle of the day out will only reduce as technology improves. If there is a need for charge points, as you say, how cost effective is installing facilities for one or two visitors and what about the third guy who turns up in those circumstances and finds he can't charge his car?

 

As technology improves, yes, theoretically it will mean people can do greater ranges on a single charge, but then that will mean there will be greater distances where people could do it if given the opportunity for a top-up. And because electric charging is always going to take longer than popping into a petrol station an electric car driver is always going to appreciate being able to turn up at somewhere they can just plug it in while they go and do something else, even if it's not close to empty or going to be able to fill up in the time it's there. Whenever I have a period I know I can, I always plug my phone in, even if it's still got a good chunk of battery left. If my car was electric I would treat it the same way. Just to give me that extra peace of mind.

The risk of a third guy turning up is going to be a risk in every single place electric charging points are placed. It doesn't mean it should be used as a reason not to put one in. If a railway was so inclined, they could always offer pre-booking the space, a bit like pre-booking a ticket. I know that wouldn't completely solve the problem, but it's a possibility.

 

I would have thought that a 13A plug and a marked bay or two would suffice in most cases for now. That wont be expensive

 

well surely if everyone parks wherever they are going with your method of plugging it in " just in case", there will never be enough charging points. You would be getting peace of mind whilst some other guy with a near flat battery would be in trouble. I can see so many problems with charging points, better to develop quick charging stations where the EV can be topped up as quick as a petrol vehicle.

 

Volks Electric Railway (Serendipitous or what?) ...... 2 on Madeira Drive, right next to and 2 more in Bartholomews, nearby. Quite coincidentally of course, half of our city's total are therefore within a quarter mile of the main Town Hall. That's just the free-to-use ones, there may well be others by now.
http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/con...l-transport-and-road-safety/electric-vehicles

 

A fast charge from 40% to 85% of battery capacity takes about 30 to 40 minutes on a Nissan Leaf. So at Haven Street, that is time purchase tickets and a quick look around the museum and then come back and move the car.

13A through a normal socket is really just an emergency system. My wife tried it once and 9 hours charge went from 35% to 60% charge.

What really annoys electric car owners is internal combustion cars using the charging bay because they can't be bothered to drive any further. ( If you're the owner of the KIA SUV who blocks both the charging bay at Winchester Chesil car park, please remember one day you might be blocked in by out of charge electric cars .... )

Most Nissan garages offer a fast charge service to Nissan electric cars even if purchased elsewhere. Great for a toilet stop and a free coffee! I guess other makers do something similar.

Cheers, Neil

PS Contrary to some comments, electric cars cannot tap into the 3rd rail. I don't think I would be popular filling up the boot with 3rd rail earthing straps.....

 

A practice - when deliberately carried out - known as 'Musking', I understand...

 

I would suggest a meaningful proportion of persons plugging in wouldn't come back and move it before their ride.

 

Human nature being what it is, I would suggest you are quite correct.

It's worth keeping in mind that the familiar 'filling station' concept didn't spring into life along with the infernal combustion engine. Before the advent of the petrol pump we're familiar with, petrol was dispensed by pharmacies, amongst other diverse outlets. Point is, the whole 'car experience' we take for granted was as much a gradual evolution towards the broad m.o. of today as was the development of the steam loco and as the move to electric vehicles will be.

With workaday driverless cars looming on the horizon, coupled with the near omnipresence of electrical supply (certainly when compared with bulk petrol/diesel storage tanks), the eventual solution(s) to how and where electric vehicles are charged are likely to develop along some novel lines. With comparatively few electric vehicles, as a percentage of the total of everything on the roads at present, we're very much witnessing the birth of a whole new transport ethos. There are so many possibilities for how it develops that I'd hesitate to make any firm predictions.

 

Abellio Scotrail have charging points at some of their stations, I saw some at Carluke back in the Spring ( just a few and probably about as far from the platforms as you could get, but that's an aside ) and that's exactly the thought I had, what use are they if someone hooks up their car and goes off to work for the next 10 hours. Support for electric cars is at an immature stage of development and I'd imagine heritage organisations have rather more pressing things to deal with and spend money on.

 

Not at a preserved Station but not far from Ryde Esplanade Station are three reserved electric car charging points, two of the positions normally have car club vehicles sitting in them.

 

Dalegarth, the inland terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (free) https://ravenglass-railway.co.uk/about-us/environmental-policy/

 

Electric or otherwise?