Edmonson tickets a lost "cause" for ever?

Agreed, until folk can come up with convincing reasons why the alternatives are cheaper and more effective then they can say people don't care about Edmondsons until they're blue in the face, but that's no reason to change if there's no real advantage to the alternative, you might as well have Edmondsons and please everybody.

 

You have missed it - a number of posts from @Bean-counter, who is very much in a position to understand the financial side of preserved railway operation. Up front capital costs, shorter equipment life, and limited if any savings in materials from electronic equipment, against pretty low running costs and extremely durable equipment that lends itself to maintenance by volunteers for Edmonson tickets.

Against that, there are some incidental savings and revenue opportunities argued for electronic systems; the scale of which is debateable and relies for its main example on practice on a railway that is atypical in the fares it charges.

 

Add to this that Thomas Edmondsons system was a huge innovative leap forward in the 1840s, one that was to be exported to most of the world too and was so simple and practical it had no effective replacements until the digital age. Just like steam locos, a great British Invention of which we should all be proud. And, just like steam locos, a part of railway heritage we should cherish and promote.

 

You don't need to ask people all the time to find out what they are thinking - in any case most Brits are actually very bad at answering things truthfully (as opposed to saying what they think the 'should' say - hence the tendency to complain about poor service around a restaurant table but then assure the waiting staff everything is fine when they come round).

If you are a regular volunteer you can simply observe peoples actions when approaching the ticket window or their actions in the queue - and its extremely rare to see and adult question the format of the ticket or question what the numbers / styles mean. If fact most seem oblivious to the fact they even say 1st or 3rd class when they are asking "where can I sit". The fact that the 'travel' tickets these days look nothing like Edmonson tickets (where people still use them instead of contactless payments or QR codes on digital devices) is not helpful as very few seem to appreciate their true purpose.

Yes there is an appreciation that the Edmonson tickets are 'old fashioned' (in a good way that is - just like 'steam trains' are) but the link between them being an entitlement to travel / visit the station is not there in their minds. To most the 'prof of payment' is the EPOS receipt generated by the card reader, with the Edmonson ticket being more of a quaint souvenir of the day (even if it is the thing that gets clipped by staff )

True a few posters explaining such features to visitors might help and give something for parents to run through with their children - but then you run into problems with the "BR never had such posters in 195x" so neither should we" attitude.

 

I don't understand what point you are trying to make then, as you accept that most people appreciate them as old fashioned and a souvenir, and therefore a good thing?

 

So according to you those of us who bought shares or contributed to things like the building that's now on Kidderminster goods yard needn't have bothered, because the public don't notice things like that? As regarding your comments about diesels. You really should remember that railway history did not end on August 11th 1968. Rather funny how you say the likes of 33's etc are 'overkill' yet my parents who are both front of house staff say as soon as they explain to passengers that the 33 on their train was built up the road in Smethwick, or for that matter the Warship, the Whizzo or Vac (that worked through Kidderminster) in their days of service on the big railway they do understand. It's the little details that count, whether that's tickets, milk churns or construction in a sympathetic style of a building. Get the little things right and the rest follows.

 

For 'Steam, Steel and Stars' in 2012 my Dad and I had pre purchased tickets but we still had to queue up at the booking office at Llangollen for a 6880 sticker, it really did defeat the object of the exercise. We ended up missing out on Caley 828, to say we were unhappy was a bit of an understatment!

 

After 400 plus posts, mostly treading the same paths, two comments cross my mind. The thread has certainly caused interest; almost as much as a livery one.
He that complies against his will
Is of his own opinion still
Which he may adhere to, yet disown,
For reasons to himself best known

 

So basically no real evidence. BTW I do like the sweeping generalisation about people from Britain, and you base that on what? Crude stereotypes and cliches aren't evidence. That doesn't really help your argument very much.

Really all it is, is a small sample size of personal observation.

 

How many heritage railways have barriers?

 

These are the type of tickets in question:

 

I could see that being quite popular for a diesel gala actually!

 

You've hit the nail exactly on the head there. In Gestalt terms, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" And so it is!

 

Foams at mouth at sight of these examples!!! These, of course, would now be "heritage" if the machinery still existed to issue them, but would only be appropriate set in the correct time period. I may be wrong but these may have only existed for the Inter-City brand. Unless anyone here knows otherwise... More to the point, after over 40 years, these are still legible, unlike modern thermal prints/epos which will have reverted to blank pieces of card/paper and will leave no legacy for future historians.

 

They generally have human barriers who wish to see your ticket as you enter the platform.

However in my experience, clipping tickets and directing folk takes a lot less time than the act of booking the ticket - which actually takes a long time once you factor in the purchaser needing to have the different types of fares explained to them (even though they are shown on posters as they queue up) by the clerk, the purchaser have a discussion with the others in their party about said fares, plus the time taken by the debit / credit card processing machine.

 

In my experience that's the exception rather than the norm.

 

Yes please!

 

A lot of these are more colourful than those I remember, but I notice they mostly, if not all, are preserved line tickets. I only recall white, green and buff Edmonsons on BR and its predecessors. But of course some areas, where I never travelled, may have used other colours.

 

Firstly There is plenty of evidence that historically the British have been much less likely to complain directly about bad service compared to the French or Germans say. It's a frequent theme in consumer association articles that we need to speak up more when things are not as we expect them to be. As such while there is no harm from undertaking customer surveys the data recieved needs to be carefully checked for bias - for example is it only a certain demographic e.g. Enthuasts that feel strongly enough to take part in said survey.

Secondly I speak from having been a member of volunteer platform staff for over a decade during which time I have been able to observe / interact with many types of visitors. Your experience of platformm / booking hall operations other than being a visitor is?

Thirdly for the avoidance of doubt I am not advocating the removal of Edmanson tickets per say - they certainly do add to the Heritage atmosphere as it were and make good souvenirs for children (I have heard quite a few "we can put these in your scrapbook to show what you did this summer" comments over the years). However at the same time it's quite clear that due to changes in the wider entertainment / leisure industry (of which Heritage Railways are most definitely part of these days) advance purchase must be offered to potential visitors while simulatiously avoiding the problem of (1) incurring extra postage / admin costs (2) Causing extra queues to develop where the tickets are collected / exchanged (remembering that with most Railways struggling to recruit enough volunteers in the first place and one of the big advantages of advance booking is sidestepping queueing).

 

Something like that would be great! All we need now is a trolley dolly in a cheap grey suit selling tinnys of Red Stripe and Cezch Pils!