Channel 4 Programme

The final programme was a great piece of publicity for both the Llangollen Railway & the area in general. The drone shots really showed how great a railway we have. I even managed to spot myself on & around 4229 a few times.

Bob.

 

Plus the chance to present a hell of a lot more variation over the years!

I wonder .... who's got the wagon built for the most surprising cargo? The Bluebell's 'circus' van must have some competition on that front, surely?

 

Have to say really good series, too show joe public that theres more to railways than locomotives, showing the effort people toil over, on various eras of carriages that they can ride on, may even generate some more volunteers for c&w depts who knows. Also some good publicity for the railways and tlw aswell

 

I think in terms of interest you’d be hard pushed to beat the one on the Bowes with the gong attached for taking the rope down the incline.


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A festiniog gravity train ............
Not all those "waggons" the same: derelict, immaculately just restored, sound runner, under repair or repainting, braked, unbraked, size variations etc.

 

.... or put another way ..... except for it being unlikely any waggon will be wrecked in an incline runaway or "lost" for too long these days, pretty much as it always was.

 

Well there's always the wagon in the catch pit on Sheep Pasture Incline C&HPR, assuming it's still there
Dave

 

I believe the odd bit of Corris related ironwork (most wagons which ran on the line were actually privately owned) still turns up around quarries in the valley from time to time. The Aberllefenni slate operations were one of the later survivors and the best quality stuff found use in electrical switchgear ... perhaps some still does.

 

i got to see the coach at Carrog the other day, it doesn't look as wonderful as it did on the screen and I was mindful of the comments made on the air about using all original wood. I guess it's a true restoration rather than a rebuild.

 

Determining the physical, or "real", benefit of virtual or online endeavours is probably one of the hardest effects to measure accurately in modern times! I have attempted to look hard through unbiased eyes to try and gauge the benefits of writing the North Norfolk blog through interviews with people I meet, as it is a question often asked by enthusiasts on places such as NP.

So far I have seen no evidence that the blog generates any new volunteers. However existing volunteers frequently tell me how much they like the updates. This is from both C&W volunteers (who read the blog to see what's happened on days they're not in or over a period of time theyve been away for whatever reason) and also from volunteers in other departments (who are appreciating what goes on inside C&W when previously they had no idea).

As far as income is concerned, I feel it has not been put to the test yet as the NNR has not had any major carriage-centric fundraising schemes since the blog was founded. There was an appeal for the Quad Arts some years back, who knows if it would have generated some more contribution from further afield had the blog been around in those times?

A few public visitors have mentioned the blog in connection with seeing a particular coach on their visit, so there is a small indication that the blog "may" have generated a sprinkling of ticket sales via persuading people to pop in to NNR whilst they're in the area to find something they've read about in the blog.

"Support" is a difficult term to pin down. I think the blog has slightly raised the internal reputation of C&W within the NNR, as previous ignorance towards how much we have to pump into a dilapidated mark 1 to get it nice and shiny again is being dispelled. Weekly updates showing people corrosion, more corrosion, next week corrosion etc etc gives an appreciation what a slog restoration is.

Is it worth doing the updates? Well it takes hours and does feel like a bind some weeks I must admit, but repeated positive comments from volunteers, visitors and online on places such as here keeps me doing it for now. Moral support is high so updates will continue for the foreseeable future!

I suspect all of these blogs on railways are down to individuals and are unlikely to continue if said individuals stop for whatever reason. I'm fairly sure if I moved away the NNR blog wouldn't continue, certainly not in it's current format.

Sorry for the massive thread drift, but hopefully it ties strongly in with the theme of this thread about generating interest or support for carriage restoration through media.

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Sometimes just finding the time to go around taking photos for a Facebook update or blog can be quite a daunting task, especially when you are getting close to completing a task or someone is relying on your help or assistance. Quite often I end up going round after most people have departed.

I very appreciate seeing other C&W blogs ( NNR in particular ) it can give you ideas for a solution for a particularly perplexing problem or conversely you can end up thinking why on earth are they doing it like that!

Yes it is well worth doing the updates as others get to see what is involved in keeping our treasures in service.

 

More No.10 photos taken by another IWSR C&W volunteer can been seen here:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/59985648@N07/

Also on the subject of blogs one of those I run about the IWSR certainly pulled in funds for our SECR underframes & I'm very hopeful that we'll sell lots of the No.10 restoration story because of info in the blogs.

 

Cineflix have acquired the rights, presumably the international ones, to this series.

PH

 

Had to scroll through quite a few lovely photos before getting to the lovely photos if IWR No.10 .... not that I'm complaining, mind! Those closeups of the underframe, as well as the book, will be invaluable when my models of long gone IWC stock of similar vintage eventually get to that stage.

 

The No.10 photos were first when I posted the link, but since then Bob has been to Watercress line and obviously posted some photos from there. Just checked and there's now a No.10 album which lives here:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/59985648@N07/albums/72157698298180594

 

Ooh! .... Ta muchly.

 

Was at Carrog today, the North Eastern teak coach was on display. Well done for making it watertight and saving it from further deterioration. But restoration?

 

Reading the excellent IOWSR supplement today, it said the financial contribution from the production company came nowhere near the total restoration costs of no.10. The railway had to put another £62k of its own money into the project to do it properly.

Perhaps the team at Llangollen weren’t so fortunate in getting extra funding from the Llangollen railway, and it had to be done on more of a shoestring?

 

£62,000 plus whatever the channel 4 company inputted is quite something!

I never expected to see any of the Oldbury carriages return to the rails. An original IWR coach once again operable and in service is to me something quite very special.

Cheers,

Julian

 

Currently, across on BBC 1, the same 8p.m. Wednesday slot is occupied by something called "Animals Behaving Badly"! The impetus given by Channel 4 to these four projects, the financial contribution and the peak hour screening seem all the more worthy by comparison.

PH