Llangollen Railway

Goodness me, of all the things you could find wrong on that photo, the running in board posts and the bench? The worst part of it surely is the platform surface, especially the tactile strips. Possibly necessary for a new station these days, I don’t know, but distinctly not ‘heritage’ at all.

Nice to see a train has made it there though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I believe that tactile paviours are not necessary on heritage railways, even for new platforms but it was 16 years ago when HMRI told me this. Things might have changed since.

 

Yes, the tactile strips are glaringly obvious, but as I have been doing GWR signage, I was intrigued by the running in board. Then I noticed the odd bench.

 

Now, the first thing I noticed was a railway that went into receivership is running trains again, but yeah, the precise shape of the lettering is way more important...

 

I'm not saying it is important, I was interested in the running in board and how it was made. I was asked only yesterday where I got my 12 inch letters from.

 

Broadway doesn’t appear to have any, however I’m not sure if that was classed as a new station or not. Both of the new stations on the Mountsorrel branch have them.

I would anticipate that, given the typically higher staffing levels on a heritage railway, it would be similar to the argument that carriage doors don’t need to be a different colour. But I don’t actually know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The new platform I was involved with has the tactile paviours. It was when it was being inspected that the inspector made the comment that we needn't have provided them as they weren't required.
I think carriage doors on new coaches need to be a different colour even on heritage railways unless an exemption is obtained but it's late and I'm not going to start reading through the legislation at this time.

 

These kind of comments are precisely why I avoid posting anything about our railway on this thread any more.

Lucky we didn't say anything about the dirty knife (London Bridge canopy columns).

 

I'd argue that the tactile strips don't look that out of place, and given the nature of a island platform provide an additional safeguard against people wlaking backwards and falling into the track.

The benches, well given the Llangollen's situation I don't think it matters what the benches look like. They can be changed easily as funds allow.

 

People are eager to sponsor GWR benches. But they always want memorial plaques (rose attached to one in the picture)

 

Yes Llangollen folks, the majority of us are indeed delighted to see you running again and congratulate you on Corwen Station. Plenty of time to adorn it with additional GWR trinkets as funds permit. 21st century visitor attractions nave to appeal to a wide variety of visitors including people with mobility issues, children in buggies and folks who might not be familiar with travelling by train. The tactile edgings on a busy island platform are way more effective than a strip of white paint…

 

Hear! Hear! The way the LlR has come through so testing a time is mighty impressive and the members and volunteers have every reason to be proud of what they've achieved.

The bit of that post I've highlighted really hit home. Just 'coz a superannuated old fart like me knows to open a window to operate a door handle doesn't make it obvious to anyone who hasn't. How long had it been since the last slam-door stock went from the Southern? Answer .... 12 years already and now well over a quarter of a century since the last EPB stock was withdrawn. How old d'you feel now? You're welcome!

 

You are so right! A strap controlled droplight is a big puzzle to many and not just to the youthful.

 

Up until EMR dispensed with the HST I regularly got stuck behind someone that had no idea how to open the doors and seemed to expect them to open automatically. Quite often they'd stand looking at it and then realise someone had opened the next door along and would then head for that thinking it was out of order.

 

That'd cause a bit of head scratching if it had been the same person each time!

 

Is anyone able to advise whether services next week will be steam hauled, diesel hauled or DMU please? Expecting to be in the area for a few days midweek, but I couldn't find any notice power info on the website.

 

Services next week will be dmu Tuesday to Friday.

Bob.

 

Is there a noticeable difference in passenger numbers on those days when a dmu is used instead of steam?

 

Thanks Bob

 

Whatever the correlation may be, the causality could be either way.