Edmonson tickets a lost "cause" for ever?

Very recently I have visited Bluebell , Kent and East Sussex rly, Swanage GWSR: excepted the Bluebell all the others sell bus alike paper tickets!!!
The last time I visited these preserved railways Edmonson car tickets were the norm and the rule
Very sad indeed 'cose these small and lovely tickets are a big piece of the railscene heritage!
regards
Noel

 

There was a letter to this effect in a recent Heritage Railway, I believe.

I agree that it is a shame the Edmondson's are becoming a rare breed, as they provide a pleasant memento of the day out, as well as being to those old enough to remember (and those of us who've grown up with them on preserved Railway's and know their history) an important part of, as you say, the heritage scene.

I imagine the issue, simply, is the cost of maintaining the old machines, for those Railways that have them, and the cost of getting the pasteboard in, cut to the right size. For those who don't have them they'll have to go to those who do who will understandably pass their costs on.

I suppose there might also be an issue with the difficulty of reading the date stamp, which is often nigh on illegible, and the complexities of dealing with all the different tickets rather than just typing the necessary into a machine and letting it do the work. But as a trainee Booking Clerk in a computer free zone, I can't say that I find it a problem to use Edmonsons, and if we went over to computers I don't think I would continue.

I hope that those who still have them continue to use them for many years to come. Is there a way in which the production of them may be eased?

 

I remember being being dissapointed at Llangollen when the nice old booking office was replaced by the souvenier shop till with a reciept instead of a traditional ticket.

It really doesnt feel the same.

 

Very strange for Swanage to do it, when they have their own printing machine 'in house' at Corfe. I wonder whether they are actually saving any money buying in all the EPOS machinery?

I don't understand the argument that has been given to me previously that EPOS makes it much easier to monitor journey patterns than an Edmondson book. Having worked in booking offices on heritage railways for a good few years, how can you make it difficult to fill in the book? If you're still on ticket 0001, then chances are you're not selling many of them!

 

We still use Edmonson tickets on the NYMR at all booking offices except Pickering, which has never used them due to the level of turnover. Even Whitby, opening only a few years ago, uses them for NYMR services whilst also operating the current National Rail system for network sales alongside!

I have been issued with Edmonson type (and size) tickets on heritage railways in mainland Europe and as far as I know, such lines as the Severn Valley and KWVR still use them, although Keighley's have always gione through a "till" type machine rather than a simple date press.

Steven

 

The Strathspey and Talyllyn still use them, as far as I'm aware.

 

We still use them at Northampton & Lamport. I have it agree its much nicer to receive a proper ticket than a till receipt.

 

Maybe this is an oppourtunity for a specialist printer to set up for the movement (and maybe charter operators too)..

Edmonsons are a tangible part of the history and the experience..
It is to some a memento of the day out...free PR, which may encourage you to go back someday.. something a till receipt will never do.

Maybe I am extreme,
but as a child I collected my rail tickets, I still have most of them.., over several hundred, including some historic ones (the last BR ticket issued at Besses Oth the barn, and last platform ticket at Bury, and child ticket number 0001 from Bury to Summerseat on the ELR in 1987 etc)... but also many preserved railway days out, and general train tickets from across the globe, each one is special.
As an Adult my career took off flying and now I have over 2000 airline boarding passes...I never check in online (except ryanair) as I want the boarding pass for sentimental reasons and to maybe impress/motivate my offspring with someday.

 

Sat here at my desk I have a small pile inc GCR, Battlefield, KWVR, Gwili, Chasewater ... how's that for starters?

 

Hello all,

I vaguely remember that I received a, hold your breath, computer-printed Edmonson ticket on the Harz Narrow Gauge railway in Germany a few years ago. Basically, a special printer printed all the usual information onto a blank ticket. I was very disappointed at the time that it was not the real, pre-printed thing but it might be a way forward.

Kind regards

Christoph

 

I may be wrong, but I thought that the WSR had an Edmonson ticket press and produced tickets for other railways?

 

And still do! I can provide contact details if required (via PM)





As far as I know the WSR issues Edmondson tickets at Minehead, Dunster, Blue Anchor, Watchet, Williton, Crowcombe, Bishops Lydeard.

Steve

 

The North Norfolk Railway still issue Edmonson tickets at all of it's booking halls.

 

A number of railways have their own press still, but they won't last for ever, I imagine. Moreover, maintaining old machines, with their ancillaries that need replaced sooner or later, is going to be expensive, which may be why certain railways have abandoned tickets in favour of boarding passes. The Harz system sounds interesting as a 'best of both worlds' solution.

 

We got Edmonson tickets today at Bodiam station on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

Regards,

Dan

 

The RhB in Switzerland were still issuing Edmondson tickets until December 2007. There is a printing machine at the Blonay Chamby Railway near Lausanne too.

http://translate.google.com/transla...-chamby.ch/index-de.php?page=p_news&id_p_p=84

 

Argentina still issues edmontons at the Main Station in Buenos Aires for non commuter routes (That was in 2009).

 

Add the Welshpool and LLanfair to the list of lines using Edmonson tickets. (A recently uploaded video on YouTube includess a passenger holding up a couple of tickets to the camera).

However when the time arrives that most passengers are too young to have remembered Edmundson tickets on "real" railways, I wonder if these will be such an attraction on tourist lines?

Paul H.

 

I was born in 1989 and always feel shortchanged when it isn't a pasteboard 2"x1"

 

Think of sterotypes.. whenever you see some tv program or other advert, showing a ticket.. it's always an edmondson, same is true for road signs showing a level crossing.. it's a steam train.