Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway Updates

I have to say, I have nothing but good memories of going to Embsay. However, as someone who has staffed trains on another railway, I have genuinely lost count of the people I have found on trains who asked if they could just nip onto the station to use the loo, etc.....

 

Could a solution be refunding the platform ticket on buffet purchases over a certain value, eg £5.

 

When I visited the E&BAR the year they had introduced the platform ticket requirement, it was refundable against purchases in their comprehensive bookshop, which I was quite happy with. A couple of years later I found the refund was no longer made. On asking about this, it seems they had been experiencing problems with coaches turning up particularly at Embsay (close to Skipton) and passengers using the loos with little income to the railway and generating expenses to pay out. It also gives an accurate guide to the number of visitors the station is getting, which may be important regarding obtaining external funding at some time.
The connection with 'Gift Aid' may be due to changes in the system a couple of years ago whereby all monies given to a charitable body below £20 can be automatically 'Gift Aided' without the need for signatures and addresses; this has been of considerable assistance at the museum I help man as it eliminates much paperwork.

The E&BR is not the only railway to ask for platform tickets - when I was last at the Nene Valley Railway at Wansford there was a £3 charge for a platform ticket - but one can access their tearoom without going onto the platform!

John Webb
(St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust)

 

Every charity has a different approach to Gift Aid but all are approved by HMRC, Potentially audited and sometimes spot checked by undercover staff. The general consensus as I understand it is that there has to be a nominal value in return for your donation, hence no FREE access! At Embsay, a gift-aided ticket becomes a full-year platform tickets (few restrictions on dates to use on but not many)

 

Hmm. I don't think I would begrudge buying a platform ticket anywhere for "a look around", but if I was going to spend money on the site I might think it was a bit much to ask me to pay to go through the door as well. It's a tricky one. Maybe if said ticket got you a free cup of tea if you bought a meal for over a fiver (or a train ride on a subsequent visit), nobody would really think that was a bad deal (and a cup of tea doesn't cost £1 to make, so nobody really loses out). And if the ticket is valid for a year, that could still only be a single cup of tea, you'd just have to clip the corner or something.

I think the original complaint though was about the way the message was delivered rather than the (apparently incomplete!) content of it. Which does sound rather unfortunate.

 

Is it the 1980s or 90s again?

Website/social media are king these days.

 

Am I right in thinking that a Gift Aided ticket is an admission ticket? If this is so, it is not a ticket for a train ride and thus is subject to vat? It runs in my mind that the KESR do this and pay vat on their tickets. as vat is 20% and Gift Aid returns 25% there is a slight benefit but only if the purchasers are tax payers. I'm sure one of our KESR members on here can give more detail.

 

Really?

 

It you want to find out - or double check - if a specific loco is running, you can't expect the railway (or this forum) to provide the info.

Not everyone uses social media, and not everyone is fussy about which loco is going to pull their train. If you have special interests, you need to be prepared to do the work yourself.

 

Nope, railways have to attract customers by all means possible or they will wither & die.

Remember had this been a normal running weekend your comments would be valid, but it wasn't hence why the railway has a duty to provide information.

It is not for customers to chase them, it has to be the other way round.

Unless the new cavalier approach is the way forward, as previous weekends at Embsay saw information released in advance.

They lost about £50-60 in fares / food, but it appears that doesn't matter, as long as they are in the right

 

Why not? Plenty of railways manage to do so perfectly well.

 

If this is going to descend into a grumble about not being informed by railways about specifics of operation then I suggest members read the recent Bluebell thread.

Most opinions on social media and website updates have been expressed there already.

This forum is going to get pretty cluttered if we have to do this for every heritage railway.

 

Depends on their skills, manpower and priorities. Blogs, Facebook, websites etc may be "easy" or "obvious" to some, but they may not have the volunteers with these skills or the time to do it. There is also the issue of railway spokespeople getting a hard time on railway forums when they don't deliver exactly what people wanted.

 

Can someone explain to me what is wrong with the web site, as having a quick look at the calendar section which is easy to find all the information what Jo Public will want to know is easy to find including that this bank holiday weekend was the Branchline Weekend. If you want to know what engines are running and the railway hasn't got the time to do this why don't you you do this for the railway. There are far too many people on here who think the railways should spend a lot of time just getting the information ready, for a few people who will be interested in it.

 

Can we get back to the actual updates at embsay please?

Their most recent project AFAIK was trying to raise some funds for a much needed carriage shed. The current shed has a roof over it but open at the sides & both ends.

Also when they can raise funding I was told on my last visit that skipton is on the agenda too. IIRC P5 will be used at skipton & lay the missing track panels to provide the NR link.

 

Has Muppet moved on?
He used to give updates.

 

Some pictures and video from a visit on the Wednesday leading up to Easter. A very pleasant visit with a round trip from Bolton Abbey and shot on Beatrice returning to Embsay on way home.

http://preservedrailway.weebly.com/embsay--bolton-abbey

 

no, but like most volunteers, can no longer be bothered to post updates in return for criticism...

 

Unfortunately not the first time on NatPres.

I do wish some people would think before they post on here, as it just p*sses off the railway contacts we have.

 

Very true, muppet are there any recent updates? Also does anyone know what's going on with the rake of vintage stock that's stored outside the shed at embsay next to the running line?