Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News

I think this is looking for difficulties where they don't exist. The Ffestiniog and the WHR manage.

Surely until there are regular trains across, there is no difficulty. After that, it's revenue-sharing, and at very worst, just blow the dust off the RCH handbooks and formulae

 

When the reunification of the 2 G.C.R.(N) and G.C.R. L are completed could Locos be stored serviced at Ruddington overnight and depot and one at Loughborough cent say like if a 2 train service was running on saurdays and sundays so then train 1 could start at loughborough to Leicester N and as thats coming back from Leicester train 2 sets off up G.C. ruddington and they both pass each other and pass at Loughborough or Quorn it would be fun on gala days to see how 6+ trains operate over the entire route onward to down Ruddington whilst a train to loughborough cent from Ruddinton has to wait at rushcliffe halt or pull into loughborough going up to leicester before the down train sets out to Ruddinton. And say like if someone got on at Ruddington and bought a ticket after reunification would the takings be shared out between G.C(N) and G.C. (S) if the two railways do merge into one group?

 

The FfestiniogWHR I think only run one or two trains up the WHR from Portmadoc (Ff), so I think the future will be generally separate?
Possibly have a named/premium/dining train over the whole line (with priority over "local" trains for "you'll have to shunt the local, the postal's due" type moments)? But otherwise run separate trains each way. In terms of revenue-sharing, it's something that's been done by railways since the dawn of time.

 

I agree with Bikermike, the services could continue pretty much as now but with the option of "Change at Loughborough for travel to Ruddington/Leicester North". But some services would be "through" ie running the full length.
The possibilities are very exciting!....but let's keep the fundraising going and get the "Gap" filled first.

 

I also agree, why is it different to turning up at any other station where trains from opposite directions terminate? At Crewe, for example, you can buy a ticket to travel to Chester or to Shrewsbury, but it isn't a through train from Chester to Shrewsbury.

 

I don't think that really accords with what most tourist attractions offer. You don't go through the gate of a National Trust house and then straight away get asked which of two houses you wanted to visit. And pushing the analogy further - just suppose you did, and chose the neo-palladian pile, but the next guided tour to depart was for the Tudor mansion ...

There's a big difference between going to Crewe with the intention of making a journey; and going to Loughborough with the intention of having a day out.

Tom

 

That's just it - people have different expectations when they go to a heritage railway.

I volunteered as a Ticket Officer on a miniature railway for several years. I can assure you, ninety-nine transactions out of a hundred, the customer would just ask for "X adults and X children please". I nearly always had to prompt, "single or return?" Which inevitably provoked confused faces and questions about "where does it go?" In the case of a miniature railway, most people's expectations were that it would just be an out-and-back joy ride with no intermediate stops.

Things might not be quite that bad on the standard gauge railways, but I can absolutely guarantee you that having two separate railways, with almost the same name, trying to share one station will be a recipe for chaos.

 

From my experience, people:
A) Don't like changing trains.
B) Don't tend to use intermediate stations.
C) I've never known anyone buy a part-return ticket!

At the end of the day, the complete GCR will only be 17 1/2 miles in total, so probably best operating in the same way as the SVR, NYMR (excl. Whitby), WSR, Welsh Highland etc...

 

Seems to work OK at Alton!

 

Whilst I appreciate there will be exceptions I do not really see a problem as many people will buy a day ticket travel anywhere along the line or they may want a cheaper single anywhere, or cheaper return North or return South. After all the GCR has coped with four stations for many years.
Lets get the line built before making it sound too difficult to run....

 

It's bonkers to think that a connected railway should operate as two. Visitors will find it confusing and off putting. Operationally two separate organisations operating into a single station imports risk. The alignment of standards will be essential. Yes NR have multiple operators ... but look at the bueacracy that creates. The WHR/FR is different in that respect. It operates largely as two ride options from Porthmadog, but the organisation management and largely the staff are shared.

Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk

 

1) Hardwicke Hall and Hardwicke old hall - one NT and one English Heritage, next door and seemingly identical, they manage
2) when we go to the Severn Valley, we usually buy a ticket from Kidderminster to Arley(? where the engine house is), as it's a nice quick ride (and judging by the platform, we aren't the only ones).
If two railways in the same station is a risk, then Whitby, Alton, Paignton presumably should all close? We're talking one train an hour on each at peak peak times.

The plural of anecdote is not data, but there's two straight forward proofs that the absolutes aren't true.

 

If it works for Network Rail...


(Image stolen from https://tonyrobertson.mycouncillor....kirk-preston-line-turn-it-over-to-merseyrail/)

 

There are many who would dispute your use of the word "work" where Ormskirk is concerned...

 

Whilst Councillor Robertson's suggestion may sound good to his electorate he has, seemingly, missed the point that Merseyrail is all 3rd rail D.C. and a through service would require laying a third rail on a section of the WCML south of Preston. I can remember when this 'long siding' was, in parts, a 4 track mainline with through services to Glasgow/Edinburgh. How the mighty are fallen!
Ray.

 

I hadn't realised that they had removed the "Emergency connections" between the two lines that used to be there.
Been a while since I last went there by rail though....

 

I think you're over complicating things. Turn up at any of the current GCR stations and you can get a runabout ticket or a single or return to any of the others. All that happens when more stations are added is you get that additional choice. The basic idea doesn't need to change. The only limit, as anywhere, will be the availability of a suitable service. Now, however isn't the time to be second guessing a timetable proposal.

 

That rather depends on there being a consistent service pattern throughout. However, I’d question the assumption that in this new world, Loughborough would be the centre of traffic. Given the parking provision, I’d not be surprised to see wide shifts in demand.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Indeed, but the suggestion was about running the service as two entirely separate services and organisations, but entered through the same "front gate" as it were. It is that bit that I (and seemingly others) are struggling with as an everyday proposition - I can't think of an another tourist attraction in which two entirely independent attractions are accessed via the same front door.

Tom

 

How will the service actually work though, for instance, will the timetabled service be Leicester North to Ruddington, Or to Loughborough (change for Ruddington) with a separate service operating over the gap and the Northern section off line, operated by the other GCR company ?