Is your railway dog friendly ?

As more of us seem to have dogs , I have been wondering, Just how dog friendly are our heritage railways,? so far i'm glad to say, both the ones i have visited, since covid rules were relaxed have been very good, This being the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, And Mid Hants Railway,
The Isle of Wight especially so, with plenty of bowls of water, and staff who were very welcoming ,and loved Shadow, and made a fuss of her, which of course she loved.
Is there any, that don't allow Dogs, For instance, does the NRM, allow dogs,?

 

‘Dog friendly’ to some means they see it as carte blanche for their dog to be unrestrained and access all areas. Objections from me about dogs admitted to areas serving food, and dogs on seats.

(A whinge too about untrained dogs. It’s not being friendly, it’s unwanted attention and is not being controlled by its owner. Rant over.)

SVR:
Dogs – dogs can travel on our service trains for free but should be kept on a lead and must not sit on the seats. With the exception of assistance dogs, dogs are not admitted to the first floor of The Engine House Visitor Centre, where the ‘Highley Cafe’ is situated. All dogs are however admitted to the ground floor.

During the Christmas period, dogs can travel on normal services and the Steam in Lights event. They may NOT travel on Santa Trains, Enchanted Express or Carol Trains.

Dogs are not permitted in our buffets or restaurants due to strict guidelines, supported by EHO advice. Whilst we are doing our very best to consider and include dogs in everything we can do, the buffets are areas which we must keep dogs excluded from due to hygiene.

Dogs are not permitted to travel on dining trains, Footplate Experiences, in bar cars or Observation Saloons (with the exception of assistance dogs).

 

Dogs are very welcome at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, indeed they travel free when accompanied by a fare-paying Human. https://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/dogs-welcome

 

I have been with a dog in a gaurd van at Helston railway and it was really friendly. It was quite along time ago so it might be different how they do it now

 

GWSR policy:



And if I'm on duty at least, a bit of fuss from me is guaranteed

 

I know some L&B carriages featured 'dog boxes', but are there any similarly equipped SG kit?

 

Are Dogs the grandchildren we don'.t have? OK.we have eliminated Smoking on HR. Is it possible to have a dog free coach for those not travelling first class or in the buffet car

 

I don't get it. Why do you have to take the dog with you ? And why expect others to make special provisions for them ?
You may know your dog is harmless but the rest of the public don't and don't need to be exposed to the risk of bites or infection.

 

Because to many of us, they are part of our family , well behaved dogs should under proper supervision pose no threat to any other person, If a dog can't be kept under control, then don't bring it, or muzzle it , I certanly would never put anyone under treat of being bitten, luckily my dog is not agressive, and well behaved, and if sharing a compartment, i alwas ask those seated, do you mind me bringing my dog in, if they say sorry, but we don't like dogs, i will ask the guard to sit us elsewhere, but its never happened, in 100 per cent of cases, they welcomed us and were very impressed with how well behaved she is,

 

So are you suggesting that dog owners should always put their pets into kennels rather than take them on holiday with them? If you do know that your dog is harmless then there is no 'risk of bites or infection'.
Sadly our dog died of old age a few years ago but we never had any problem with her visiting and travelling on heritage railways during the many years she was with us. Subject to the usual not allowed in catering areas, she was always welcomed. No 'special provisions' required. The biggest risk with her was as a trip hazard as she did prefer to lay in the gangway (more room) rather than under the table amongst our feet.
As the saying goes 'there are no badly behaved dogs, just badly behaved owners'.

 

I used to have a dog, which had behavioural issues. As a responsible owner, I took care about when and where I took him, and what situation I put him in.

I didn’t expect others to make special adjustments when out and about, but made quite a few myself. They included keeping a distance from those who were obviously made uncomfortable by his presence.

But when it comes to railways’ approach to these family members, I don’t regard it as asking for special provisions but making their policy clear.

Dogs are social animals, which live with human families. It is far from god for the dog to always be left at home or in the car while the owners do things, so taking the dog is a natural part of a day out. It’s reasonable to hope that heritage railways won’t make it unduly awkward for dog owners when they visit.


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I don’t like dogs much really. I have friends who have dogs, and they seem ok, but I don’t personally see the attraction. But each to their own. I will tolerate them in public, and I include train travel in that, and I would certainly like to think heritage railways should be inclusive places and provide things like water bowls for them.

However, since having kids it has become more apparent that there are a minority of dogs/owners who are not properly trained, not properly under control and think they can just do as they like. I’ve lost count of the number of times a dog has run up to us in the park, or tried to lick one of the kids in a pushchair, and when small especially they are universally terrified.


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Could say the same about kids. Horrible little things.

 

I’d ask the same about child free carriages.

 

AFAIK the NRM is assistance dogs only.

 

I just remembered, a few years ago Bressingham didn't allow dogs into their grounds. I don't know if that is still the case. I suspect that has more to do with not wanting badly behaved dogs digging holes in their flower beds than anything directly to do with railways (Although some of their railways would in any case be too small to allow four legged passengers).
PS. Always worth asking a venue that does not allow dogs in, if they have a shady part to their car park where you might be able to safely leave your car and dog (although obviously don't do this in really hot weather regardless of how shady it might be).

 

Bressingham still don't allow dogs - think the reason they gave us was not wanting the gardens tarnished and thought at times with all the sounds movements around site etc. they felt it could be overwhelming for a dog.

We recently visited the Ffestiniog Railway whilst holidaying in Wales. Whilst I feel pre-booked services can be a bit restrictive - the Woodland Wanderer service was tailored to passengers with dogs and was perfect for us. We were all in our own compartments, so no worries for passengers who may not wish to be seated with or near a dog. Before leaving Porthmadog the guard/ticket inspector came and checked our tickets, also said a little hello to the dog, making us feel as though she was welcome too. The ride on the train wasn't too long so no worries of the dog getting restless. Once arriving at Tan-Y-Bwlch we had enough time to comfortably wander around the nature trail, before catching the train back. Would highly recommend this experience to anyone with a dog.

 

Definitely, I’ve had more problems with small people (and their parents) than dogs on heritage railways.

 

Queensland Railways didn’t seem too dog friendly one day when I was walking home from school…. a dog was sleeping on the level crossing….well, half of it was anyway.