Swanage Railway General Discussion

I believe any 'talk' of cancelling the lease was only on here, so it is just mess room chat.
It doesn't matter how much it costs per loco per year. The SR signed up to the deal, and unless as @Gladiator 5076 says there is a break clause that allows the lease to be ended early with no penalty, then it makes no sense to end the lease early.

 

And it is also worth remembering that just because a contract may not now meet some or all of your requirements it does not imply it was a bad contract in the first place. I spent a fair proportion of my working life renegotiating or trying to cancel contracts, which at the time were good deals, but subsequent events be they external like 9/11 or the Ukraine situation, or because you need to respond to a competitor's product mean that today it may well not be the deal you would do.

 

They only won't fit once...

 

Send the first one through at speed, stand away from the platform, actually, stand away from the station

 

Any railway or other attraction considering doing away with physical leaflets should keep in mind that not everyone has a so-called "smart phone" (I, for example do not, because I hate them and I can't afford to buy or run one anyway) - and I know several other people who also don't - nor do some of them do computers, BTW). What we are talking about is digital exclusion. OK, I guess, for a purely commercial outfit - but almost all heritage railways are charities - and as such are not allowed to discriminate against certain groups of people - such as the poor and the old. I am sure that forum readers will immediately post here about their 97-year-old grandad who is fully connected - yes indeed, but many are not.
James

 

An interesting point. I would always have kept a few leaflets at home and in the car - always nice to study but more importantly, it would remind me that I hadn't visited a particular railway in a while, it was about time I did. <BJ>

 

That page of the SLL website dates from 2014 when Eddystone's 10 year ticket expired, and has updates up to 2021 when it returned to service. It does not specifically refer to the costs on going main-line, though we would appreciate anyone who does wish to support this, and our shareholders have been asked for such support. More recent information can be found on the Latest News page. Shareholders received an update last weekend, and the website news will be updated next week when the Webmaster (me) returns from a well-earned holiday.

 

Most visitor attractions have promotional leaflets to have where holiday makers stay, information centres, motorway service station etc, the problem for railways if timetables are included means reprinting every year and more cost, so a phone number or link to a website on the leaflet saves money.

 

Also even if people do have smartphones, they would only look up the railway if they were aware of it in the first place.

That’s where leaflets still have a value - making people aware of the existence of the railway. For example a family holidaying at a holiday park in Weymouth might see a leaflet for the railway at the holiday park and decide to visit. If no leaflets then they might not be aware the railway existed at all.

 

That’s not true. When I’m in a new area of which I’m unfamiliar, I’d be searching “Things to do in [X]”, checking https://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/ etc - doing which enables me to discover attractions I’d never previously heard of. I certainly don’t only search for things I already know about.

I’d say getting good information in the major online repositories (DOWK, Tripadvisor, https://www.visit-dorset.com/ etc) is at least as, if not more, important than a leaflet.

Tom

 

Manston sunset and moonrise this evening.

 

I hate to say it, but "not allowed to discriminate against" does not mean "not allowed to prioritise the means that get best results for least expenditure". On average, a website is much more accessible than a leaflet, in that it can be found from just about anywhere by just about anyone, and doesn't require the reader to be in the right place at the right time.

Having been involved in publicising a beer festival, using both paper and online promotion, I'm very much in the camp that paper promotion is of very limited value. It's expensive per recipient, and it doesn't generate that much custom.

At the same time, I know that leaflets can be something that trigger my attention, and can get me to be a customer when I otherwise might not be.

The important thing is that the trade off is acknowledged.

 

Producing a leaflet is one thing, but then you've got to get it under the right people's noses. You need a decidicated distribution network to many different locations (which I'm sure many major heritage railways have). This will include topping up leaflets at locations where they've run out. Without thus, you're not going to get your message to the people you want to attract.

With fewer and fewer people now planning their leisure time offline, the justification of leaflet printing and distribution is becoming harder.

 

You probably want to be careful how far you push that "discrimination" argument. Unless you also go to the expense of producing versions of your paper materials in braille, large print, high contrast etc. you could just as easily be accused of discrimination if you rely solely on paper. Whereas a well-designed (*) website can be equally accessible to both able bodied users, and those with visible and invisible disabilities.

(And I think the distinction between "purely commercial" and charitable organisations is a false one on discrimination grounds: all service providers are bound by the provisions of the DDA about making reasonable adjustments).

My sense whenever leaflets are discussed is that you get a bunch of elderly men who grew up in the 1960s and last travelled with children in the 1970s or 80s who end up saying "leaflets were good enough when I was young so ought to be good enough now". The world has moved on, and in particular the way that many parents - surely an important target market - find out about what they will do at the weekend. Google is a thing (and has been for nearly thirty years) ...

(*) That adjective is important

Tom

 

You only have to look at motorway service stations and the leaflet racks the to see how things have changed. Even 10 years ago every section on the rack would have a leaflet from a different attraction. Last time I looked at one, the 50 or so slots are all full, but with leaflets from about 15-20 attractions.

I understand the costs of distributing them to motorway service stations alone are horrendous. Add in hotels, B&Bs, tourist information centres, etc, and you can see why a lot of places don't bother any more. Yes, they may be losing a few visitors, but the costs involved are massive and not worth the outlay.

 

So, if I visit the Swanage railway and ask for a free ticket “because I’m poor”, the railway should oblige me, because otherwise they would be discriminating against me?
I think your definition of discrimination is slightly off.

 

At Sellindge I hope

 

I'm not sure anyone can really claim that they can't afford a smartphone these days - some form of Internet access is pretty much essential to access most benefits etc, and for many it seems the phone is that access. You can get a new smartphone for under £70, refurbished for just over half that, and plenty of sim packages under £5 a month.

 

Leaflets only really justify their costs if they are distributed to very high traffic areas and/or for free. Not many people head out for the day and work out what they are doing during a stop a motorway service station, which is why the holders are mostly empty.

Radio works very well, especially if you have an event. Website and Social Media are a necessity. TV is too expensive and largely not watched anymore, though ads on YouTube might be worth a go…. If you have the budget.

Pretty much anything else is just a waste of money. Which is why newspapers and magazines are going out of business.

 

"Radio works very well"? Only if you want to attract people who you know listen to the radio in large numbers. I've not listened to live radio for years and I'm heading for retirement age. I watch/listen to everything via the web or Spotify.