The Gwili Railway thread

Good answer Matt

 

Thank you, glad it's been thought through and isn't just a "we want to go further" project

 

I know the income from Coach parties is a welcome one, but please can I urge you not to fall into the trap of another railway I'm aware of who appear to have largely sold their soul to Coach parties at the expense of walk-up and enthusiast customers?

At this particular railway, there are multiple stories from the past year of people turning up ad-hoc (they were in the area or passing and thought they'd stop for a ride) only to be told there were no walk-up tickets available because the whole set (4 carriages in this case I think) was booked out to a mix of dining customers and coach parties. They appear to be deeply wedded to pre-booked fares only (even if on the day).

Furthermore, on the Saturday of an enthusiast-focussed gala where they were running two sets of carriages, they booked out half the carriages on one of the sets to a coach party, meaning all the punters who were there for the actual gala were squeezed into the other two carriages.

You clearly cannot sustain a railway on Enthusiast income - that's impossible! But please don't be tempted to sell out to coach parties at the expense of everyone else

That said - I wish you all the best with your extension!

 

Problem is, coach party income isn't just welcome, it's guaranteed. Show me a railway at the minute that can afford to turn down guaranteed money just in case someone might decide to turn up for a ride. For many, finances are on a knife-edge right now. If someone offers to fill four mk1's for me, for one trip or the whole day, I'm taking it (not least because if I don't, another line will.)

 

Short term, I get it. Longer term, I think it's a dangerous strategy that puts all the eggs in one basket, and risks a very large gap if the demand slows. Having visited the railway referred to by @alexl102, my reaction was that I didn't feel especially welcome as an "ordinary" visitor, and that this discouraged me from repeating the experience.

 

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it again here; coach parties are not a panacea, but they are a welcome bonus. They need to bc welcomed as part of a programme that is balanced around the various potential types of visitors. They can provide a good steady inco0me right up to the moment when they don't for whatever reason, and lines that aim to rely too heavily on them may come unstuck in a big way.

 

Had a similar experience, but there was almost room.for all the ordinary passengers, and there were quite few. But boarding left a bit to be desired, the station staff were overwhelmed rather. My wife was rather put off going again but as it was one of my favourites we did go again and fortunately the experience that time was better. But there were a lot of unhappy punters, I know because the comments being made, who may have been put off visiting again


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I think you have to consider where the Gwili is. It is out on a limb in west wales and there are not a huge amount of enthusiasts queuing up to ride. From an enthusiasts perspective the railway is in a much better place now. They have a prairie, run steam almost exclusively and have lots of wonderful exhibits. The reality is though although decent figures for galas they have never been money spinners for the railway I believe. I actually think coach parties have been a fantastic success story for the railway!

 

Sadly I have to agree - I was an almost daily volunteer between 1987 and 2002 (when I had to stop volunteering due to family medical problems) and I'd estimate that the enthusiasts were, at best, about 5% of the total passengers. And I doubt that it has changed much since then. The Gwili's clientele were people who want a great morning/afternoon out. I CERTAINLY agree that there MUST be room plus a GREAT welcome for any enthusiasts who are kind enough to turn up. As a GWILI enthusiast and someone interested in railway history I'd MUCH prefer that all the passengers who come are interested in a genuine "historical" trip (Indeed I probably wouldn't now join the Gwili with all the additional extra offerings because it's not what would interest ME) but I DO accept that heritage railways need to adapt or die!!! If that's what the Gwili needs to do to survive then I have to accept it and I certainly continue to support it..

 

It had been noticeable that since we started operating more GWR engines a few years ago there has been an upturn in “enthusiast” type visitors be they volunteers on other railways or more generally. However this still accounts for only a small percentage of visitors to the railway.

coach parties are a good line of business but the fact that we also have around 80% of general visitors pre booking means that we haven’t had a situation where we have turned people away because of the coach party etc.

Matt

 

Thank you for sharing - it's always interesting to understand how the necessary balances are struck

 

Unfortunately, the Gwili's location make it quite unattractive for a day visit as there is very little else to do around the line and the railway itself isn't enough of an attraction to spend a day at. From my house, the Gwili, Blaenavon, Dean Forest and Brecon Mountain railways are all about an hours drive away and of those, the Gwili is the least visited. The DFR has Parkend with pubs, walks etc, Blaenavon has Big Pit and the Brecon Mountain has the Brecon Beacons, all places you can easily spend much of the day visiting. Even if the Gwili does extend to Conwil, it still won't add much to it's attractiveness as it will just go to a station right next to the main road but not near anything else, albeit 0.75 miles further than it goes now. I'd much rather see resources spent in tidying up LLwyfan Cerrig and making Abergwili jct more of a destination. Nice cafe, exhibits in the shed, outdoor seating area etc. At the moment, the extension seems an unnecessary distraction.