dominated by one place?

After a day on the IWSR, I am reminded that there is one thing that holds it back for me. This is that the whole place is dominated by Haven Street station, which can make the train ride almost a token journey. I think many other railways have the same thing. I can understand it because some locations are much easier to develop than others, but think we are missing a trick in not siting things around to give a reason to use the train and break the journey.

Have any railways cracked this, and how?

 

Siting other attractions along the railway will always be difficult through land ownership. I suspect the IoWSR, like many other railways only own what is between the two fence lines or have purchased land to suit their needs.

 

Ryde St Johns could be that change, if and when it happens. The results of the latest franchise application should be known next year, fingers crossed.

 

The Dartmouth Steam Railway is fortunate in that it does have worthwhile attractions along its line.
In addition to providing a service (bus) between Paignton and Totnes, the line serves three intermediate stations. Goodrington Sands gives access to the very popular beach and facilities there, Churston allows easy transfer by bus to Brixham and of course the well visited Greenway House, former home of the late Agatha Christie. Greenway Halt also serves Greenway House and is used mainly by those who like a walk. There was a time until a few years ago that Greenway was only a long walk from Churston but the company provides a bus (fare included in train ticket but can be used, with payment, by non train users). This has enabled many more people to visit Greenway House (narrow roads and restricted parking there).
Although the railway does not physically serve the town of Dartmouth that is the destination for most holiday makers and locals. The company ferry takes them across the river from Kingswear. There are quite a few boat trips, by company boats, from Dartmouth on both river and sea which gives a further variety of places and attractions that people can visit and enjoy. There is also the opportunity to sail on the venerable paddle steamer Kingswear Castle which is unique.
This is how the DSR has evolved since taking the line over from BR in the early 1970's and has become a major tourist attraction and employer.

 

Basically that is so. It has not been straightforward. I understand what is now the exhibition field is comprised of several parcels of land. The whole site is hemmed in by S.S.S.I. and A.O.N.B. designated areas. Indeed the railway actually owns one small area of S.S.S.I. designated woodland. The I.O.W.S.R. does own the freeholds of its land and debt free as well.

The operational advantages of having facilities concentrateds in one area should not be underestimated although the line does aspire to extending back to St. Johns "as and when".

PH

 

riding the train is the least important part of a visit to me. I sometimes don't bother at all

 

It's a bit more than that!

PH

 

Ah, but is it important, or is it useful?

 

Important to gricers, useful to workers. People running St. Johns would be able to open up before arrival of the first I.O.W.S.R service instead of having to travel on it to Smallbrook as now.

PH

 

It's the Gricers who will see it happen though, not those who might eventually work there. The workers may also be Gricers, I suppose

 

I assume the OP is talking more about having on-railway attractions sited at various stations so as to keep passengers on the railway for longer, rather than the railway acting as a means to access off-railway attractions?

Both are desirable, but they put different constraints on the service. For example, if you have a very good tourist attraction in easy reach of a station, the onus is probably on having good early and late services so that a potential visitor can get a worthwhile length of stay at the "off railway" attraction. Whereas if you have managed to string attractive attractions at several of your own stations, then the onus is more on service frequency so that a user can hop on and off without feeling they are "trapped" at a location with little to do; or have to cram in a visit to meet a specific service.

Tom

 

Don't be silly! We all know that gricers spend all their time setting up Facebook pages and doodling over maps of dismantled railway lines, so no time for work!

 

And not paying to travel on the trains that they want someone else to pay for, so they can photograph them from the lineside, thus immersing themselves in that well-known scientific phenomenon, the Infinitely Improbable Railway Enthusiast Wallet Opening Avoidance Paradox.

 

I would imagine their photos displayed on the internet give railways enough free publicity to cover their keep, without even considering what they spend on the stations. They may even be volunteers in their own right elsewhere. Linesiding is a tradition older than preservation, I don't think one should be too quick to criticise

 

I did mean all of the 'railway' stuff in one place, something that could be levelled at just about every railway by the sound of it!

Sounds like no one has any examples of doing it better then, I guess I had in mind something like Bluebell putting the carriage works at a separate station to provide a reason to get off and move about 'the site' in its broadest sense.

I'm not quite sure the P&D counts as a normal railway though!

 

GWSR have been doing this at Winchcombe, as previously it was a pretty quiet station, save at crossover times when everyone would dash over the footbridge. This has been achieved in 2 main ways. First, we've now got a cafe run by volunteers, and "discovery coach" with a history of the line and some displays, and the model railway coach. Second, our main timetables in addition to the two main trains crossing also has the DMU shuttle between Winchcombe and laverton so you're not trapped at Winchcombe for as long. Both of which have resulted in a much busier station which is lovely to see. I believe the new Broadway timetables are being written to achieve the same thing with a DMU traversing only part of the line.

 

Long term, on the Bluebell a visitor starting at East Grinstead could alight for a goods yard display at Kingscote; the carriage works display at Horsted (and also the Arts Council-funded play coach); and the loco shed / ASH display and small objects museum at Sheffield Park; with a to-be-decided location for a future large exhibits museum (West Hoathly would be a good location in my book, but that is purely a personal view). I guess that would be the sort of thing you had in mind? Of those, the small exhibits museum and loco shed are already extant at SP (with further development planned around the loco shed); the carriage works display exists at HK, with the play coach imminent; the goods yard display at Kingscote is under development but has a way to go; the large exhibits space (and also a research and records centre for SP) are at the planning or long-term plan aspiration stage. It does seem to be a definite strategic aim on the railway both to increase the overall attractiveness for whole-day visits; and to spread attractions around such that there is an "internal" reason to alight at each station.

Tom

 

A completely uncalled for and childish post. I m not going to list the various projects I've contributed to or the number of charters I've been on at far greater cost than a normal return fare. Back in the day some of us even got up at silly o'clock in the morning to man sales stands or shake the collecting tin for embro schemes that are now part of the fabric of preservation
As has already been said a railway volunteer may also be a gricer, the best examples I can think of are a very prominent member of NELPG and a regular contributor to this forum.
I don't get my railway fix from travelling but there are many other ways of supporting the railway, I can't be a member of all of them but I very rarely visit a line without spending money in one way or another. Be careful what you are saying, the next gricer you insult could be the the one who was going to write out a cheque for a large donation.