Ordinary passengers using heritage railways as public transport.

[chrisp37]

We used the Dartmouth Steam Railway on Sunday just gone for a day trip to Dartmouth (we were staying in Paignton for the long weekend). If you get the first train of the day from Paignton (10am) and the last one back from Kingswear (5.10pm) you can have a decent amount of time in Dartmouth. I've used the Swanage Railway to visit Corfe Castle on a few occasions, as well as for a day trip to Swanage from London when they did the Wareham trial last year. I've also used the NYMR for a day out in Whitby. But I guess I'm a rail enthusiast rather than an "ordinary" passenger and in all these examples the trip on the railway was part of the fun rather than purely a means of getting from A to B.

The closest I've probably got to using a heritage railway as "real" public transport is when we holidayed in North Wales a couple of years back. We spent a few nights in Llandudno and then a few nights in Porthmadog and used the Conwy Valley line to get to Blaenau and then had a single from Blaenau to Porthmadog on the Ffestiniog. Again, though, using the Ffestiniog was part of the experience rather than the most convenient way of doing that journey.

 

[alf]

Every year a diminishing group of old work London based colleagues walk between the River Thames at Wandsworth & the English Channel at Newhaven, split into 4 long individual days, often weeks apart, but in high summer.

We use the BLUEBELL (& the East Grinstead line from Victoria) to do two sections on two different days;
Both days use the BLUEBELL in its entirety from EG to Sheffield Pk.
Then;
Sheffield Park entirely via footpaths all the way to Newhaven( & the Southern back to Victoria via Lewes & our respective homes) .
And on another day;
Sheffield Park 95% by footpath to Edenbridge Town (& the hourly service to London Bridge & on to our respective homes or in my case a stay with London friends)

In case anyone is interested,
Stage I, the first day, is Victoria to East Croydon & the tram to New Addington & then 90% river Wandle footpaths & public parks to the Thames & then SWR Wandsworth Town to Waterloo.
Stage 2, the second day, again to New Addington & then 95% footpaths to Edenbridge Town & Southern back to London Bridge.

It is a great excuse to keep fit, use the BLUEBELL (which has never let us down & at worst been 15 mins late over 19 years!) & have tram & Southern & SWR train rides.
We have done the four days every year including Covid since before the Bluebell extension.

 

[Richard Scott]

Wouldn't be surprised if the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway gets a few people using it to get to the races at Cheltenham Racecourse when they are on to avoid traffic?

 

[etr221]

Wouldn't be surprised if the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway gets a few people using it to get to the races at Cheltenham Racecourse when they are on to avoid traffic?

More than a few, with a special service of race trains for the big meetings - which, when refreshments include champagne by the glass, if not the bottle, are a nice little earner for them.

 

[andylikestrain]

A few years ago when the North Norfolk Railway were running dining trains along the Network Rail line to Cromer, the Greater Anglia service from Norwich was running late, so it terminated at Cromer and the passengers for West Runton & Sheringham transferred to the NNR steam service.

 

[neilmc]

My mum has taken to using the NYMR for a day out to Whitby. With thier annual pass they say it is cheaper/easier to drive to Grosmont, park there and use the NYMR service than carry on driving to Whitby, park up on the top of the hill and walk down to town/seaside! They take the first service of the day and come back on the mid afternoon one so they miss the crowds and are home for tea!

Not jealous.................

My wife wanted to book us a couple of days in Whitby but found that parking wasn't available in most of the accommodation there so she booked us in at Grosmont instead not realising there was a preserved steam railway next to our hotel! NR had a strike on so the NYMR to Whitby was heaving, or maybe it's always like that in season.

 

[30907]

Back to the KWVR - as well as longer distance travellers, there are plenty of "normal" day-trip passengers to Haworth, particularly East Asian students from Leeds, taking advantage of the convenient connection at Keighley.
(What any of the 4 I booked yesterday made of the Diesel Gala history doesn't relate.)