West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Sitting from afar the WSR doesn’t seem to do too badly ; recent infrastructure projects include the loco compound at BL and the Williton relay. 9351 back this year too ; 4110 acquired for the future.

This is just a personal view but perhaps the WSR suffers from an “all or nothing” mentality for the visitor. In other words - how long to the end of the line? Ah we would do it but we don’t have the time/journey is too long for the kids. In other words, is there a market for shorter trips?

If this is the case then has anyone ever thought of making Williton shed a more “public facing” attraction along the lines of the engine house? If the engineering function could be transferred elsewhere then it seems to me the WSR could offer either a short trip to Williton and a trip along the whole line. A decent hot meal catering facilty could be located there too? You could market shorter trips to an end attraction or a trip along the whole line.

Since I have limited knowledge of the WSR I am sure this idea can be shot down (and no problem with that) but it’s worth thinking outsIce the box so to speak.

Regards

Matt

 

Watchet tends to be the short trip destination of choice alread -about the middle, town harbour etc.

Blue Anchor is the Station for the Beach, Washford has Cleve Abbey, Stogumber has its garden / cream teas, Dunster has its Castle (and scrapyard).

But you are right to suggest that more can be done to make intermediate Stations ‘a destination’.

Williton isn’t an easy one to crack. The station is on the edge of the town a fair walk from the centre. There hVe been suggestions of making the Goods shed into a cafe but without a real reason to get off the train there, that seems unlikely to succeed.

But certainly something to work on.

Robin

 

I occasionally make one for lunch on granary bread with mushrooms and fried onions using Gloucester Old Spot bacon from a friend’s farm.

 

Always liked getting off Williton to look at diesels, maybe a visitor centre there

 

Stop it, Temptation is calling.

 

Looking at the website there is no mention of fares for short trips, single or return. Does the WSR have comprehensive fare tables for journeys between intermediate stations?

 

You need to think like a non-Railway enthusiast tourist when considering such facilities.

Robin

 

Booking offices and TTIs have full sets of fare tables, but they run to several pages, when you consider that the price depends on a few variables:

1) There are 10 stations so a fare between each is needed,

2) single, return or rover (although the last is constant for all stations of course),

3) adult, concession, child and family,

4) standard or gala fares,

5) reductions for local residents, WSRA members etc.

There may be other factors but I can't think of them at the moment! If all these were to be published, eg. on the website, I think that would leave the average customer completely confused as to what they would be charged.

When I am on duty at CH, we quite often get people calling in to get information for future trips, and the usual fares they ask about is a return to MD, a return to WT or a rover. I can only recall one occasion when I was asked another fare - I think it was for DR.

 

Is there a place for enthusiast attractions "in addition to" public ones, or all facilities for non-Railway entusiasts?

Patrick

 

When can we all come round?

 

Plainly there is. But a ‘visitor centre’ focussed on enthusiasts only will be a poor use of resources.

Robin

 

I don't know what happened there , consider it deleted .

 

Sorry but I don't have a food preperation licence or what ever it is called.

 

You don't need licenses to feed friends - unless you wish to operate commercially of course.

 

I am a Yorkshireman. Do you think I would do it for free?

 

My thoughts were "do the public know short fares are available". A sample BL to each station and MH to each station would suffice

 

Typical Yorkshireman, presumes he's charging us!

 

I just copied and pasted this text from the web site :-


We have a multitude of tickets available including our Single tickets (from one station to another), Return tickets (from one station to another and back), Rover tickets which give you unlimited travel between all of our stations for one day, and our new ticket which was introduced in 2016, the weekly Freedom of the Line ticket which allows you unlimited travel for up to 7 consecutive days across the railway .

 

Is there any evidence that heritage railways can increase pax numbers significantly, absent factors such as an extension opening?

 

It should be possible to have the facility on the website for a potential visitor to input the travel permutation of their choice and be told the fare, however, how complicated the "backend" code would have to be to do this, I do not know.