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Swanage Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Rumpole, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    True, though presumably without shop and catering, the membership of that railway would have to find £86k more than now to keep the railway afloat - even more of an ask than currently.

    Is there any heritage railway in the country that is genuinely funding itself (including a proper allocation for infrastructure and rolling stock renewal) just from fare income? Most seem to be a mixture of fares + “value add” services (weddings, footex, filming etc) + catering / shop + member support + altruistic donation + grants from third parties. The proportions might vary, but the advantage of diversity is that hopefully those different streams have different cycles of when they are strong and weak, helping to smooth out overall revenue fluctuation.

    Tom
     
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  2. mdewell

    mdewell Well-Known Member Friend

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    Not forgetting what is probably the most expensive part of most businesses. . . labour costs. How fortunate that heritage railways are able to take advantage of so much 'free' labour. It's not just the wages saved by volunteers, but also the flexibility of being able to draw on a pool of volunteers as required (Paid staff would still need paying even when business is slow).
     
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  3. huochemi

    huochemi Part of the furniture

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    Indeed. I think the non-fare revenue trend can only increase. There was/is an article on the BBC website to the effect that galleries/museums/stately homes are increasingly becoming shops/cafes with a bit of heritage attached. You have basically got to find a way to be able to pick visitors up by their heels and shake them until the money falls out. Although not a railway as such, Mountsorrel Heritage Centre, which generally receives approving comments on here, is exactly that - a cafe with a children's play area and a bit of heritage thrown in (entrance is free). Yet you do not have to go too far from there to find railways with catering and shop facilities behind a paywall.
     
  4. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

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    I don' disagree that a varied income stream is needed for most railways, I just dispute the assertion that secondary spend is effectively what keeps hem going - its a part of the overall picture but is difficult to get right and can easily turn into a loss-making centre. I'm guessing that there are some railways that are self-sufficient - for example the L & HR, BMR, Bure Valley , Launceston, that don't have big supporting groups because they are privately owned. Again our experience at Fairbourne was that people were reluctant to contribute financially because they assumed that the money would go to the owners, when the reality was that it would merely have decreased the torrential outflow from our pockets!
     
  5. paulhitch

    paulhitch Guest

    See post 2757
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2019
  6. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    The two most likely candidates would be Lakeside and Dartmouth.

    Regards

    Matt
     
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  7. Enterprise

    Enterprise Part of the furniture

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    Which one?
     
  8. 5944

    5944 Resident of Nat Pres

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    But how much of PDSR's income is from railway fares, rather than from boat and bus services?
     
  9. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    On Sunday the family & I spent about as much on food & in the shop at the Bodmin & Wenford as we did on travelling..............
     
  10. daveb

    daveb Member

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    The boat and bus services also have their own operating costs, not just income.
     
  11. daveb

    daveb Member

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    and a lot these days will automatically shut down the engine (and therefore the air conditioning) when you're stationary in a traffic jam.
     
  12. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Which, dare I say it, was revenue - not profit.
     
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  13. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Mine don't - but then they will both restart the engine if the battery discharges too far.
     
  14. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

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    Both mine and my wife's cars have automatic shut down as an option. It's disabled on both vehicles.
     
  15. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Bad move - it saves a lot of fuel at no practical cost. But little to do with Swanage!
     
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  16. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Why?
     
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  17. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    The Greyhound because it sits under that iconic shot of the castle taken from the main road.
     
  18. Enterprise

    Enterprise Part of the furniture

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    Thanks, I will have to look!
     
  19. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    Just go to Wikki, main picture on top of page
     
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  20. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    Is there any news on the locomotive front ?80104 and the diesels seem to be going alone at the moment....
     

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