Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway Updates

Quite a few railways open Santa bookings at the start of the year and I believe some offer Santa visitors the opportunity to book for the following year during their visit. It makes commercial sense.

 

It's also much easier to do ticketsales nowadays (particularly repeat), a couple of clicks of a mouse and you've duplicated last year's event and just need to add your new dates. You don't need to wait until you can dedicate phone line/office time to administer tickets and posting out physical tickets.

 

For anyone who isn’t following the events thread, the Hunslet Gala at the end of June now has a lineup of 6 confirmed locomotives which is incredibly impressive.

• HE 2387 Brookes No 1, 14” 0-6-0ST from Middleton
• HE 2409 King George, 15” built as an 0-6-0ST but currently running as a side tank, from Didcot
• HE 2705 Beatrice, resident 16” 0-6-0ST
• HE 1873 Jessie, 18” 48150 Class 0-6-0ST from Blaenavon
• HE 3794 Cumbria, 18” Austerity 0-6-0ST, owned by the Furness Railway Trust but based at Embsay for the last few years. Due to bow out after the gala, for overhaul.
  
• HE 2890 Douglas, 18” 0-6-0, converted from an Austerity tank, usually based at ELR.

In addition, it's hoped that HE 1440 Airedale No.3 will be on display in the shed - as the only other surviving 15" alongside 2409.

I presume this is the complete lineup as it’s already hefty, but a rough calculation suggests that they need at least one more loco in on a season-long hire (as 68067 and 52322 have both returned to their bases and HC1208 has gone out on hire, that leaves just 2705 and 3794 with the latter due to bow out at the end of June); I suspect 2890 is there for the season and the Polars but that hasn’t been confirmed. It’s shaping up to be a fabulous event and I have already booked a day off work!

 

Does anyone know if/when we're likely to get a new edition of YDR News? I emailed the railway earlier in the year and they said a new edition would be out 'soon' but that was a couple of months ago now I think.

 

We had a very nice trip on the line on Tuesday. Both trains were diesel hauled due to an earlier fire lineside and continued dry weather. Our train was the three carriage vintage set and they were a delight. All the staff were really friendly and helpful. Our sat nav took us to Bolton Abbey station despite putting in Embsay, but our reservation was quickly reorganised.
We were also invited to quickly visit the engine shed (when I expressed my interest and work on the GCR) and it was really impressive with extensive facilities for overhauling locomotives, carriages and goods wagons. The two road carriage shed holds up to 20 carriages.
The Afternoon Tea train was very busy with booked coach groups travelling.


The Hunslet Gala should be a real spectacle 27-29th June.

 

Just announced on Facebook the "P3/J27" No. 2392 will be visiting for the summer.

 

J27 entered service today, in service alongside Douglas, first time two tender engines out on the railway.

 

Well done Black 5 nice filming and photting of the good old J27 loco 65894 and 2890 Douglas I've just been down the line from yer today at K.V.W.R. on 41241 would have come up to Y.D.R. If I had have known the J27 was there in advance.

 

We're planning to drive up from Kent to Skipton on Saturday 2 August and may be able to call in at the E&BAR. I've been trying to navigate the website but can't locate an actual timetable - is one available anywhere? Don't really want to book in advance as we could be stuck somewhere en route. Can you tell which trains are steam hauled?

 

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Looks like diesels only on August 2nd,I'm afraid. You could have a pint instead though.

DIESEL & ALE | Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway

 

If you go to the website and click on 'tickets and timetable' as I've just done, you'll find......no timetable! The only thing you can do is go to tickets and look at the times of trains that you can book and work it out from there.

I must say that from my brief visit to the website, I thought it was awful.

 

Its a different approach presented as a Ride/ Event rather than an actual railway, actively discourages customers boarding at Embsay from walking to Bolton Abbey and getting a later train i think

 

Certainly agree, seems strange July 5 for example, talks about a "day rover" and a "Heritage Diesel day rover" but elsewhere it says you have to check with you want to break your journey and come back on a later train as there may not be seats. All under a title of "return tickets". You have to guess it is a Diesel & Ale Days.

Sure raises the bar for confusing railway websites.

I see a platform ticket is now only £1, some years back we turned up after the last train had left, but the café was still open and I think we were asked either £3 or £5 for the privilege of going on the platform to buy a cup of tea. We declined.

 

For all the grumbles we are making about the website, the Railway as a whole seems to be doing okay, unlike some others. I certainly don't get the impression that they are in decline, which was the case a few years ago.

 

Never been more than £1 apart from Steam Gala's, when I think they were about £5. Originally platform tickets were 30p, and people begrudged paying that much!!!

 

I agree. I was thinking of visiting the railway a few weeks ago. Managed to find the times of the trains on the booking page, but then when I checked again a day later, most of the times had disappeared. I found it unlikely that all of the trains had suddenly become fully booked over a 24 hour period, but I didn't want to risk just turning up and paying on the day (a mate was told some time back that you had to pre-book and may be turned away on the day). So I went elsewhere instead.

 

Yep. Financially they're stable, still have some debts but I believe these are relatively low and are primarily members' loans which have been used towards things like buying the Class 20 and fitting solar panels, and are being paid off as much as cash flow allows. Revenue is consistently good too.

They've done really well with their Polar Express trains too, and they're slowly making improvements across literally the entire railway, within their means - locos, carriage and wagon, S&T, track, stations etc. Bolton Abbey Plat 2 is basically complete I believe, with the refurbishment of the footbridge well underway. Its a great little railway really.