Bluebell Railway extension attracts thousands more visitors

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bluebell Railway extension attracts thousands more visitors


The Bluebell Railway is synonymous with the steam train but needs to runs some diesel engines

A Sussex heritage railway has seen its annual visitor numbers increase by 60,000 since it was reconnected to the mainline network.

The Bluebell Railway carried 250,000 passengers in the year after its extension from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead opened in March last year.

The two-mile stretch, which cost ^3.5m, linked East Grinstead mainline station to Kingscote, 11 miles away.

Chief clerk Roy Watts said the railway had gone from a ^3m to a ^4m business. "This is not just about amateurs playing trains, we like to think of ourselves as professionals," he said.

The Bluebell Society ran the first steam-operated passenger service on 7 August 1960, two years after British Rail closed the line, but until last year it was isolated from the national rail network. Its increasing success means it now needs to run some diesel trains.

"The Bluebell is synonymous with the steam train so we try our absolute best to make sure that's what people get," said operations manager Chris Knibbs. "But it's important to run a service and if its either no service or a service with a diesel we'll run a service with a diesel."


The Bluebell Railway depends on volunteer drivers, engineers and station staff

The changes have also put new demands on the volunteers on whom the railway depends. "Now we're reconnected to East Grinstead it's a longer day - we've got more miles to cover and we do 12 hours sometimes," said engine driver Ben Coughlan.

Bluebell chairman Dick Fern said the railway had to balance the need for a professional service with keeping the volunteers happy. "I think its possible for people to enjoy their contribution to the Bluebell," he said. "But we also must make it very pleasurable for the people who are spending very good money to come and visit us."

[grahame]

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/bells.html

Platform Bells

We've been talking about signal box to signal box bell codes on other threads ... but reading up I came across platform bells as used on the Bluebell railway.  Struck me as a neat, unobtrusive way of letting staff and others in the know be alerted to approaching services and I almost suggested trying it out at some stations tat aren't plastered with screens.  Silly idea, of course - a loud speaker's probably as cheap and can inform everyone and not just those 'in the know'.

But can anyone suggest how to let people know where their bus is at Bath bus station an nearby?  The two screens are up extreme ends so invisible in the centre, buses come in to different platforms bays without notice or announcement (or change to the board),  the system pretends that buses stopping just outside don't exist, and late running buses can disappear off the display into a never-land where one's left guessing as to whether one missed the bus (perhaps it stopped at a different bay?), if it's running late, or if it's not going to show up at all.  As for finding which bus goes to [place] when the information centre is closed - unless the place is a final bus destination; the maps from when the bus station opened were imperfect, but they were a darn sight more informative than commercially placed adverts!

[trainer]

Using Bath bus station yesterday (I'm an only an occasional visitor) it was difficult to get in as people queued for a bus and because of the same crowd I couldn't get near enough to read the departure board.  Only then did I realise where the other one was.  Much more user friendly/readable information is needed to ensure visitors know where buses are going.  Few care who runs them: that was a fallacy of privatisation IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).

To bring back the thread to the topic, I was one of the many who visited the Bluebell because it has become so much more easily reached without a car.  Taunton next?

[Oxonhutch]

... I was one of the many who visited the Bluebell because it has become so much more easily reached without a car.  Taunton next?

Princes Risborough hopefully.

I was working on the connection from Chinnor today. Rails, gate, signals and signs now in place.  Just waiting for some more paperwork ...

[Electric train]

... I was one of the many who visited the Bluebell because it has become so much more easily reached without a car.  Taunton next?

Princes Risborough hopefully.

I was working on the connection from Chinnor today. Rails, gate, signals and signs now in place.  Just waiting for some more paperwork ...

This is excellent news, I do enjoy my visits to my local heritage railway