Coombe Junction - passenger numbers and platform facilities - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[LiskeardRich]

Tomorrow I am moving 'up country' to Liskeard, 1 mile or so up hill from Coombe Junction which we know as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s second quietest station, 26 passenger entrances and exits in 2014-15.

Now I've had a genius idea to single handedly double the stations usage, every Saturday morning walk The mile or so down hill to Coombe Junction, and then catch the 0929 back up the hill to Liskeard as my house is a 3-4 minute walk from Liskeard station.

If I do this weekly I double the station usage single handedly as I would make 52 entrances alone, it benefits me with a little walk down hill without the steep hill back up doing it the other way round. (If I get some days off in the week I could more than double the usage)

For this to work I need there to be a Coombe junction to Liskeard single, and for the guard to be able to sell me the ticket, are these both likely or is there a rover style ticket on the branch that eliminates A to B destinations?

[Chris from Nailsea]

In cases like this, I would rely entirely upon whatever bignosemac suggests: he has a remarkable talent for sniffing out such tickets. 

[JayMac]

It would have to be point to point tickets for the journeys to definitely be recorded for statistics. Station usage figures are based on ticket sales data recorded in rail industry systems. With no origin or destination on Rovers or Rangers there's no way to record actual journeys made with them. However they may have weighted estimates for the stations covered - don't know that for certain though.

It is unlikely that Coombe Junction Halt has ever figured in an official passenger count, which is another method used to estimate station usage.

Off Peak Day Single on the Saturday 0929 will cost you ^2.30. ^1.50 if you've got a railcard.

There is a Day Ranger for the whole Looe Valley Line - ^4.30/^2.85. The line can also be travelled on with a Ride Cornwall Day Ranger, a Freedom of Devon Cornwall Rover and a Freedom of the South West Rover.

[Chris from Nailsea]

See what I mean? 

[The Tall Controller]

Or you could just walk to Liskeard station and buy 52 singles from Coombe Junction Halt to Liskeard (^78.00 total with your D+C Railcard). Save the time and effort! 

[John R]

Off Peak Day Single on the Saturday 0929 will cost you ^2.30. ^1.50 if you've got a railcard.

Or buy a return for an extra 10p - that way the number of entrances and exits doubles to 104!

[grahame]

Off Peak Day Single on the Saturday 0929 will cost you ^2.30. ^1.50 if you've got a railcard.

Or buy a return for an extra 10p - that way the number of entrances and exits doubles to 104!

Before you buy returns, check with the Friends of Coombe Junction and check that they'll (s)he'll welcome such a distortion of ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) stats for years to come. 

At "Save the train" - as it was in those days - life was complicated by the sale of tickets which started at Melksham to the Bristol area, but were sold at (and and used for) journeys from intermediate West Wilts stations with better services into the Bristol area. It meant that calculations using the figure were either rejected as being "based on flawed data", treated with suspicion, or considered to be a cheat if not footnoted / amended to estimate real numbers.

[Henry]

 O

[RichardB]

It is unlikely that Coombe Junction Halt has ever figured in an official passenger count, which is another method used to estimate station usage.

We (Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership) have done regular passenger counts on the line.  Don't think we have ever found an actual passenger getting on or off at Coombe Jn.

I saw the full origin and destination details for Coombe (and the rest of Cornwall) a few years ago.  That year, Coombe had 42 journeys.  As I remember, most were long distance - Selby sticks in the mind.

[RichardB]

Tomorrow I am moving 'up country' to Liskeard, 1 mile or so up hill from Coombe Junction which we know as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s second quietest station, 26 passenger entrances and exits in 2014-15.

Now I've had a genius idea to single handedly double the stations usage, every Saturday morning walk The mile or so down hill to Coombe Junction, and then catch the 0929 back up the hill to Liskeard as my house is a 3-4 minute walk from Liskeard station.

If I do this weekly I double the station usage single handedly as I would make 52 entrances alone, it benefits me with a little walk down hill without the steep hill back up doing it the other way round. (If I get some days off in the week I could more than double the usage)

For this to work I need there to be a Coombe junction to Liskeard single, and for the guard to be able to sell me the ticket, are these both likely or is there a rover style ticket on the branch that eliminates A to B destinations?

A good exercise routine, Rich!

Evidently, in the days of steam on the branch, Liskeard Grammar School pupils, if they missed the train at Liskeard, would run down the hill and catch it at Coombe while the engine was running round.   

[marky7890]

A couple of years ago when the 09:59 to Looe used to call at Coombe (it no longer does) I would quickly get off while crew changed end to get a photo of the train at the station, before getting back on, getting that service purely as it stopped at Coombe.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posting, marky7890. 

Do you happen to have any of those pictures for us to see here, by way of illustration for this topic?

[The Tall Controller]

I have boarded as 1 of 3 people from Coombe Junction Halt before. Sadly none of us required a ticket from the station itself. I had my rover, a lady and her son boarding had to buy returns from Liskeard to Looe as there was no return working stopping at Coombe Junction Halt.

[marky7890]

Thanks for posting, marky7890. 

Do you happen to have any of those pictures for us to see here, by way of illustration for this topic?

Taken in June and September of 2014. Both of the 09:59 from Liskeard to Looe.





Last summer I also walked from Liskeard down the hill to Coombe to get some photos the station and the junction itself. Although I didn't get on the train. It was a Saturday so the 10:32 Looe to Liskeard train stops at Coombe.



This was the next service from Liskeard back to Looe at Coombe Junction.

[JayMac]

Some great photos there marky.