Many of these preserved railways, heritage lines and railway
centres alike are such popular tourist attractions all around the United
Kingdom, they each make significant contributions to their local economies.
Heritage railways are usually railway lines which were once
run as commercial railways, but were later no longer needed or were closed
down, and were taken over or re-opened by volunteers or for-profit
organisations. Many run on partial routes unconnected to the commercial railway
network, run only seasonally, and charge high “entertainment” fares. For
example the return fare from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog on the 13-mile
Festiniog railway is some £17.95 and between Caernarfon to Beddgelert £22.00 on
the Welsh Highland Railway. As a result they are primarily, indeed exclusively,
focused on serving the tourist and leisure markets, not local transportation
needs. However in the 1990s and 2000s some heritage railways have professed to
provide local transportation and to extend their running seasons to cater for
commercial passenger traffic. In the United Kingdom, however, no heritage
railways offer a year round daily or commuter service.
Typically a heritage railway will use steam locomotives and
original rolling stock to create a supposed “period atmosphere”, although some
are now concentrating on more recent “modern image” diesel and electric
traction supposedly to re-create the post-steam railway era.
The first heritage railway to be rescued and run entirely by
volunteers was the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. This narrow gauge line, taken
over by a group of enthusiasts in 1950, is recognised as the start of the
preservation movement. There are now several hundred heritage railways in the
United Kingdom. This large number is due in part to the closure of many minor
lines in the 1960s under the Beeching Axe. These were relatively easy to
revive. The first such standard gauge line to be preserved was the Bluebell
Railway, though the Middleton Railway (which was not a victim of Beeching) had
been preserved prior to this. The world’s second preserved railway, and the
first outside the United Kingdom, was the Puffing Billy Railway in Australia. This
railway operates 24 km of track with much of the original rolling stock built
as early as 1898.
Heritage railways differ in the intensity of the service
that can be offered. Some of the more successful British heritage railways,
such as the Severn Valley Railway and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, may
have up to five or six steam engines working, operating a four-train service
daily. The Great Central Railway is the only example of a preserved British
main line that operates with a double track, and can operate over 50 trains on
a busy gala timetable. Other smaller railways may run for seven-days-a-week
throughout the summer with only one steam engine. However, following the
privatisation of Britain’s main-line railways, the line between not-for-profit
heritage railways and for-profit branch lines may appear to have blurred. The
Wensleydale Railway is an example of a commercial line run partly as a heritage
operation and partly (at least in intent, if not in reality) to provide local
transportation. The Weardale Railway is a similar attempt to provide a
commercial heritage line, so far with mixed success. The Severn Valley Railway
has even operated a few goods trains on a commercial basis. In addition, a
number of heritage lines now see regular freight operations. The Puffing Billy
Railway operates a busier service than it regularly did in its pre-preservation
working life.