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Unread 02-01-2011, 13:06   #1
Alan French
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 89
Default Things said to an on-train guide

You might enjoy this article from last August's magazine from the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line. The background is that this line crosses the mountains in the North of England, and a supporters' group was formed in 1975 at the first whiff of a closure proposal. Closure was averted in 1986, and the Friends combine an action role (like ourselves) with general support and publicity. Among other things, they organise on-train guides and trolley services. Some people mistakenly think it's one of Britain's "heritage lines", but it's basically a functioning railway serving the locality (even though steam train operators use the route, and the Friends have helped to conserve the stations in their traditional form). So here's the article.

Things said to an on-train guide

Most of my guiding is done with groups that arrive by coach in Settle and travel to Carlisle. They come from all over Britain, and the following are some of their more unusual questions. But there are also people who arrive by car at Settle who join in.
A group from Huddersfield: "Will there be a place where we can get something to eat when we get to Carlisle? Is there a café or a pub there?"
Somebody from London: "I didn't know that we had sheep in England!"
Some people, also from London: "Where are all the houses: where do the people live?"
A group of Norwegians on a very misty day, on seeing the obvious frustration of the on-train guide: "Don't worry: it's like this in our fjords in wintertime!"
After passing the third coal train on the way to Carlisle, and despite having explained that coal is a principal source of traffic: "We thought that this was a tourist railway".
The ignorance about the British railway network by some is amazing. Great surprise is often expressed that the train has started in Leeds (which was where, on one occasion, the people in question lived), and on arrival at Carlisle people see that there are trains to Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Birmingham, etc. "I didn't know that you could go to so many places by train - it's amazing! We must try the train one day".
On arrival at Settle by car, it's very common for people to ask which platform the train goes from. On being given the answer this then sometimes prompts further thought and questions, such as "That means that trains run on the left, the same as cars, does it?" Which prompts me to tell the questioner about the railways in Belgium and France which were built by British engineers, and so run on the left.

I (Alan) have also come across coach parties on this line, being totally bewildered by train travel, spending ages finding their reserved seats, so that for 20 minutes or so, the trolley couldn't get through!
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