Following several years of stability, the programme of special events held at Crich Tramway Village is set to undergo a major refresh for 2014, with a number of new ideas to be tried out and other more established events moved around. This move is presumably a response to the falling visitor numbers at this attraction, which are showing no sign of recovery.
The main linking theme of next year’s events will be ’50 years of electric trams at Crich’, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the inaugural passenger journeys at the museum in July 1964. Early plans involve a series of themed event days centring around the various eras during which the museum has operated, beginning with the 1960s in May. It is not clear what such events will entail as there aren’t many trams at Crich that can represent more recent decades, and so these may well feature more family-orientated activities. Hopefully at least one major enthusiast event will be held though, perhaps featuring some of the cars that ran in the early years of Crich taking centre stage? Although currently out of service, Blackpool & Fleetwood ‘Rack’ 2 could probably be commissioned fairly easily and as this tram performed the first ever public run in 1964, a special appearance in service from this car would be a particularly appropriate way to commemorate such an important milestone.
The popular Edwardian weekend will move from July to September next year, whilst the ever-popular Starlight Halloween event will be expanded to run for an entire week. This will be billed as a premier event, but in a welcome move visitors will be given the option of paying a reduced entry fee if they only wish to come for the evening. Finally, and in a surprising move, the Easter 1940s event has been dropped, although this era will still be represented by a 1940s weekend in August. Although these events are generally the museum’s most popular of all, even they have not been immune from the declining attendance numbers, and therefore reducing them before they become too stale could well be a sensible move, especially in view of the large amount of work involved in staging these events.
It must be hoped that these efforts will help Crich to attract more visitors next season, and halt several years of decline. With Sheffield 510 and Blackpool 762 due to enter public service, and possibly Leeds 107 as well, 2014 has the makings of a great year for the museum and hopefully enthusiasts and the general public will be encouraged to visit more than was the case in 2013.
It is my personal belief that one of the reasons they do not attract more is lack of advertising and making it easier for people to get there. They need to find a way of getting people up there easier using public transport. Would some sort of heritage bus service not be a viable proposition running to matlock or even further to connect with local trains.
They have to look at the bigger picture, I would like to go more as would others I know but from manchester, especially on a sunday its hopeless.
“Need to find a way of getting people up there easier using public transport”? With all due respect Nigel, the reality is that virtually no-one uses public transport to go for a day out in the 21st century. The key, core, business for an attraction like the Tramway Museum is the family market, and they simply don’t use public transport at all. This can be clearly seen by the way the average visitor reacts to queues, tram stops, fares and tickets. They simply don’t understand them…
In answer to your question about a heritage bus service from Matlock being a viable proposition, I suspect it would be used by a handful of tram and bus enthusiasts only, and regarded by the rest of the world as amusing and quaint. (When viewed from their family motor cars.)
Got to agree Nigel. I can remember a time when for us it was the train to Buxton from Manchester, then bus, sometimes the train into Matlock and then there was a regular, from memory 15 or 20 minutes service up to Town End. Now, you need really to plan an overnight stay if you are travelling from Manchester by public transport.
I used the train to get to Crich yesterday from Leicester as not everyone wants the hassle of driving. It would have been nice not to have had a mile to walk up a very steep hill to the museum but I bet there were not many others who did the same. Public transport on a Sunday is very poor and I would have to stay overnight if I went to Heaton Park or Beamish. It does put people off attending events particularly in unfavourable weather.
I did notice quite a number of young families at the event yesterday who came when the weather improved and not due to any advertising about the event. When you need to make plans and book train tickets in advance you need to have the details of the event sooner than a week before the event. Crich probably couldn’t do this as they did not know if there would be enough available crew. I really hope that 2014 will be a better year and we can have more brilliant days like yesterday.
I would suggest that sadly, one of the main issues in the falling numbers have nothing to do with either the events, the attractions connectivity or anything else I have seen suggested. Remember, as in most transport attractions, the vast majority of visitors are non enthusiasts, so whether it’s Sheffield 510, Rack 2, or something painted pink with green dots, it would on the whole, matter not one iota I would suggest what they put on vehicle wise. Theme-wise, possibly.
But in my personal experience and I know I am certainly far from alone, it is sadly the all to obvious disdain that the “great unwashed” are regarded and more importantly, made obvious to be so regarded.
This is by most ( I admit, not all, but enough) of the staff, both paid and unpaid and on board cars or at the shops or even the entry point. Also unfortunately, this disdain is not reserved solely for the non enthusiast. We tram fans can be just as unwelcome. Our money isn’t, but once successfully parted from it, its “tell it like it is” time.
When Crich was the only place the UK populous could “play trams”, they could perhaps have got away with it. But now there’s one in just about every area of the country in one format or another and I think, in my view without exception, they are miles friendlier.
Also Crich make very little of their “pay once- come again all year” entrance fee.
I have personally seen people see the prices and turn round at the door. But if they are even fairly local and they came even just another couple of times in the next 12 months, it works out very reasonably. But once they see £13 each, the damage is done. Even on their website, it’s right down at the bottom, way past the prices. To help make it as attractive as possible, this really is basic stuff. Shame they can’t put half as much effort into their PR as they do at withdrawing perfectly good, popular cars because an ashtray is full, or re-restoring the same trams.
I have to say that while some in the higher echelons of the TMS organisation and some ‘armchair’ supporters don’t help the museum’s public image or enthusiast reputation with their decision making and public pronouncements; in my experience the vast majority of the operational staff on the ground are helpful, friendly and welcoming. In my opinion your comments could NOT be fairly levelled at any one of the platform crew on duty yesterday…
Well, to be fair, Paul, as I wasn’t there yesterday, I cannot comment and so you are probably right. And I was very careful to point out that indeed some members are fine, but more than enough aren’t and sadly they certainly weren’t on the occasions that I was there. And in my experience at other places, I have yet to find an openly unfriendly one, so even one at Crich with so many alternative, more accessible and to be honest, cheaper transport attractions to choose from, is simply one too many.
Having made the trip from the south by train for Enthusiasts Day, I can confirm that the very steep walk up the hill from Whatstandwell is testing, even for the fittest! I enjoyed the visit, which I thought was well organised and the weather was kind.
Perhaps there is a dwindling number of ‘old tram’ enthusiasts (and old tram enthusiasts) as young people who become enthusiasts can ride on trams for real in the street in the UK, something (outside Blackpool and Llandudno) impossible from 1962 to 1992. None of the new generation tramways are compatible with old trams and so nowhere can have an operation like heritage “oldtimer” services on the Continent. Beamish, East Anglian and Heaton Park seem to have a more accessible feel about them than Crich in its remote quarry, and at Birkenhead the trams actually run in their natural habitat – the street.
“None of the new generation tramways are compatible with old trams and so nowhere can have an operation like heritage “oldtimer” services on the Continent.”
Blackpool mixes the UKs newest trams and heritage operations extremely successfully. Like the Continental systems that have a heritage operation, this is in part due to Blackpool having a continuous operational history. All the other UK systems are New Build and dont have a heritage of their own to operate…
I’m not interested in offers such as paying less on a return visit – I’m interested in what will it cost me on the day and is it worth it. I think entrance fee to Crich is too dear so I along with others went to the open day at Carlton Colville, and I live in Birmingham so Crich would have been nearer. I don’t think Crich is good value for money for me. It’s not the events they organise – it’s just their admission prices put me off.
I also chose Carlton Colville over Crich last weekend. The Crich admission price does need to be reviewed to make it more attractive.
Arguing about the price thats £13.00 at crich and you get a free return visit thats 2 visits for £13.00 where else do you get that thats what all heritage transport places charge like steam railways you go to say the great central railway your paying £12.00 for an all day ticket and no return visit and at a special event that can go up to £20 yes crich is no in the best area but they have the longest track
Bluebell railway charge £16.50 for an all day ticket and West Somerset charge £17.00 and you don’t get the free return visit so if your going to a heritage transport place be it a railway or tramway expect to be paying more than £10 the East Anglian Transport Museum charge less because they only have a small circular running tack and small site
Considering I regularly pay £17 for an afternoon’s footballing entertainment in the Skrill Premier I think £13 is pretty good value for visiting Crich!
I agree fully. Really? Two visits for £13 is too much? For £13 you can get tram rides, look around the depots, a visit in the exhibition, and if in a family activities such as the woodland walk.
Why not advertise the £13 entry as a season entry ticket with say £9 as a single day entry?
What is not known is how many take up the ‘free’ return entry!
My reading of events is getting confused, I intended to attend the 1940s event this weekend but then I read above that the easter event is cancelled, so now I need to plan to go elsewhere, I have attended on 30 May since 2005 and since 2008 I attended the 1940s events as well and was very pleased that as a veteran I was granted free entry, which I feel that ~
1]. Full price entry dressed as normal.
2]. Reduced price entry if dressed for event.
3]. Reduced price entry if a veteran [1940’s] dressed normal.
4]. Free entry if a veteran [1940’s] dressed for the era.
BUT more advertising needs to be done, I cannot honestly say I have seen more than one advertisement in the past 5 years for the tramway 🙁
This article was written in September 2013 when it was the original plan to cut down on the 1940s events to just one in the year but that was changed towards the end of 2013 to reinclude the Easter 1940s event – this has been reported on the news pages here, can be found on the Events Diary on this website and is also listed on the official Crich Tramway Village website.
As for advertising – it depends where you are looking! I have certainly seen adverts in the railway press for Crich and there have been local TV adverts run in the past few years as well. But what you have to remember is that advertising costs a lot of money and probably the best advertising is word of mouth in this internet savvy age.
Thank you for your response Gareth, and yes I understand TV advertising can be expensive and I wish I could come up with the correct answers to increase attendance and income for the tramway, for it would be a shame to see any threatened demise of this venue.