Do preserved lines actually want articles written about them or not???

[Robin1966]

Hi guys, a bit of a rant for anyone involved in preservation... I have attempted to put this on the National Preservation Forum, but it seems that site is down at the moment.

Just recently I tried to get in touch with a certain preservation project in Dorset, but it seems no-one at this stage is available to talk with me. I was mostly looking for a few quotes from someone along with a rough verbal summary of what the railway has been up to for the past two years, plus a few pictures. This would have involved a 10 to 30 minute discussion on the phone at best, plus a few pics.

I think throughout the past four years or so of writing articles on the UK preservation sector, there's only been one (locally in Bristol, being the Bristol Harbour Railway) where I haven't had hassle when trying to get someone to talk to me about their particular project.

Is it seriously the case that on most preserved lines there's no-one there that can spare 10 to 30 minutes of chat on the phone or the equivalent amount of time spent writing an email?

One article idea I had once had (on the subject of driving steam locos in bad weather) had to be dropped completely because a certain someone from a certain, major, preserved line in Somerset kept stringing me along for a whole year promising some contact with some former S&D enginemen (actually the lines own enginemen would have done) he knew, a conversation that didn't actually happen, and that was a couple of years ago now.

Then there was the time when I wanted to see what was going on with the two 8F's that had been brought back from Turkey. I tried calling one chap who was restoring one of them somewhere up north, repeatedly with no result. In the end, I gave up and emailed some guys from Israel concerning the 8F that had been sold to Beersheba, and you know what? They responded immediately, which is how I managed to get this (attached) written.

I am beginning to wonder whether preserved railway staff in the UK are actually that bothered about having their projects publicised in railway magazines, or maybe I am just choosing the wrong lines and projects somehow.

My writing covers a wide variety of sectors including renewable energy, water, climate change, rural issues and countryside, modern railways, transport in general and spirituality, and you know the sector that I have the biggest problem with when it comes to communication? Yep, the UK heritage railway sector!

So, now I am going to try a different tack. Rather than having a particular idea and then trying to contact people, it might be best to see how many people associated with preserved lines are actually contactable in the first place and then worrying about what I can actually write about....

Distinctly annoying to say the least....:roll::roll::roll::roll:

 

[Jonfun]

Don't forget most heritage lines are run primarily by volunteers, and in many cases the press officer will be a voluntary role too. It might be someone else's added responsibility. The bigger railways are likely to have someone dedicated to the role, possibly even full time, so you'd probably be better off trying there?

I would imagine if a smaller group wanted publicity it would try and contact you and give you something worthwhile to write about, not vice versa.

 

[Simon11]

How many people would read your article when published?

 

[Robin1966]

Hi Simon, according to this, the circulation for Heritage Railway is 52,318 http://www.mortonsmediagroup.com/media/hr.htm#circ
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Don't forget most heritage lines are run primarily by volunteers, and in many cases the press officer will be a voluntary role too. It might be someone else's added responsibility. The bigger railways are likely to have someone dedicated to the role, possibly even full time, so you'd probably be better off trying there?

I would imagine if a smaller group wanted publicity it would try and contact you and give you something worthwhile to write about, not vice versa.

Hi Jonfun, actually that's very useful. It might be worth me just actually passing my name round all the small operations with a note saying that I am available for article writing as and when they want someone to cover something (and then just waiting for them to contact me), rather than just targetting them with specific ideas, meanwhile just keeping that more direct approach to the larger lines.

Cheers for that. Should come on these forums more often methinks....

 

[theboywho]

I have to add that I visited a preserved railway in the UK in December and was surprised to see the state the buildings were in. Lots of poor repairs to what were once beautiful station buildings.

Do any of the larger preserved railways have their own estates managers?

 

[Titfield]

The new Head of Sales and Marketing at the Swanage Railway is David Rawsthorn david.rawsthorn@swanagerailway.co.uk

I am sure he will assist if approached.

 

[telstarbox]

Robin, I've noticed you have a LinkedIn profile - have you had a look for contacts on there?

You could even set up a discussion group called 'UK Heritage Railway Staff' or similar if there isn't one, and find stories that way. I've joined a LinkedIn user group for some software I use at work and it's very handy as it's more specalist than LinkedIn or a forum in general.

 

[Robin1966]

Robin, I've noticed you have a LinkedIn profile - have you had a look for contacts on there?

You could even set up a discussion group called 'UK Heritage Railway Staff' or similar if there isn't one, and find stories that way. I've joined a LinkedIn user group for some software I use at work and it's very handy as it's more specalist than LinkedIn or a forum in general.

Wow, cheers guys, that's two more brilliant suggestions, much appreciated Telstarbox

 

[telstarbox]

You're welcome. Looking from the other angle, it should be in the interest of heritage operations to get the word out anyway, especially if they're after donations/sponsorship or more passengers.

 

[Robin1966]

Okay guys, especially those on LinkedIn, please now see this: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/UK-Heritage-Railway-Staff-8243882?home=&gid=8243882&trk=anet_ug_hm

 

[E&W Lucas]

Where are you hoping to get your writings published?
For the major lines, ie those with visitor numbers in the hundreds of thousands, the holy grail is exposure in broadcast media, or the national press. Their market is the general public, so an article in Anorak Monthly isn't terribly important, though obviously all positive exposure is welcome.

So much information is now available freely online, I wonder how much of a future the enthusiast magazines have?

With regard to your subjects, Driving Steam in Bad Weather, is just a hot air exercise. It's like describing how you walk, only you'll be doing it second or third hand. There are railwaymen who could yarn something about that, if they had the desire, and the Editors have enough contacts to approach them directly.

All the major railways have websites, and they will have contact details for their marketing depts. on them. They will be full time, professional people, so not hard to get your contact details in front of them.

 

[steamybrian]

I work on one of the smaller heritage railways with all volunteer staff and can see this discussion from both sides. Our railway does have press officers who supplies photos, articles and long conversations for publications as articles in magazines however they are "known" established contacts.
For an unknown to appear he would be very cautious in what he says until he has established confidence and has a proven past history of producing published accurate articles. He is not going to waste 30 minutes in a long conversation, send lots of photos for it all to be misrepresented.
Similarly it could be a hoax and we have had many hoax callers claiming to be this or be able to do that for the railway only for it to be a time waster.

 

[West Ruislip]

As a general rule if someone has not got back to a journalist within 4 days the chances are that he or she will never get back to you. There are obvious exceptions , such as if they are on holiday etc.

Why let one person delay a story or article? If they cannot produce the information that is required within a reasonable time the best option is to cut them out of the action and deal with someone else who can help. The world of publishing is fast moving and one cannot waste time dealing with people that cannot help a magazine achieve its objectives.

If you don't look after your magazine, who will?

Circulation figures can be misleading. One trade magazine claims to have over 50,000 readers. However, on closer inspection this is based on a pass on rate of 3 .In other words, three people read one copy of the same magazine. Rather different to actually selling 50,000 copies.

 

[Robin1966]

Okay, thanks guys, some valid points there indeed. Dealing with E&W Lucas points first...Anorak Monthly? Actually that's quite amusing I have to say but Heritage Railway is now an established preservation magazine of equal stature I would say to Steam Railway which I will also try to break into at some point. On the other hand, your point about stuff being online is a crucial one which has implications right across the media, not just that devoted to preserved railways. And that is another reason I spread my writing across a number of specialist subjects, not just rail.

With regard to Driving a steam loco on bad weather, yeah maybe it is a hot air exercise, but one of my traits is to try and write articles that are a bit different but still interesting. I am not sure too many of the public stop to think that the driver they see on a sunny day at the local three mile branch line might also be someone who drives a loco on a steam excursion through all weathers, foul or fair, or thinks about what it is like doing that...as they pose with their children in front of the engine. I remember reading a book about a GWR engineman in South Wales once when I was younger, can't remember who wrote it or what it was called, but it really opened my eyes and made me think about the challenges of driving a loco tender first in winter with a vicious wind (or worse) whistling about the cab with only the fire and some hefty overalls to keep one warm. So that is why I thought I would try that idea out.

And thanks for the website suggestion, I will indeed do that.

Steamy Brian, I now have three published articles to my credit in Heritage Railway, not unduly impressive I know but hopefully enough for people to distinguish me from the type of journalist you mention who's more comfortable writing for the nearest red top rag than a dedicated and serious magazine devoted to the subject. My portfolio is here by the way (positive criticism only please rather than hatchet jobs...) https://uk.pinterest.com/RAWhitlock/robin-whitlock-freelance-journalist/

And finally West Ruislip, yes, good point. I think perhaps that is because I am fairly empathic and I really enjoy giving particular people, especially on smaller lines, a real chance to speak (assuming my article will help them do so that is, they may of course, as has been said, be doing that anyway in other ways) and hearing what they have to say. But yes, the more efficient thing to do would be to move faster and give up on those who can't get back to me quickly.

Thanks for the tip about circulation, not something I realised before actually.

All good observations, this is really helping me out here guys so thanks muchly.

 

[E&W Lucas]

Okay, thanks guys, some valid points there indeed. Dealing with E&W Lucas points first...Anorak Monthly? Actually that's quite amusing I have to say but Heritage Railway is now an established preservation magazine of equal stature I would say to Steam Railway which I will also try to break into at some point. On the other hand, your point about stuff being online is a crucial one which has implications right across the media, not just that devoted to preserved railways. And that is another reason I spread my writing across a number of specialist subjects, not just rail.

What I was trying to do, was give you the perspective of those actively involved in preservation, on the enthusiast magazines. They aren't taken very seriously!
News type information, can be found out far more rapidly and reliably, via internet forums, social media feeds, etc, often directly from those directly involved with a project.
Have you considered writing about railways, but for the non - enthusiast market?
Sunday supplements, lifestyle/ family magazines, etc?
Introduce the "day out" the railway offers, to an audience that may not be au fait with it?
If you've the contacts to get that published, then I can think of people that would like to hear from you!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

With regard to Driving a steam loco on bad weather, yeah maybe it is a hot air exercise, but one of my traits is to try and write articles that are a bit different but still interesting. I am not sure too many of the public stop to think that the driver they see on a sunny day at the local three mile branch line might also be someone who drives a loco on a steam excursion through all weathers, foul or fair, or thinks about what it is like doing that...as they pose with their children in front of the engine. I remember reading a book about a GWR engineman in South Wales once when I was younger, can't remember who wrote it or what it was called, but it really opened my eyes and made me think about the challenges of driving a loco tender first in winter with a vicious wind (or worse) whistling about the cab with only the fire and some hefty overalls to keep one warm. So that is why I thought I would try that idea out.

It's a physical job, and an outdoor job. If it rains, you get wet!
Driving at night, etc., is just route knowledge.

 

[West Ruislip]

The general public view those who buy enthusiast type magazines, not just railway publications, as anoraks. One only has to look at the character of Roy Cropper to see how railway enthusiasts are often perceived by those outside of the hobby.

I've worked on magazines as both staff and freelance and one will never get rich, or even make a living, selling the occasional article for £60 to an enthusiast publication. It may take a week to compile the pictures and copy , and that's before any traveling expenses, so what are you left with at the end of it?

A few years ago I worked in a senior capacity on Russian, Chinese and German transport publications and the money was good, but so were the circulation figures. The important thing was that all these magazines were aimed away from the enthusiast and more at figures within the transport industry. I then worked on a UK transport title for a number of years, where the money was the same. There's still money to be made in UK transport publishing, but not penning the occasional article that costs more to create than it's possible to receive in publication fees.

Being a journalist is a full time profession and not something one can hope to achieve success in if it's being done as something away from the regular day job.

A number of rail enthusiast titles are bobbing along with around 6,000 readers, when one factors in the huge cost of printing and distribution it has to be wondered how long they can carry on.

Digital publishing really is the way forward and more and more titles will cease to be printed as readership falls , but fixed costs remain the same.

 

[Robin1966]

What I was trying to do, was give you the perspective of those actively involved in preservation, on the enthusiast magazines. They aren't taken very seriously!
News type information, can be found out far more rapidly and reliably, via internet forums, social media feeds, etc, often directly from those directly involved with a project.
Have you considered writing about railways, but for the non - enthusiast market?
Sunday supplements, lifestyle/ family magazines, etc?
Introduce the "day out" the railway offers, to an audience that may not be au fait with it?
If you've the contacts to get that published, then I can think of people that would like to hear from you!

No, not yet, the thought hadn't occurred to me - probably because my own status as an 'enthusiast' got in the way. But yes that's a great idea, and probably of much greater interest to the railways themselves with regard to generating more custom - and it would also get me, hopefully, into the supplement/travel magazine market. Er, and that means, no, I haven't got the contacts yet. It is a market I have still got to break into. But I can think straightaway of a few magazines who, hopefully, would be interested, so I will put some kind of strategy together. Cheers.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The general public view those who buy enthusiast type magazines, not just railway publications, as anoraks. One only has to look at the character of Roy Cropper to see how railway enthusiasts are often perceived by those outside of the hobby.

I've worked on magazines as both staff and freelance and one will never get rich, or even make a living, selling the occasional article for £60 to an enthusiast publication. It may take a week to compile the pictures and copy , and that's before any traveling expenses, so what are you left with at the end of it?

A few years ago I worked in a senior capacity on Russian, Chinese and German transport publications and the money was good, but so were the circulation figures. The important thing was that all these magazines were aimed away from the enthusiast and more at figures within the transport industry. I then worked on a UK transport title for a number of years, where the money was the same. There's still money to be made in UK transport publishing, but not penning the occasional article that costs more to create than it's possible to receive in publication fees.

Being a journalist is a full time profession and not something one can hope to achieve success in if it's being done as something away from the regular day job.

A number of rail enthusiast titles are bobbing along with around 6,000 readers, when one factors in the huge cost of printing and distribution it has to be wondered how long they can carry on.

Digital publishing really is the way forward and more and more titles will cease to be printed as readership falls , but fixed costs remain the same.

Thanks for the insight, but you're a bit way out on your fee estimates. Heritage Railway pays me about £160 for a 1,500 word article. In general though, you're correct. I get the bulk of my income, which isn't much (but hey that's life for the average freelancer) elsewhere. I do manage to get by with a bit left over for spending money, but its certainly better than stacking shelves in a supermarket on a zero hours contract...and many people can't even get that.

 

[West Ruislip]

To give you an idea of fees in the more general field of journalism, a 1,500 word article would earn you around £1,000 (if not a little more) if published in the tabloids.

A recent picture of a celebrity was deemed to be worth £500 by the editor of one tabloid.

This illustrates the huge difference in fees that are on offer between hobby titles and more serious journalism.

 

[Robin1966]

To give you an idea of fees in the more general field of journalism, a 1,500 word article would earn you around £1,000 (if not a little more) if published in the tabloids.

A recent picture of a celebrity was deemed to be worth £500 by the editor of one tabloid.

This illustrates the huge difference in fees that are on offer between hobby titles and more serious journalism.

Sure, but from what I've seen (through discussion on LinkedIn groups on the subject of freelancing) the chances of getting into the tabloids and broadsheets for most freelancers, including me at the moment, are very slim as the competition is ferocious...I've tried sending stuff off to The Guardian on a number of occasions and not even a reply.

So yes, you're right, but its a pretty rough ride out there...

 

[telstarbox]

the Guardian are solving the problem by asking their readers to write the stories for free via the Eyewitness section

Going back to publications, as a fairly casual enthusiast I haven't bought a rail mag in years because usually posters on here spread the word about everything that's going on with the railway. Couple that with following the right people on Flickr for snaps and there's not really any need for mags.

Also, transport seems to have become more of a hot topic recently so even generalist news sources such as the BBC or Evening Standard now run more detailed stories on franchise decisions, new rolling stock, infrastructure proposals etc.

 

[Robin1966]

Sure, but this in effect has morphed into a general discussion about magazines/newspapers versus web content. You're right of course, smarter freelancers will have already oriented themselves towards web content....including me. Renewable Energy Magazine, my main client, is largely website based, except for a Spanish language version, but I don't have anything to do with that given I feed the website.