How many preserved railways still issue Edmondson tickets?

[Belperpete]

I think the thread title says it all really. I have travelled on various preserved lines this year, and almost none of them issued the old fashioned Edmondson card ticket. With the increase in online and computer based ticketing, all you seem to get these days is a computer printed slip of paper, which in most cases looks nothing like a ticket. And even when you do get one, it isn't laid out like traditional Edmondson tickets were, with separate halves for the outward and return journeys.

It seems perverse that organisations that are supposed to be preserving railway heritage are abandoning something so historic and integral to train travel.

 

[sad1e]

From the railways I've been to , the Epping Ongar Railway and the Bluebell railway still use Edmondson tickets.

The Mid Hants seems to use a sort of CCST size card ticket , The Spa valley I think may use Edmondson but they heavily encourage you to print out your own ticket.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Sep 2025 ==

(Photo of various Edmondson tickets from heritage railways)

 

[xotGD]

East Lancs and Battlefield have both issued me with these tickets this year.

 

[railfan99]

In October 2025, the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway had an excellent selection of Edmondson tickets. I was granted access to the Cheltenham Racecourse booking office and was very pleased that my Day Rover was an Edmondson ticket.

But I agree: so far of the 10+ UK preserved railways on which I've been, the majority issue flimsy thermal paper 'tickets' that look nothing like a card ticket.

 

[bleeder4]

Bo'ness still issue them. So does the Gloucestershire Warwickshire. Severn Valley used to but I believe they've been having problems sourcing spare parts for their machine.

 

[NER1621]

The SVR freedom of the line tickets we purchased last week were Edmondsons.

 

[Dave1954]

Edmondsons , new name for me , Thank you .

 

[LA50041]

The Mid-Norfolk issued Edmondson tickets in July

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Cholsey and Wallingford were issuing Edmondsons for the Bunkfest gala last week.

 

[Egg Centric]

Tanfield Railway does them as a kind of 'souvenir' for children and on request, rather than issuing by default

 

[kje7812]

The SVR freedom of the line tickets we purchased last week were Edmondsons.

And intermediate returns are laid out in the style the OP refers to, two halfs.

 

[74A]

Lynton and Barnstaple were using them when I visited 2 weeks ago

 

[simonw]

In October 2025, the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway had an excellent selection of Edmondson tickets. I was granted access to the Cheltenham Racecourse booking office and was very pleased that my Day Rover was an Edmondson ticket.

But I agree: so far of the 10+ UK preserved railways on which I've been, the majority issue flimsy thermal paper 'tickets' that look nothing like a card ticket.

How is your time machine doing?

 

[tram21]

At Crich we give out proper tickets on the trams

 

[robert thomas]

Gwili and Pontypool & Blaenavon.

 

[Tester]

At Crich we give out proper tickets on the trams

On trams proper tickets are not Edmondson

 

[DarloRich]

It seems perverse that organisations that are supposed to be preserving railway heritage are abandoning something so historic and integral to train travel.

How is it integral to train travel in 2025? I understand nostalgia, rejection of change and small "c" conservatism are crucial to being an enthusiast but frankly I don't care what kind of ticket I am issued. It forms absolutely no part of my visit to a preserved railway. I am sure others will disagree

I may alter my view if I was attending some kind of Victorian/Edwardian event where the mise en scène was all important but for a regular day out on a preserved it just isn't important

In the real world I cant recall ever being given an "Edmondson" - the earliest tickets I can recall were book mark sized red and white BR tickets

The SVR freedom of the line tickets we purchased last week were Edmondsons.

I bought my last one on line and at the recent gala I attended the SVR very sensibly issued wristbands. Much easier than digging a dog eared bit of card out of your wallet!

Also, if you are one of the railways that does free returns within a year how do you do that with a tiny bit of card?

 

[kje7812]

I bought my last one on line and at the recent gala I attended the SVR very sensibly issued wristbands. Much easier than digging a dog eared bit of card out of your wallet!

Also, if you are one of the railways that does free returns within a year how do you do that with a tiny bit of card?

Some passengers have made disapproving remarks over the use of wristbands at galas and complain about them being difficult to put on. With my TTI hat on, they make it a lot easier to do a quick ticket check.


The previous version of the annual pass on NYMR was issued on standard till receipt and thus was separate from the day ticket. You would have to show the receipt each time you used subsequently.

 

[156421]

The Mid Hants seems to use a sort of CCST size card ticket

Pedant alert...CCST is already "credit card sized ticket" so we have here "credit card sized ticket size card ticket"

 

[AJM580]

Great Central Railway issued me a proper blue Edmondson ticket at the weekend's excellent diesel gala

 

[Forty29]

About three years ago l went with a mate to a diesel gala at the Severn Valley Railway, he was very disappointed not to receive an Edmondson ticket and asked if he could have one as a souvenir. He was obliged but still had to use the waistband. It wasn't a diesel gala ticket but a void freedom of the line one but was happy.

 

[John Webb]

At St Albans South Signal Box we've been issuing Edmundson tickets since late 2008, and we shall be issuing our 35,000 ticket very shortly. It's part of our 'railway experience' for our visitors; it also helps us keep account of our visitor numbers!

 

[Captain Bigwig]

I'm sure we have this debate on repeat once every few months or so, but the historic aspects of heritage railways really vary from railway to railway. Everything from locos to stock, to track, to signalling, to clothing, to ticketing may or may not be historic depending on the railway in question. For a lot of people a visit to a heritage railway is about "recreating the past", so vintage posters, advertisements, milk churns on the platform, uniforms worn by staff and yes, the tickets, all add to the experience.

I personally love these details. It's about the whole railway- not just the trains. I totally get it when the ticket is an A4 printout or an email on a smartphone, because at the end of the day that's a lot easier to organise, but a traditional Edmundson ticket is a nice touch.

 

[Taunton]

Some passengers have made disapproving remarks over the use of wristbands at galas and complain about them being difficult to put on. With my TTI hat on, they make it a lot easier to do a quick ticket check.

Must be a bit difficult though for the Gripper to punch them with the ticket punch ...

More generally though it does devalue the heritage experience if the "efficiency" lot get allowed to design the systems. Is there really a great problem with ticketless travel? Last time I was at Crich tramway museum admission included being issued with a genuine old LSD 1 penny coin to pay your tram fare, a nice touch.

 

[Belperpete]

How is it integral to train travel in 2025? I understand nostalgia, rejection of change and small "c" conservatism are crucial to being an enthusiast but frankly I don't care what kind of ticket I am issued. It forms absolutely no part of my visit to a preserved railway. I am sure others will disagree

Agreed that it isn't integral to train travel, which is why the national network have ditched them. But most people who visit a preserved railway aren't using it as a means of travel from A to B. They have come to see something "historic", in the same way as they visit castles and stately homes.

To me, the whole point of preserved railways is that they are preserving the railway, not just the rolling stock. Heritage tickets are as much a part of the historic experience as heritage rolling stock.

If you aren't interested in the heritage, why visit preserved railways?

 

[Bodiam]

The Kent & East Sussex has used Merac computer generated tickets for some years. However, the Col Stephens Railway Museum at Tenterden Town has a period platform ticket machine (adapted to take 50p coins instead of old pennies) which issues Edmondson size souvenir tickets. It seems pretty popular. The attendant should offer to clip the ticket, preferably with an explanation.

 

[duffield]

My rough assessment is that of the 15 heritage railways I've visited in the last year or so, around a third issue Edmondson tickets for ordinary travel days (but often not so for galas and beer festivals), and maybe another third issue totally non-authentic but fairly attractive souvenir tickets.

Of the remainder I think a couple issued fairly plain items still identifiable as some sort of train ticket, and finally two or three issued something that looked exactly like a till receipt. It doesn't bother me, but for a the non-enthusiast, particularly with children, a till receipt could be quite disappointing; conversely, I think some non-enthusiasts might actually prefer the more colourful pictorial souvenir tickets to the Edmondsons.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

On my recent non-gala visits to the SVR, on both occasions Kidderminster B.O. issued Edmondson tickets, although the first occasion the colour of the ticket caused the on-train TTI to look twice, apparently yellow was the wrong colour for a ticket issued from KD! On the second visit it was the usual blue card ticket.

I don’t like the gala wristbands either but I can see why they are preferred operationally. The challenge is not putting them on too tight, avoiding catching any armhair and making them last the day!

About three years ago l went with a mate to a diesel gala at the Severn Valley Railway, he was very disappointed not to receive an Edmondson ticket and asked if he could have one as a souvenir. He was obliged but still had to use the waistband. It wasn't a diesel gala ticket but a void freedom of the line one but was happy.

 

[duffield]

On my recent non-gala visits to the SVR, on both occasions Kidderminster B.O. issued Edmondson tickets, although the first occasion the colour of the ticket caused the on-train TTI to look twice, apparently yellow was the wrong colour for a ticket issued from KD! On the second visit it was the usual blue card ticket.

I don’t like the gala wristbands either but I can see why they are preferred operationally. The challenge is not putting them on too tight, avoiding catching any armhair and making them last the day!

From my youth I was used to plastic wristbands being clipped to your wrist with a special tool at music festivals, but my first heritage railway paper wristband totally baffled me and I ended up destroying it. The next time, I didn't even get that far since it fell out of my pocket running for the train, not having had time to attach it (on both occasions I just paid again at the other end of the line).

I've now been to enough galas to get the hang of attaching the wristband (or zipping it safely away until I'm sat on the train).

 

[kje7812]

On my recent non-gala visits to the SVR, on both occasions Kidderminster B.O. issued Edmondson tickets, although the first occasion the colour of the ticket caused the on-train TTI to look twice, apparently yellow was the wrong colour for a ticket issued from KD! On the second visit it was the usual blue card ticket.

As far as I'm aware it is yellow for KR issued day rovers. Blue for Bewdley issued (KR-BY returns are also blue) and green for Bridgnorth issued ones. Different colours for other journeys. KR-AY returns are pink for instance while KR-HY return are orange/brown.