Which preserved railways offer through tickets from National Rail stations, and has anyone every bought or attempted to buy such a ticket?
I would guess that in most cases through tickets are only offered from stations served (or managed?) by the same train operator that serves the interchange station with the heritage railway in question.
Also, I would only expect such tickets to be available from ticket offices, not ticket vending machines or online. Let me know if any through tickets to heritage railways can be bought from TVMs, online or on-train if boarding at an unstaffed station, though.
For example, I understand that the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway offers through tickets via Duffield from any East Midlands Trains station.
The EVR leaflet appears to suggest that you can book a through ticket from any National Rail station, either from a ticket office or online via the EMT website, but when you enter Wirksworth as a destination on the EMT site, it does recognise it, but when you click on Search it says an invalid station has been entered.
In fact, the "Go Wirksworth" website says you can even buy a through ticket from Wirksworth to Paris!
See also the threads on connections between Network Rail services and preserved lines at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=142920 and through fares to heritage railways & priv at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135437.
I would guess that in most cases through tickets are only offered from stations served (or managed?) by the same train operator that serves the interchange station with the heritage railway in question.
Also, I would only expect such tickets to be available from ticket offices, not ticket vending machines or online. Let me know if any through tickets to heritage railways can be bought from TVMs, online or on-train if boarding at an unstaffed station, though.
For example, I understand that the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway offers through tickets via Duffield from any East Midlands Trains station.
The EVR leaflet appears to suggest that you can book a through ticket from any National Rail station, either from a ticket office or online via the EMT website, but when you enter Wirksworth as a destination on the EMT site, it does recognise it, but when you click on Search it says an invalid station has been entered.
In fact, the "Go Wirksworth" website says you can even buy a through ticket from Wirksworth to Paris!
See also the threads on connections between Network Rail services and preserved lines at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=142920 and through fares to heritage railways & priv at www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135437.
