These trains use real steam engines and although somewhat a tight fit the driver is just about able to get inside the locomotive's cab. For more information visit their website at http://www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk/ (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
In the 1980's and early 1990's several British cities hosted a series of bi-annual garden festivals which were open for 6 months at a time. Most were on large sites with "fixed infrastructure" transport facilities to help the visitors explore part or all of the sites. These examples come from Liverpool and Glasgow.
North Wales is famous for its narrow-gauge railways, one of the most well known being the Ffestiniog Railway (Rheilffordd Ffestiniog in the Welsh language) which claims to be the oldest independent railway company anwhere globally. Originally built to carry slate it now carries passengers through the spectacular scenery of the Snowdonia National Park, between Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. For more information visit their website at http://www.festrail.co.uk/ (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
Leisure-orientated rail services is not just a British phenomena, the views below were sourced from the "Puffing Billy" rail line near to Melbourne, Australia. This pioneering railway was first built to open the bush to european settlement, later part of its route was incorporated into the local urban rail system (which uses fullsize electric trains) whilst the rest offers pleasure rides, as here.
Here in Britain there are several leisure-themed tramways that use historic (or historic looking) trams which are not just there for nostalgic purposes but also because they actually provide useful transport functions.
One such example is the Birkenhead Tramway which links the Woodside Visitor Centre (one of the locations from where the globally reknown Mersey Ferry operates) to The Old Colonial pub at the Taylor Street terminus, where there is a Heritage Centre housing a collection of restored and part-restored local buses and trams, vehicles working for Wirral Museums, plus items from the Baxter Collection of cars, motorbikes and motor accessories which formerly were on show at the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, and a model railway layout. (Displays are constantly changing and developing).
Birkenhead is the historic home of Britain's (and indeed europe's) first street tramway. Opening on 29th August 1860 it featured horse drawn trams running from Woodside to Birkenhead Park. The present day line however opened in 1995 and services include genuine Hong Kong trams as well as (sometimes) vehicles from the fleet of restored trams, including the open-topped 1901 Birkenhead tram 20, the 1920 Wallasey tram 78 or the 1931 Liverpool tram 762.
The tramway is part of a docklands regeneration area - and it can be very easily reached from Hamilton Square Merseyrail (local suburban mainline railway) station as well as local buses and by car.
Being a standard gauge tramway it was possible to use this line (in February 2005) to test a prototype British-built modern articulated tram, prior to being transferred to Blackpool for more extensive testing.
For more information the Birkenhead Tramway visit these websites (links to external sites which open in new windows)
http://www.wirral.gov.uk/ed/birkenhead_tramway.htm
http://www.visitliverpool.com/displayProduct.asp?productKey=18340.
In Britain we also have several large living museums where the trams (and trolleybuses) are used as 'serious' transports helping carry people around extensive sites which primarily look at how people lived in days gone by, for instance the early 1900's, when trams such as these were often in mainstream use. In this way they have become useful extras that enhance the visitor experience, but not the main attractions. These include Beamish North of England Open Air Museum in Co. Durham (near to Newcastle Upon Tyne and Durham) and the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (near Birmingham).
More information about this living museum can be found on its website
http://www.beamish.org.uk/ (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
Another British leisure-themed tramway is the Seaton Electric Tramway in East Devon.
This line took over a former mainline railway branch along the River Axe estuary between Seaton Junction and the village of Seaton and now operates a fleet of 'smaller sized' trams which run on track that is just 2'9" (approx 84 cms) wide.
The route passes through two nature reserves and in addition to being popular with tourists & visitors to the area special services are run so that ornithologists can enjoy their hobby too.
For more information visit their website at http://www.tram.co.uk/ (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
When the weather permits there is no finer way to travel than on the upper deck of an open top tram, however the fleet includes some fully-enclosed tramcars for those days when the weather is less favourable.
Near to the Seaton Tramway and also very much part of the leisure industry is the 'PECO' complex.
This is where 'PECO' model railway tracks (amongst other things) are made. However the overall site is much more than just a factory complex - included here is a visitors centre complete with promotional model railway layouts (not illustrated) plus an attractive landscaped garden which features the Beer Heights Light Railway and a Pullman Dining Car in which visitors may partake of afternoon tea complete with scones and clotted cream!
More information about Peco and the Pecorama can be found on their website (links to an external site which open in new windows)
http://www.peco-uk.com/ http://www.peco-uk.com/Pecorama/Pecoramaindex.htm.
The Shipley Glen Cable Tramway opened in 1895 and was built to serve the local beauty of Shipley Glen, near Saltaire in West Yorkshire.
At nearly a quarter-mile in length, the woodland ride provides a pleasant alternative to the steep path.
The line can be somewhat tricky to find - it is about 10 - 15 minutes walk from Saltaire station, although sign posting (apparently the responsibility of the local government) leaves a lot to be desired. Saltaire is near Shipley, which is just to the north of the city of Bradford.
For more information visit their website at http://www.glentramway.co.uk/ (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
Naturally leisure extends to buses too - and indeed it is well known that when taken out of their daily routine people will do things they might not normally do - which includes choose to travel by motorbus!. A good example of this is the popularity of specialist buses aimed at tourist-orientated sightseeing services. Especially popular are open-top variants - that is, when the weather permits!!.
Open top buses come in several variants - both single and double deck - as well as fully open, half open, and even with folding roofs which can be closed when it rains. These latter options make them more suitable for year round use when the weather may not be very clement / or change suddenly.
Another type of tourist bus is the Pseudo Cable Car. The reasoning behind this is that especially in North America many people look upon the old "trolley-cars" (ie: old-fashioned / historic tramcars or streetcars) with affection and as a result some leisure-orientated tourist motorbus operators use vehicles which have been designed to look like rubber-tyred "trolley-cars". Often these are given the nickname of "trolleybus" - a name which causes no end of confusion with real electrically powered trolleybuses.
Most locations use single-deck variants of these rubber-tyred ("tired" in American spelling) motorbuses, however double-deck variants are used in Hawaii. (regret not shown)
Seen in Zürich, Switzerland. Not being a "local transport public service" bus it was not allowed to use the bus / tram lane, so had to travel on the outside of the bus / tram stop.
(link to an external site which opens in a new window).
Another type of bus popular with tourists uses specialist vehicles known as the DUKW.
Popularly called the DUCK, these are in fact six-wheel-drive amphibious trucks developed by the United States during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious attacks. The DUKW was used in landings in the Pacific, in North Africa, and on the D-Day beaches of Normandy. With the enemy holding all available ports, at Normandy alone DUKWs carried 18 million tons of supplies ashore in the 90 days after the landing.
Although the designation DUKW may seem to be a military pun, under the terminology developed for military vehicles in World War II the D indicates a vehicle designed in 1942, the U meant "utility (amphibious)", the K indicated all-wheel drive and the W indicated two powered rear axles. The DUKW was actually built around a conventional six-wheel-drive military truck called the CCKW, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller.
Nowadays DUKWs are still in use, however more happily they are primarily used as tourist transports in harbour and river cities such as London, Liverpool (UK); Dublin (Eire); Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Wisconsin Dells, Seattle, (USA); and Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada). For this almost all of them have been repainted, given modern diesel engines and enclosed tops, making them more resemble conventional buses. Most require a bus-type Public Service Vehicle license and a passenger-use boat license.
More information about - and illustrations of - DUKWs can be found on this webpage of the free online "Wikipedia" encyclopædia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Tour (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
Image sourced from the free online "Wikipedia" encyclopædia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DUKW.Thames.Canthusus.jpg - click image or link to visit the "Wikipedia" website and see a larger version in a new window.
Click image to see a larger version in a new window.
More conventional leisure - orientated water transports exist too, although as with all the other forms of transport explored on this page leisure & nostalgia sometimes go hand in hand.
Gondalas such as these tend to be more leisure-orientated.
According to the legends Wilhelm (William) Tell was a Swiss National Hero of Liberty who led his country against Austria. Apparently, Gessler (the Austrian governer) had ordered Tell to shoot at an apple placed on his son's head, a feat which was safely accomplished at the first attempt, knocking it to the ground. However when Tell informed the governor that had the boy been killed in the stunt his next arrow would have been aimed to kill him, the enraged governor threw Tell into prison. Eventually though Tell was freed after which he ambushed and killed the governor and initiated an uprising which the legends say led to national independence.
Despite the uncertainty whether William Tell actually lived at all the legend has has been very influential on the history of Switzerland and other countries. Nowadays what is believed to be William Tell's picture can be seen on the back of the 5 Swiss Franc coin, this being the largest coin in Swiss currency.
William Tell is also the marketing name for a leisure orientated transport experience that (between May and October) combines a paddle-steamer ride from the City of Lucerne to Flüelen (during which a gourmet meal is served) with a ride in an air-conditioned train to Locarno or Lugano in Italian-speaking southern Switzerland via the Gotthard Rail pass and the Swiss Alps. Whilst on the train passengers travelling first class will travel in panoramic passenger carriages.
An Internet search also found several Swiss themed restaurants named "William Tell" in locations as diverse as Bangkok, Thailand and Vancouver. Canada.
The Isle of Man railway system was originally built for 'serious' use and although much of the network was eventually closed some lines still remain. These include the two electric railways and one non-electrified line which uses steam trains. Steam trains are also used on the Groudle Glenn Railway which was reopened in the 1980's, plus there is also a horse tramway which plies along the seafront in Douglas, the island's capital.
With modern buses providing the backbone of the island's public transport network all the transports mentioned here are now tourist-orientated and only operate in the summer months. At 15½ miles (just under 25km) the steam railway is the longest narrow gauge (3' - about 91cm) steam line in Britain; however because this page also visits other steam railways neither it nor the Groudle Glen Railway are illustrated here.
Additional information about the Isle of Man transports can be found by following this web link... www.isle-of-man.com/heritage/transport/index.shtml website (link to an external site which opens in a new window)
Clicking any of the six Isle Of Man images will lead to a dedicated page showing more (and larger) images in a popup window; alternatively clicking here will open the page in a new full-size window.
This line opened in 1893, being the first overhead wire powered electric railway 'anywhere' globally. At 17¾ miles (28.5km) in length it is still Britain's longest narrow gauge (3' - about 91cm) vintage railway. Most of the route is along the coastline, twisting around tight curves and climbing steep gradients as mile upon mile of beautiful scenery drift by. This pioneer inter-urban railway still uses its original rolling stock which dates from the Victorian and Edwardian eras with the original two tramcars now being included in the Guinness Book of Records as being the world's oldest regularly operating tramcars.
Opening in 1895 this narrow gauge (3' 6" - 106cm) line also uses its original tramcars. Because of the steep gradients (as steep as 1 in 12) the line was equipped with the centre "Fell" rail to provide braking assistance. This is the only electric mountain railway in the British Isles.
Running for nearly 2 miles (3.2km) along Douglas Promenade linking the Sea Terminal with the Manx Electric Railway terminus at Derby Castle this is the oldest surviving horse tramway anywhere globally. It opened in 1876 since when it has operated continuously (apart from war-time breaks). In all there are 42 horses which pull 23 tramcars (one at a time!) which are fitted with roller bearings to ease the load. The tramcars are of various designs including open & fully enclosed which are used according to the prevailing weather.
The horses are bred specifically for the service and as the image (above right) showing them being given a drink of water after having arrived at the Derby Castle terminus suggests they are very well looked after. On reaching retirement they end their days at a Home of Rest for Old Horses (which welcomes human visitors) in the nearby countryside. www.isle-of-man.com/interests/horses-home/index.htm (link to an external site which opens in a new window).
With apologies to the nags on the left whose heads were left out of the photograph - they were in the shade and totally invisible through my camera's optics.
Horse powered transports are often to be found at seaside resorts as well as inland towns & cities which are popular on the tourist "trail". They are also popular with people who want organic fertiliser for their gardens.
