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John Jones
Every February the distinctive sound of a steam engine whistle echoing across the River Dart signals the start of the early holiday season. The Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company brings hundreds of thousands of visitors into the town every year ,significantly boosting the local economy. The company owns the majority of tourist boats on the river with an impressive fleet including the UK’s only working coal-fired paddle steamer. Steph Woolvin had a chat with managing director John Jones about life in the signal box…
From his desk up in the signal box at Kingswear station John Jones can keep an eye on the trains out of one window and the boats from the other. He has been in charge of the railway and river boat company for the past year and says running a heritage businesses certainly has its ups and downs: “Some of our locomotives are nearly 100 years old and that means they need a lot of TLC! But no two days are the same, management in this company muck in with everyone else - we drive boats, sort finances and even dress up as pantomime characters!”
They have been running trains on the popular line between Paignton and Kingswear for over 40 years bringing millions of tourists into Dartmouth eager to buy souvenirs, ice creams and lunch. John says local businesses know how it works and get ready for the crowds: “In the height of the summer hundreds of people spill out of each train and onto the ferry every couple of hours. I know several shop and cafe owners who encourage their staff to take a break as they hear the whistle as they know in 20 or 30 minutes they will be swamped!” Those visitors will usually have arrived on one of four steam engines - the oldest is Hercules built in 1920, then there’s Goliath, Lydham Manor, and Braveheart - the baby built in 1951! Although, locals may have spotted a couple of other locomotives on the line recently as the company have rented engines from other railways around the country. “Some of ours have been taken out of service due to ongoing repairs. We are currently investing a great deal in the refurbishment project so we don’t have to rent anymore - in fact we could be the ones renting out some of our engines.”
The company’s Train of Lights which hit national headlines in 2018 as the first ever illuminated steam train in the UK has been so successful they are already planning its third Christmas run. “I can’t take the credit for that idea, it was the girls in the office! The first year was spectacular and people came from around the country to see it. But we did get a mix of reactions with many saying it was more impressive on the outside than the inside so in 2019 we focussed more on the journey experience placing more things along the track for passengers to spot.” The project isn’t cheap. It costs £100,000 a year to run and John says the company doesn’t make a huge profit but it’s such a spectacle it’s worth it and it has now become a highlight of the South Devon Christmas calendar.
Turning our attention to the water, John says they are changing the way they market and use the historic paddle steamer The Kingswear Castle, which was built here at Philip & Son’s boatyard in 1924. “We get 10 times more visitors on the train than the steamer even though there are over 100 working heritage railways in Britain but only one coal-fired paddle steamer. It’s a beautiful vessel with polished wooden seats and shiny brass features. People can enjoy a nostalgic cruise with the sounds and smells of a bygone era with a glass of prosecco in hand. More people need to experience it!” Now the vessel will mainly do the one hour river trips at a reduced cost of £8.50. John believes the former price of £12.50 was putting families off.
John, who lives in Totnes, says he loves standing on the platform catching snippets of conversations from customers. “Hearing positive feedback is a great feeling. We do a round robin experience so you can start in Kingswear and go by train to Paignton, then by bus to Totnes and then by boat back down to Dartmouth and I find it interesting that the children often say their best part was the bus! We do have a couple of open top buses which are a treat to ride on. My son says it’s his favourite thing to do!”
In the height of the season the company has 140 workers on their books working as deck hands, sales assistants and engineers, but this reduces to 40 in the winter months. John says they pride themselves on employing all ages: “Our train guards are a broad spectrum - we have two that are in their 70s, they love their job and we love having them. We also have a couple in their 20s.” As well as all the other projects in 2020 John says he hopes to work a little closer with the Dartmouth community: “We know we bring in a great deal of tourism but we are mindful that we don’t want to be a company that just tips in vast quantities of people and leaves everyone else to deal with the chaos, so we are hoping to work more closely with businesses and attractions to see if there are better ways we can manage our numbers and operations.” They are also hoping to expand their Churston train repair yard which could mean hiring more engineers. As for John he says one thing he hasn’t yet mastered in the company is driving the steam train: “That will take a bit of practice but it is on my to do list!” he says cheerily.
First published in By The Dart magazine in March 2020
