Thomas Cook Timetable Bites the Dust...

Old Oct 13th, 2013, 09:08 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thomas Cook Timetable Bites the Dust...

with the German company that owns the brand pulls the plug due to understandably falling sales not recouping printing costs, etc after 140 years of publishing it - well the Guardian article says that a new Eurail App has been downloaded 30,000 times - times change but the Thomas Cook did not - why did they not have a Thomas Cook app? Dinosaurs die eventually. But again a sad event for me and others.

Apparently some old Thomas Cook timetable hands want to buy and rescue this iconic timetable that many of us in Neanderthal days used to plan our train trips and chugged along to get schedules as we went.

I lament the demise of Cooks and have many lining my shelves gathering dust.

Uesd to be the first thing I would do in Europe would be to track down a Thomas Cook office to nab my current timetable.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 01:08 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I jhave always been wondering about the value of such an ambitious project. How did they fit timetables for all of Europe into one relatively small volume when the complete timetables for Germany alone (while there was still a print version) filled three fat volumes with a weight of more than a kilogram. It must have been a selection of the major routes with limitations, but never a complete timetable.
quokka is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 03:54 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,601
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
They fit them in quite simply by using small type. And yes, it was quite complete to include ferry schedules in places you would probably never think of taking a ferry to.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 04:25 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I remember it too. In the 50s and 60s teenage dreams of obscure and exotic places. I'd pore over it for hours at a time. Teenagers dream of other things these days.

@PalenQ: wasn't it you I noticed in another thread (which I can't lay my hands on at the moment) who mentioned East Germany in the old days? In the very early 70s I used my Thomas Cook timetable to get around the DDR when it was one of those countries virtually closed to foreign visitors.
cymraeg is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 04:28 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
With the ubiquitous internet and some really good smartphone apps, books like that are more trouble than they are worth.
sparkchaser is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 04:40 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,601
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Well, why don't we just elininate all books and newspapers and flyers and everything else that is printed and be done with it, Sparkchaser? I mean, everybody has a computer and a smartphone and they carry those with them wherever they go.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 05:05 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ludicrous statement is ludicrous.

why don't we just elininate all books

The vast majority of books are not available in an electronic format and for many kinds of books an electronic format doesn't make much sense.


[why don't we just elininate] all newspapers

While I don't necessarily like it, that does seem to be the way things are headed. As soon as newspaper publishing conglomerates find a way to make sure everyone in their target audience has an ereader, it will happen. Print is just becoming too expensive.


[why don't we just elininate] all flyers

I think those are on the way out too. have you noticed posters with QR codes popping up everywhere. Give it ten years and the amount of flyers you see piling up wasting resources will dwindle. They are just getting too expensive to print.

I mean, everybody has a computer and a smartphone and they carry those with them wherever they go.

Maybe not computers but smartphones certainly. In developed nations, smartphone ownership is over 30% and growing each year. 90% of all new phones sales are smartphones.

Have you noticed how many SIM threads there are here versus how many time table book threads there are?

Yeah it sucks that libraries won't have copies of these time table books anymore but libraries have computers nowadays so you can still get the information.

Don't get me wrong, I think a paperless world just silly (90% of my books are dead tree versions and I'd hate to see a 100% move to ebooks) but there are just some things that a paper version just doesn't make fiscal sense from a publisher's point of view.
sparkchaser is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 05:14 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am utterly devastated that the paper timetable is no longer available. I have been hanging out for the 2013/2014 one to buy myself for Christmas and now what am I to do! It's the only book I would read on a train.I don't want to app or google etc etc - I want a book to flick through. Not happy!!
travelnut265 is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 06:03 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It must have been a selection of the major routes with limitations, but never a complete timetable.>

No it did not have nearly all the putative 100,000 trains a day that run around Europe. Local trains were left out - meaning most of the trains - but those trains you do not need timetble for as like German S-Bahns they run all the time and not necessarily to a set schedule.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 07:37 AM
  #10  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
PalenQ: wasn't it you I noticed in another thread (which I can't lay my hands on at the moment) who mentioned East Germany in the old days? In the very early 70s I used my Thomas Cook timetable to get around the DDR when it was one of those countries virtually closed to foreign visitors.>

Yes twas moi - did the old commie east several times before the Wall was broached and yes it was nice to have a Cooks there as information was often so poor and in the commie style station personnel were at times less than helpful!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 08:02 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 52
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
> = the understatement of the year!
"Restaurant car" on Berlin Ostbahnhof to Dresden Hbf circa 1972, breakfast menu hard boiled egg and vodka. Steam loco of course.
In 1974 I did a similar trip to Weimar and Buchenwald. This time by car.
I also travelled on Albanian Railways. This was much later.
I don't know if they were in Cook's as they had no connection to the rest of the European railway system.
cymraeg is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 09:54 AM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ah yeh cymraeg - I remember a DDR (East German) night train experience with about 6 am - well before scheduled arrival - a husky woman attendant - who looked like she could contend for the Olympic Weightlifting title - yelling something, waking everyone up so she could yank the sheets and pillows off the bed - I guess so her work could be done when the train arrived. Everybody groaned but no one complained!

And in stores clerks with no smiles actually throwing things at you from behind the counter - no self-serve as I recall in grocery stores that stocked a few nearly un-edible thing! Ah I could go on a long time with poor service in the ole East!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Oct 14th, 2013, 12:58 PM
  #13  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...e-alternatives

Oops forgot to post the actual article I referenced!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Nov 7th, 2013, 11:19 AM
  #14  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
http://www.thomascook.com/press-cent...able-lives-on/

Not so fast - Thomas Cook Timetable Will Live On... for the moment!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Nov 7th, 2013, 03:56 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
PalenQ on Nov 7, 13 at 3:19pm
Not so fast - Thomas Cook Timetable Will Live On... for the moment!


Bravo! Thanks for the update PalenQ.
spaarne is offline  
Old Nov 7th, 2013, 09:10 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you PalenQ for the update.You've made my day.
travelnut265 is offline  
Old Nov 7th, 2013, 10:00 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,601
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
The vast majority of books are not available in an electronic format and for many kinds of books an electronic format doesn't make much sense.

EXCEPT for railroad timetables, right?????
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Nov 8th, 2013, 06:06 AM
  #18  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/

It won't be called Thomas Cook no more but the European Rail Timetable - the link above gives details - hope to publish in early 2014 - not sure what they market is for a printed timetable now with tablets getting Internet everywhere but... yes like spaarne says Bravo!
PalenQ is offline  
Old Nov 8th, 2013, 12:18 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,352
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
This proves it:

Times change.
tomboy is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Jollytolly
Europe
6
Feb 26th, 2017 11:26 AM
carlym
Europe
9
Sep 28th, 2015 02:28 PM
Karlll
Europe
5
Nov 28th, 2013 08:09 AM
Images2
Europe
7
Jul 2nd, 2009 09:18 AM
schnookies
Europe
2
May 24th, 2006 11:40 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -