IT will be more than just all aboard for passengers on the West Somerset Railway when they launch their free app later this month.
The ‘Augmented Reality Heritage Hunter’ app means visitors can mix history and heritage with technology and travel.
Users will learn all about the history of the line, its stations, locomotives and the stunning Somerset scenery and area.
As well as maps, information and history, there is also a unique heritage railways aspect to the app, the use of ‘Augmented Reality’.
This is a technology which superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world.
The West Somerset Railway app features an ‘Augmented Reality Heritage Hunt’ where users will have to solve clues within the app to find hidden ‘targets’ at or near each of the stations to unlock 3D moving images and content related to the railway.
At each station, (excluding Doniford Halt), passengers have five tasks to undertake including solving quizzes, taking pictures to upload on Facebook and Twitter, and recoding locomotive numbers to unlock information on it.
Once passengers have completed all of the ‘Heritage Hunter’ they will be entered into a draw to win one year’s free travel on the Railway as well as receiving discount vouchers as a reward.
Suggested itineraries have been created to allow passengers to maximise the use of their Heritage Hunter Rover Ticket and allow them to visit as many stations as possible.
Paul Conibeare, general manager of West Somerset Railway said: “This is something we’re very excited about.
“It’s getting the most out of the heritage using modern technology which is fantastic.”
The app is free to download and is available for iOS and Andriod and will be available from mid-January.
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