Cookie Policy for British Railway Heritage Chronicle

Last Updated: October 26, 2023

This Cookie Policy explains how British Railway Heritage Chronicle ("we", "us", or "our") uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website, BritishRailwaysHistory.com. This policy is designed to inform you, in clear and plain language, about the types of cookies we use, their purposes, and your rights to control them. It should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.

By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this policy, unless you have disabled them in your browser settings. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time as detailed in Section 6.

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently, improve the user experience, and provide information to the website owners.

Cookies can be:

• Session Cookies: Temporary cookies that remain on your device until you close your web browser.
• Persistent Cookies: Remain on your device for a set period specified in the cookie (e.g., days, months, or years) or until you manually delete them.

We also use similar technologies such as web beacons (tiny graphics with a unique identifier), pixels, and local storage, which function similarly to cookies. For simplicity, we refer to all these technologies as "cookies" in this policy.

2. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for several essential purposes on BritishRailwaysHistory.com, a site dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Britain's railways. Our use falls into the following categories, as defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR):

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.

2.2 Performance/Analytical Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to monitor its performance.

2.3 Functionality Cookies

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, such as remembering your preferred text size, layout, or regional railway history preferences (e.g., a focus on Scottish lines vs. Southern Region). They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these services may not function properly.

2.4 Targeting/Advertising Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts for railway books, models, or heritage experiences on other sites. They do not store directly personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

3. Detailed List of Cookies We Use

The table below details the cookies we currently use on BritishRailwaysHistory.com.

Cookie Name	Provider	Category	Purpose	Duration
brhc_session	BritishRailwaysHistory.com	Strictly Necessary	Maintains your session state across page requests (e.g., for logged-in users).	Session
cookie_consent	BritishRailwaysHistory.com	Strictly Necessary	Stores your cookie consent preferences.	1 year
_ga	Google Analytics	Performance	Used to distinguish unique users. Anonymised data helps us understand site traffic.	2 years
_gid	Google Analytics	Performance	Used to distinguish users for a 24-hour period.	24 hours
_gat	Google Analytics	Performance	Used to throttle request rate.	1 minute
layout_pref	BritishRailwaysHistory.com	Functionality	Remembers your preferred article layout (list vs. grid view).	1 year
text_size	BritishRailwaysHistory.com	Functionality	Remembers your preferred text size for accessibility.	1 year
NID	Google Maps	Functionality	Used by Google Maps on our interactive heritage line maps to remember preferences.	6 months
IDE	DoubleClick (Google)	Targeting	Used by Google DoubleClick for showing relevant railway-related advertisements based on previous visits.	1 year

This list is subject to change as we update our services. We strive to keep this list accurate and will update it periodically.

4. Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies are placed by third-party services that appear on our pages. We do not control the dissemination of these third-party cookies. These may include:

• Google Analytics: For analysing website traffic. You can view Google's privacy policy here.
• Google Maps: For displaying interactive maps of heritage railway lines.
• YouTube: For embedding historical railway footage and documentaries.
• Social Media Platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter): For sharing content via social sharing buttons.
• Affiliate Marketing Partners: For tracking referrals to railway book and model retailers (where applicable).

These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies. We recommend you review them to understand how they use your information.

5. Your Data Protection Rights under UK GDPR

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
• Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate.
• Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. Please contact us using the details in Section 8 to make a request.

6. How to Manage Cookies

You have several options to manage or disable cookies:

6.1 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. You can usually set your browser to refuse all cookies, accept only certain cookies, or alert you when a website tries to set a cookie. To learn how to manage cookies in your browser, visit the help section of your browser:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari

Please note: Blocking all cookies may affect your ability to use some features of our website and many others. Essential functions may be impaired.

6.2 Our Consent Management Tool

When you first visit our site, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner. This allows you to accept all, reject all, or customise your preferences for Performance, Functionality, and Targeting cookies. You can revisit and change these preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Preferences" link, which is typically found in the website footer.

6.3 Third-Party Opt-Outs

You can opt out of specific third-party cookies:

• Google Analytics: You can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Advertising: You can visit Your Online Choices (UK) to opt out of many behavioural advertising cookies.

7. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our data practices. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically for the latest information on our use of cookies.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us:

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

ICO Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, UK
ICO Helpline: 0303 123 1113
ICO Website: https://www.ico.org.uk