West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Does the warship and hymek meet side by side at any point today. The one photo shot I've been wanting to get for years but never seen them run on same day.

 

Sadly won't be around to see that.

 

Good stuff, Mr A. Whilst out walking the dog, one other question popped into my head. Has anyone in the heritage movement ever done research into what their visitors expectations and experiences are - does anyone know? I've looked at feedback on things like TripAdvisor which is not the same and not always helpful or seemingly representative.

 

This posting has tempted me out of my self imposed exile from posting on NP!

TripAdvisor is an essentially amateur institution which can be unduly enthusiastic or excessively critical, even spiteful. It has its uses but "Up to a point Lord Copper" as the writer put it and no more. No visitor attraction can ignore it though.

Visit England runs a Quality Guarantee scheme which revolves around detailed inspections by assessors who are experienced professionals with tourism industry backgrounds. I have read one of these reports which happened to be a favourable one but, nevertheless, pointed out certain things which the assessor considered to need attention. These have now been sorted.

WSR,like many other tourist lines, belongs to the Visit England scheme and merely to belong indicates a decent standard. However it is rather concerning to note that literally only a couple of railways/railway museums qualify for one of the supplementary "accolades" awarded for doing particularly or generally well. I would have thought the "Welcome" accolade at least was something everywhere should aspire to.

Now I can hear the ranks of massed enthusiasts saying "What's he talking about, we have a Buggins 2-14-4T on our five coach trains which we actually clean once a season". The point is that tourist railways are in competition with other attractions and even if they cannot aspire to the gold accolades of, e.g. the Tower of London or Beaulieu, they can all benefit from the stern gaze of a hard nosed tourism professional.

Now back to exile!

Paul H

 

They say that one half of the world doesn't understand the pleasures of the other. As you say, outside scrutiny and challenge are no bad things.

 

I completely agree with you. That's why it's essential that the work is done to understand the visitor needs and indeed the demographic of our visitors. Almost more important is to understand what prevents people visiting. Certainly only a fool would ignore the impact of social media in the modern era.

 

That will do. Brilliant

 

Here is the right way up version.

 

Great shot, if you like that sort of thing...

 

The Belmond Pullman has just passed through Bishops Lydeard running one minute late but leaking..............................................................a wonderful smell of dinner!

Robin

 

Another small point re TripAdvisor - yes, it's moderately useful and worth keeping an eye on and yes, it does have limitations. A recent "Which?" investigation pointed out that TripAdvisor makes no real checks on the veracity of reviews people post on it. People who want to promote their own businesses can post fake reviews. In the heritage railway context, it's not impossible that groups of members or others with axes to grind might post reviews that could skew the overall picture.

 

Today was a good day, hymek and warship looked good as usual had the early afternoon surprise of the pines with 53808 & 44422 when was only expecting the 4f, weather was good.cant really find a fault apart from a minor Shame all the locos were smoke box towards Taunton,apart from the 3 that mattered today 9526,7017 & 832 obviously,

 

Is that your Toad in the background Robin?

Nick

 

Certainly is!

Robin

 

Can't argue with that. A good day all round.

The icing on the cake for me was the 4F piloted by 53808 from Minehead to B.Lydeard in readiness for the transfer by road of 53808 to the GCR. Running in clear blue skies the train which was adorned with the Pines Express headboard and 1o95 reporting number, certainly looked the dogs .....scrotum. <BJ>,

 

How does one get a picture submitted to wsr.org.uk

 

Any pictures? Missed that.

 

Tony

Please email the image as an attachment to wsrpix@gmail.com

There's a bit of a queue at the moment :0)

Steve

 

Its days like today that makes all of the hard work by everyone associated with the railway from the early days to present day so worthwhile.
Sat at Minehead in the sun after having the privilege of being the conductor driver on the charter, looking at a busy platform, having a chat and a cuppa, just makes you realise why we all volunteer our time.
Robin F.

 

Whilst I would not use it as a sole source of information I find it very useful to to see recent comments particularly where pubs or restaurant has recently changed hands. A little reading between the lines (no pun intended) easily shows up false entries. A classic is several entries with only the one establishment recommended effusively. Some of the entires about the WSR are hilarious for their inaccuracy or plain stupidity. Most are very positive.