West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Like some others on here in various threads I have long been interested in the "commercial" aspects of heritage activities and visitor numbers. Although an imperfect source for various reasons set out in their cover sheets Visit England do provide some interesting data:

https://www.visitbritain.org/annual-survey-visits-visitor-attractions

The 2014 full attractions excel listing on this page can be filtered to give data for a small number of heritage railways and demonstrates widely differing trends over the years (see attached) with the L&B growing significantly whilst others such as SDR and WSR show steady declines.

It may be that some of the figures also need to be treated with caution as traditionally railways count passenger journeys which may mean that what other attractions count as visitors is doubled by 2 journeys for a return ticket.

I'm not sufficiently aware of other Somerset attractions many of which may be on the full spreadsheet but Dunster Castle is recorded as 137463 for 2011 146000 for 2012 146630 for 2013 and 149564 for 2014.

The visit Britain website also provides statistics for other years and a great deal of comparative data and analyses for types of attraction and annual trends

 

Congratulations Robin. Well done. <BJ>

Robin White appointed WSR's Operations Project Manager

The WSR is pleased to announce that Robin Moira White has been appointed as Operations Project Manager.

Robin will work within the Operations Department alongside the existing staff. Her role is to research all aspects of the department's work, to recommend changes to improve the department's effectiveness and implement those that are agreed by the Operational Executive Committee. This is an initiative to ensure that the critical operations department is robust, secure and sustainable into the future. Robin said:

I am very excited to be taking on this role for the WSR in which I believe I can make a significant contribution in the coming months.

Robin brings a wealth of experience to the role. She is a professional railwayman, a member of the Institute of Railway Operators and of the Chartered Institute of Transport. She has volunteered on heritage railways for over 30 years, acts as signalman and line controller for the Railway and lives by the side of the line. Robin also has considerable experience in change management processes. WSR General Manager, Paul Conibeare, welcomed this appointment and said Robin's background and experience will enhance and strengthen the department, ensuring that we continue to build a robust future for the WSR. Robin plans to start work in the next two weeks.

 

Congrats.
Could someone please explain in simpler terms what all of the above means.

 

Congratulations from me as well.

Does this mean no more photos of Coffee cups ?

 

Thanks.

A small celebration....

Robin

 

What's the operations department's Job?? Sorry if it seems obvious.

PS Congratulations Robin!

 

Sorry for the delay in responding, no I don't have the data. The number of fares transactions could also be a rough guide.

Congrats to Robin, well done.

 

The White Horse at Stogumber?

 

I can't really add to the Press Release.

Thanks

Where else?

Robin

 

BL shed should have a very Midland feel next week for those who like such things.

 

News from the Great Central Railway regarding 53808. <BJ>

''We had been intending to run 7F 2-8-0 no 53808 over the whole three days, but unfortunately it had to be failed with a leaking tender tank, with water threatening to invade an axle box; sorry to those of you who would have been disappointed. Unlike many railways, GCR has the privilege of having a superb home fleet, so no diesel substitutions or cancellations here!''

 

Some water did indeed get into the axle box. Shame about the leak.

 

Good to have her home again. Talking of things Midland, had an extremely enjoyable first turn on 44422 on Wednesday. This engine seems to have had a poor reputation for steaming prior to the recent boiler overhaul, that's certainly not the case now! It's some 34 years since I was last on a 4F (43924, the proper MR version!) and I'd been looking forward to seeing what 44422 was like; I was not disappointed. OK she's not a GWR machine, but a good acquisition for the WSR and variety is the spice of life plus, of course, she is an appropriate stablemate for 88 being an ex S&D regular.

 

Called in BL after work to make a purchase in gift shop. Watched 6960 take on water in wonderful sunshine

 

Nice.................

I did Swansea to Camarthen behind her for the GWR150 whenever that was. The SVR CME was on the footplate & I'm pretty certain we were heading into 3 figures on the way back. It was certainly quite a ride

 

Thirty-one years ago now!

 

Yes, it was in 1985.

Thirty-one years ago. That's scary. <BJ>

 

On Saturday 28th May the WSR ran a Murder Mystery Train. A report appeared on a Blog that I thought deserved wider attention.
http://marilyn.webme.co.uk/?p=3770
I would like to add my thanks to all staff involved in a wonderful evening.

 

This review also appeared on Trip Advisor:

'fantastic scenery the players for the murder mystery well acted but so so sorry the meal was appalling school dinners would have been more appropriate'

with a 1/5 rating.

One man's meat............!