GWSR Broadway Developments

I've sent that enquiry

 

If a shop is to be referred to as a "trinket store" then it is equally justifiable to call a cafe a "greasy spoon". There is enough abuse flying around as it is. Have a care everyone.

PH

 

If the board claim that the decision to change the plan was taken two years ago, perhaps they could explain why the fireplace which is now to be hidden behind shelves in a shop has been built to be fully functional, whereas the one in what is to be a waiting room is a dummy without a functioning chimney.

Andy

 

Good grief, there's a lot of vitriol on here.

It's perfectly possible to fit out a shop in a heritage style, keeping the fireplace on show. Some shops have refreshment facilities that work well, witness the excellent secondhand bookshop at Wroxham on the Bure Valley. There's a pub in Falmouth that's also a bookshop and its one of the most convivial places in Cornwall!

I'm sure the board have done their research and concluded a shop will make more money than a cafe - and that seems to me to be very important. Sounds like the board could do with some lessons in communicating their ideas though!

 

It is perfectly possible but are you naive enough to believe that the Board will allow it, It would take up valuable "retail estate" as the Company Secretary Richard Johnson puts it.

The only surprise is that the Board haven't gone the whole hog and forced everyone to EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, as all the other theme parks do.

 

the station building is larger than the one it replaces that was demolished when BR closed the line, So i should imagine that if this need for a shop had been identified at the time the planning drawings were drawn up and submitted this would have never happened, is it possible to have both a shop and a refreshment room? the shop does not need the same amount of room that a cafe would, so, could a separate building be put on the other platform to provide a shop in that building? i assume that is stage two of the Broadway plan and it would solve that problem short term a small shop could be provided in another room, or a grounded body, until a building on platform 2 can be built . this is the solution i would favour, it has the added advantage that the building group have another project on site to maintain momentum .

 

Should have kept quiet about that particular idea...

 

I must say I am confused.

The impression given here by those who claim to support the GWSR (but who can sometimes come across as being every bit as guilty of 'everything has to be exactly my way or no way' as they accuse the Board as being) and indeed by some of the actual team building Broadway that the GWSR Board allegedly treat the volunteers badly and listen to no-one (except, of course, so many of the complaints have resulted in changes to what has caused the trouble.....)

And yet......

It seems accepted as fact that the GWSR has a very large number of volunteers, is largely volunteer run on a scale few other lines manage without much great paid involvement and the stories I hear off this place is that volunteers have left other, longer established lines to join the GWSR and now work there because they prefer the atmosphere and working environment - and, one must assume, do not feel used and abused or they would move on again!

Would the real GWSR please stand up and make itself known please!

Steven

Oh, and I must smile that those who are so loyal to exact heritage that they complain about the shape of chimneys now are arguing about whether a room should be a shop or a cafe when, I presume, neither are authentic for the location in question! Such a last minute announcement of a change of plan doesn't do anyone involved any great favours, but I do tend to feel that there are some who will take any stick to beat people they clearly don't like with and wonder if the Board announced that the footbridge was to be moved to be in the 'right' place for the canopy extension, if they would then be subject to abuse and complaint for more 'waste of shareholders' money' and 'it was perfectly fine where it was'!

 

I'm no longer a working member of the GWSR but I first joined back in 1977 when the main aim of the GWR Society (as it was then called) was to save the "Honeybourne Line" from closure by BR. The GWSR has gone through many developments since then and I have always found it to be a very pleasant place to work and, more recently, merely to visit. It has had disagreements and growing pains from time to time but it has become far more successful than I ever dreamed it would. You are right in that all the stations, not just the new Broadway Station, are not strictly authentic; Broadway never had a refreshment room, Toddington never had loco sheds (the shed was at Cheltenham Malvern Road) or a Flag & Whistle café and Winchcombe (which now hosts the old Monmouth Troy station building anyway) never had a carriage & wagon works. All these are needed in a 21st Century heritage railway operation. Given that Broadway will be a terminus (at least for the foreseeable future) with limited car parking and no refreshment facilities nearby, I see a café as an absolute no-brainer. Even if it isn't in operation on 30 March 2018, the station should have the capability to open one. It may be best to leave the gift shop at Toddington and Cheltenham Race Course. I do look forward with cheerful alacrity to Easter 2018 nonetheless!

 

I am surprised we have not had complaints that the building is larger than the original to accommodate an enlarged toilet facility. It all seems to be a bit arbitrary as to which bit to attack. I am also surprised how the issue of staffing (or franchising) a refreshment facility is downplayed, unless one really believes that the team building the station will be happy exchanging their boots and hi vis for pinafores and are happy to walk a long way to get there in the absence of parking. The GWSR seems to be very well run, and on the face of it, the concept of an executive chairman is a very good idea, but greatly dependent on having the right individual and tricky for succession planning. I was under the impression that Alan was in regular attendance at locations along the line, so on the face of it very accessible, but the impression one gets from here is that he and other directors were remote figures. What to believe?
I do think that customers expect a refreshment facility however (and car parking), and I also think that railways need to be prepared to run it at a loss if necessary, notwithstanding that several contributors on here and the GWSR-related blogs seem to think making money in catering is easy (what was the comment on one blog, something along the lines "even those of the meanest intelligence know that you make money from catering"), notwithstanding cafes/restaurants having an astonishingly high failure rate. Trying to shoehorn a facility into a station building however may not be the best solution. The cramped facility at Loughborough illustrates the difficulty. Having said that, one has to assume that those in charge have considered the issues. Preserved railways generally do not emerge Venus-like, fully formed, but evolve as money and labour (and the right leadership) permit. It is only now for instance that the SVR is getting rid of the shameful portakabin refreshment facility stinking of chips at Bridgnorth.

 

That is why in part i think that a longer term plan is needed, even if its a grounded body to act as a shop short term, , building a second building on the other platform in my view is the best option then the shop can be properly laid out rather than trying to cram everything in, that way, you might end up with a better end product
Thats of course assuming common sense prevails ,

 

I think everybody knows that in terms of strict historical accuracy that Broadway should have neither a Refreshment Room nor a souvenir shop. However a Refreshment Room is an authentic railway concept, a feature of numerous stations over time, whereas a souvenir shop is not. In my opinion a Refreshment Room appropriately decorated and with genuine coal fire in cold weather will both enhance the station and provide a welcome feature for visitors and passengers, whereas a shop selling souvenirs will not.
Andy

 

Just to complicate the issue, I see the G.C.R. is to close its refreshment facility at Leicester because it loses money. Welcome to the real world everyone!

PH

 

That's exactly my feeling. A month or so ago there was an announcement about the proposed investment plans for 2018, and everything in that announcement said 'this is a well-run organisation'. The directors are planning to spend large amounts on sensible things like carriage sheds and car parks, and the business is healthy enough to provide the funds, all while simultaneously opening the Broadway extension.

Also, I have no idea whether the room at Broadway should be a shop or a cafe. Personally, I'd much prefer a cafe, but I haven't carried out a survey of the demand for each, nor do I know the overall catering and retail strategies for the whole line. That's up to the directors, not me.

Having said all that, I'm not at all surprised at the strong feelings (and 'vitriol') expressed on this thread. If you want to make people angry, here's how to do it:

• Lead them to expect something, an attractive idea to which they become attached.
• Allow them to invest their time, energy and money in making this thing happen.
• At the eleventh hour, tell them that what they were working to create won't actually happen, you've known this all along but somehow neglected to tell them.

When you read the GWSR blogs, the overall picture is one of a well-run outfit with volunteers who are generally motivated and content. So why is the Broadway station project like a case study in how to leave volunteers utterly p****d off?

 

I think the absence of refreshment facility is minor compared with the absence of car parking and the board must know it is winging it on this point.

What they are closing is the café at the bucolically named "Greenacres". The facility at the station itself remains open. I think Greenacres may have been a brain child of Bill Ford and is not directly railway related. http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/station-facilities/greenacres-leicester-north/

 

Amen.

PH

 

Another aspect is, of course, that there are far less regulations that affect running a shop than there are for a cafeteria/restaurant. It easy what suggest should be done, but those who have to achieve it are the ones who are best suited for the decision making.

 

Let's give it a little time shall we?

 

It sounds like you missed the recent boardroom post about investment plans for next year. It turns out that the railway has been in discussions with the council for several months. It seems likely that the council will adopt land near the station and take on its management as a car park. The railway may have appeared to be winging it, through not communicating anything while discussions were ongoing, but that's not the real situation.

 

And the prediction of timing for the car park is what? The railway's website says don't even think about parking at Broadway station https://www.gwsr.com/Opening_to_Broadway__30_March_to_2_April_2018--post--45.html