West Somerset Railway General Discussion

That’s a bit harsh I think

An interesting statement:

“It is now a critical time to allow the PLC to operate the WSR and focus on the business/compliance and for the support arms to deliver funding results which will enable improvement across the railway: the WSR cannot sit still any more.”
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Some of us have been arguing for years that a clarification of the respective roles of the operational body and the support body is long overdue, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out in practice. The statement about needing £500k of infrastructure investment just to stand still can also hardly be surprise to anyone who has looked at similar costs on comparably sized railways, but it is nonetheless welcome to see it unambiguously set out as a key challenge for the railway’s supporters. In the same light, it is also welcome that the letter suggests anyone with fundraising expertise address themselves to the WSRA, rather than the PLC trying to act as the primary fundraiser on the railway via share sales.

Tom

 

I also wondered why the letter rather implied that the WSRA was supposed to take the lead in fund-raising, but on the other hand the letter posted on the WSRA site is addressed to WSRA members so it is perhaps not surprising it addresses them. I was assuming that asking the WSRA to sort it out was not the complete fundraising plan, especially as, based on track record, it is not clear whether the WSRA can or is inclined to provide cash for what is needed such as expenditure on the track. Possibly there may be a parallel communication to shareholders at some stage, although perhaps they may be better tapped for more share purchases?

 

If permission was given for, say, reminders then that permission continues.

However if you only gave permission for reminders then text messages about other matters are not allowed. Curiously in this case text message asking for permission to continue sending reminders are not permissible under the new regulations as you've only given permission for reminders.

Looking back at the stuff the WSRA have been sending me recently I don't see how they've decided they cannot send me the PLC Chairman's letter. Looking at the categories available on their mailing list there are no secondary news options.

The GDPR preserves existing requirements such as that data processing must be fair and lawful.

 

Much of the over the top caution was unlawful in the first place!

 

I find it very puzzling because, as a charity, the WSRA cannot directly fund raise for the WSR PLC. What is IMHO, long overdue is a combined financial plan for both to raise money. Other railways have done share issues so perhaps it is time for the PLC to do likewise. However it needs a a strong, committed and cohesive management to do that and I don’t see this at present. There is still dead wood to be removed.

 

Just a quick note to say that my wife and I travelled on the Quantock Belle yesterday to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary and it was a truly first-class experience with high quality food and excellent service from the hard-working team onboard.

Thanks to all concerned.

 

Surely it depends whether the fund raising is for the WSR, or for the plc, as discussed at length on this and other threads.

Presuming that the WSRA are supportive of this approach, I can’t see it being anything other than desirable.


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Well "elsewhere" the SVR Charitable Trust is raising funds towards the repair of a SVRH Plc owned viaduct - SVRCT not dissimilar to WSRA & SVRH Plc not dissimilar to WSR Plc. Of course this is for a specific project but there are worthy specific projects on the WSR including particular bridges.

https://www.svrtrust.org.uk/index.php?page=Falling Sands Viaduct Progress

 

There is, as far as I recall, a joint appeal for the restoration of three locomotives - 4110 (PLC), 4165 and 7821 (WSRA). How does that fit into the 'impossibilities' mentioned? It has lost impetus it appears.

 

There will be plenty of PLC projects the WSRA could support which would release funds for projects the WSRA cannot support. Due to its age most, if not all, of the PLC's rolling stock is historic so I see no reason why contributions to the cost of overhaul and repainting cannot be made. Similarly I would have thought that the WSRA could provide bullhead rail for station areas in order to maintain the historic appearance. Can the WSRA not reclaim VAT from purchases as well which would reduce the overall cost to the railway as a whole?

I would like to see the WSRA significantly raise their fundraising. What concerns me the most is that very few donations to the locomotive fund are attracting gift aid and only about £300 has been claimed from HMRC and the other c.£14,500 which could have been gift aided from the rest of the donations has not been achieved. This gift aid amounts to about 6% of the target so is not insignificant. The fundraising is about a quarter of the way to its target but the additional gift aid would bring this up to about a third of its target.
https://mydonate.bt.com/events/locomotiverestoration/440833#donation-summary

 

I take your point but I am would like to know eactly how the transactions are done.. Charities have to be very cautious with spending money in this way. I would need to see dterails of the exact transactions before commenting further.

 

I agree they need to be cautious, but there's such a large precedent for it in the heritage railway industry it's not hard to come to the conclusion that it ought to be possible on the WSR too. The GWRT is always granting GWSR plc money for things like carriages, civil engineering, building repairs etc. It's been £2-300k per year for the last few years IIRC.

 

As a well run organisation I would be confident SVRCT are up to speed with that and the many other ways in which funds are allocated to rolling stock, locomotive 7819 etc etc.

 

They do need to be careful, but much depends on how the question is asked. I’m impressed and relit, personally speaking, that the mindset seems to be to assume things are possible, not assume they aren’t possible.


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There is an even better example which is the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle line charity which have in the past contributed towards structures on the line as owned by a PLC for commercial gain. It is really a case of getting the paperwork in place, specifying what funds can be used for and maybe a clawback type provision in the event of something “going wrong”.

Agree 100% with the “can do” mindset

Regards

Matt

 

Brilliant - now why didn't the WSRA think of that before. Oh, wait a minute...perhaps it did, years ago...although it always helps if the independent commercial Plc is happy to sign such paperwork. The independent WSR Plc of the past has always wanted to ensure it was - well - independent and not beholden to any other organisation. Maybe the penny is dropping now and change is a-foot.

Steve

 

I agree about can do 100% I just want to know how!

 

Change which, however overdue, is to be welcomed

 

Alert for those who watch the WSR webcams - the Quantock Belle is out this evening, dep Bishops Lydeard at 19.15.

Link to Bishops Lydeard webcam

Steve

 

Last evening's Quantock Belle working was an absolute joy to experience. The term 'fine dining' has often been used erroneously in the past to describe our QB offer, but was entirely appropriate for this Three Chefs Express. Each of the six courses served was a triumph of taste and presentation, the like of which I never ever expected to witness from a QB seat.

The experience was further enhanced by every diner adhering to black tie dress code and a well-chosen special beverage menu. Very well done to all those folk involved. Please repeat this 'one-off special' at the earliest opportunity.

One last observation: it definitely wasn't (nor should it have been) an express!