West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Absolutely! That will be a key part of a new governing Charity's success.

There are limits though. the objectives have to fit within one or more of the recognised charitable purposes set out in Charity legislation. Much though many of us find it hard to accept preservation and operation of a heritage railway is not obviously charitable. That's why many heritage railway charities, including WSRA and WSSRT, have as their primary purpose the education of the public ( education is one of the recognised charitable purposes). You can include operation of a heritage railway as a means of delivering that objective but, from a charity law point of view, it is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Another recognised charitable purpose is creation of a museum with public access so to the extent a heritage railway can operate as a museum that also sustains its charitable status.

How the funds flow between the two entities will need to be resolved. It will also depend on whether both operating costs and operating income lie within the subsidiary.

The other downside of charitable status , as has been highlighted on here, is that the charity must achieve its charitable objects in ways that provide public benefit i.e it must not be run primarily in the interests of its members or volunteers. Heritage railway charities are no different from, say, Oxfam or the RNLI. They exist for the public benefit of the recipients of their services not for the interests of their members or volunteers. As suggested previously that's a hard balance for Charity Trustees to get right because they depend on the support and commitment of members and volunteers.

There are downsides to charitable status but normally these are outeweighed by the benefits.

You pays your money and you takes your choice!

 

Back in the days of the X6 and the attempts to dislodge them, I'd have agreed with the implicit conclusion of your post - that structural change should wait until a better time. I now feel that achieving your objective requires structural change as a pre-requisite for the WSR to emerge intact in April 2021. The current structure is palpably failing in that, and evidence accumulating all the while of how that structure is working against the desire and effort of volunteers and supporters to see the WSR reopen, whether in April 2021 or before.

 

You have a valid point. But who was it that changed the HRA involvement of mediator/arbitrator - or whatever it was meant to be - from the dispute between the PLC and its tenant at Washford to a far wider re-appraisal of the WSR and its constituent parts?
It appears to have been the PLC, so any distractions are their making.

 

The change was at the instigation of the arbitrator who was asked to deal with a symptom and diagnosed a disease.

It is, of course, for the wider WS Community to decide whether and if so how to engage with the cure.

Robin

 

...... or not!

 

Does the railway have the luxury of time to implement these changes, or to collectively sit on it's hands in the vain hope that time will somehow save, or delay the need for change, ? Time is something I don't think it has, especially if money is tight and revenue streams have dried up .
I dare say that there will be those for whom, change will be the very last thing they want, change means loss of their power, we know how additive power can be? so they will delay, try to slow down any progress in an attempt to retain that power as long as they can , that is something those pushing for change will have to be mindful of .
And of course you have the sheer bloody mindedness of some members of the organisations, those who say, I won't support a rival organisation, even if they are doing the right thing, getting a new organisation off the ground will be fraught with problems as long as the old rivalries are allowed to fester , it might even prove to be an impossible task to get peace on the WSR if the combatants are unwilling, or unable to put down their hatchets .

 

Where from and what ones?

 

Pete I very much agree, if you own a loco you can very much pick and choose where you'd like it go if your happy to hire it out.
Its certainly not like having a look at the Hornby or Bachmann website and scratching your chin and thinking ' what do I fancy this time?'

 

I would have thought that the WSR had plenty time on it's hands. After all it doesn't have to spend it's time running trains. <BJ>

 

4936 and 9466 once the axle loading is up for starters. 4561 will be completed within a few years. 9351 only just come back. 6024 group yet to commit to a homebase in the latest steam railway mag. Didcot looking to loan out their locos like they did with 4144 at the SVR last year. Engines move around all the time.

 

There's certainly not a shortage. Many railways are loaning engines out as they have too many, look at the DSR, SDR, Didcot and Buckinghamshire RC.

4160 is not signed to the SDR. It's to be managed by 5542 ltd. Majority of the time SDR based locos are out on hire these days - L92 at Gwili and 6412 at Chinnor. Isn't 5526 at Battlefield?

 

In the present state of affairs at the WSR I doubt that there is money for hiring, unless a there is another large profit on the horizon.

 

And they're really suitable for those incoming excursions that come in?
Please stop digging.
You made a comment about another railway constantly hiring in motive power from other sources, and now your advocating the railway that your defending does the same.

 

Ah yes 4936 and it's 'fast track overhaul' what's happening with that? Yes locos do move around all the time, the ones you've mentioned are a bit like me and rather on the large side for the WSR.
Regarding 6024 (and its mainline commitments, and the fact it's custodians haven't committed to a base in Minehead) well it's not a exactly an everyday use machine is it?

 

I made the point that the DSR had probably smaller locos than was expected/needed for a railway of its size, hence hiring in and the selling off of 6435 and 4588, but now it seems they have got themselves sorted with the long term loan of 2253.

How many excursions do the WSR handle a year? 10 at most probably that require 53808s needs. I didn't even suggest the 7F left.

 

4144 is too large for the WSR? 9466? 4936? Maybe the latter two with the current restrictions but not in time. Tyseley said in latest steam railway they wanted to finish off the work to 7802, 4936 and 6880 this year.

 

I think sometimes too much can be made of that. In our case the charity has supported loco overhauls, new loco construction, carriage restoration, track renewal, storage buildings, and it was our chosen body for our Covid recovery funding, to support the re-opening of the line. Next year, if things go to plan, we will have an appeal centred around station restoration. What exactly is missing from that list that you feel the charity is being restricted from funding?

Funding driving priorities is a real problem, but one I believe can be mitigated.

If the charitable objectives (probably based around education) are interpreted as the railway being a living museum, then supporting the ongoing operational existence of the railway comes within the charity scope.

True; however, in the case of a heritage railway that is entirely reliant on volunteer labour and donations for its continued existence, the directorial duty to act in the interests of the company is very closely aligned with acting in accordance with the wishes of the membership, since if the membership is alienated, the supply of volunteers and donations will dwindle.

Tom

 

Yes they certainly do at the WSR.