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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    One wonders why a haulier would ever need more than one short and one long version. Well done sir for solving the crime and I expect that a cheque for £10,000 will be with you shortly. Is there any way that it could be made out to the S&D Trust, Washford ?
     
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  2. FrankC

    FrankC Member

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    I thought the moderators of this forum had made absolutely clear that it was not appropriate to discuss the merits or otherwise of any individual, a clarification with which I agree. All aspiring members of the PLC board are subject to a due diligence process.

    Frank
     
  3. granmaree

    granmaree Member

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    Lmao, I did wonder why someone was conspicuous by their absence when that came back, I'd have been all over both trailers looking for the serial number and anything else that could identify them!! Even more comical when I saw who the haulers were, I nearly choked on my coffee when they went past the window
     
  4. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    My contacts at Bellingcat who are rather good at identifying trailers tell me that there are two very similar trailers so the crime has not been solved.
     
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  5. echap

    echap New Member

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    Well done for answering the question both fully and very tactfully with respect to the Forum rules. I hope that is the end of that particular line of questioning?
     
  6. FrankC

    FrankC Member

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    No it does not!

    What I was alluding to, was that many members of this forum keep asking "why isn't the railway open?". There is a full page in the newsletter, which explains the reasons as they were at the time of publication. Please read it closely. An update will be given in the next newsletter. But readers of this forum have to remember that all heritage railways are not the same, and that the West Somerset has faced a combination of very challenging factors. Any suggestion that the directors are sitting on their hands is very wide of the mark, but you would hardly expect them to give a daily report of progress.

    Frank
     
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  7. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    many thanks @Snifter . it was a little diversion for us
     
  8. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    How much of a process? How much due diligence was done? And this isn't about individuals, this is about the process and about the sense of good management practice at the head of a struggling organisation with deep seated, long term and pressing problems.

    Saying you did it, and doing it well are two different things. Doing things badly have consequences.

    Moreover, there could well be learning experiences for the WSR here. For example, a discussion might actually bring about insights from other lines that could be adopted by the WSR and may in future help to improve the quality of the railway's management.
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2020
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  9. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    Hi Frank,

    There is a degree of similarity in that the same checks and balances need to be made of the line and stock being fit for purpose. If the reason for not running a limited service is that key individuals have chosen to depart, could a word not be had with other nearby railways ? It ought to be possible to borrow a qualified member of staff for a day or two or are there other factors ?
     
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  10. Premier.Prairie

    Premier.Prairie New Member

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    One is a fine locomotive(not available to Salvage Hunters) and the other is just a tender off of a Manor :)
     
  11. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    to be fair Frank I see more requests for when is the railway reopening in the WSR friends group and main page than on here

    we can all read the corporate line and we can accept it or we can interpret as spin and unfortunately that is something out of your control

    what irks people on here is the blanket we are not reopening when 80% of peer lines are and seemingly quite successfully. the last two days reports are you cannot get a camping site or holiday cottage in the South West until mid September. That tells most that the tourist market is there

    Each to their own of course and there will be specific factors for each

    in the WSR case
    1 - outstanding track work preventing an early resumption from Minehead. operational engines trapped at Minehead along with stock potentially precluding operation from BL
    2 - level crossing at Minehead (possibly)
    3 - loss of key personnel owing to furlough and not as yet replaced

    from an outside perspective it feels that a plan was missing . lockdown was not a bolt from the blue , we knew it was coming for some weeks before so there was time to plan and manage , and then to plan for resumption . Again the comparison to peers is not reflecting especially positively on the WSR .

    With the railway not running , no income and furlough coming to an end , how are you going to keep your engineering staff employed ? the very real risk is if you were to lay them off for example that they will find other employment , in which case key skills are lost, skills not easily replaced . Are you relying on goodwill that people will volunteer to get you back operating

    keep in mind the eviction of the S&D trust and now the departure of 88 (albeit it with lots of nice words) is being played out alongside this. the fund raising has hardly been stellar again in comparison to peer railways

    what all of this does is create a growing perception the railway is on a downward trajectory.

    I get people are putting their heart , soul and every hour into keeping the WSR going . I read that on the friends page , about how many hours everyone is working and how much they love the WSR . Trouble is sometimes you have to accept your best just is not good enough . Not everyone has the acumen, the management skills to plot a course through turbulent times
     
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  12. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    The WSR has much to thank museum disposal policies for.

    Not least the splendid GWR BCK 6705 released to us under such a policy by the US National Park Service from Steamtown Pennsylvania and now in the care of the WSSRT.

    Robin

    3614610B-E850-4C97-9793-7AD252DE5A5A.jpeg
     
  13. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    Many apologies, Ian, *post amended. But it doesn't change the message, full marks to the WSSRT. :)
    Should have remembered, I have a son with the same name!
     
  14. Maunsell907

    Maunsell907 Member

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    Martin, I assume that is not you as a Moderator speaking ?

    I am impressed. with your hindsight wrt lockdown ie. " we knew it was coming for some weeks
    before " . I did not know that ( and neither did my fellow Guards and TTI's when we held the
    training day early March). We knew there were upcoming challenges; total lockdown no.

    "What irks people on here " you say. It does appear that whatever comment one makes wrt the
    WSR that certain people will dismiss it if it does not accord with their personal view.

    As a matter of interest if those " giving their best" (to help the WSR get through Covid) are
    not enough then what is (I feel Noddy sat in the behavioural psychiatrist's Chair at work)

    Martin, actually if you have the WSR's interest at heart then perhaps the best thing is
    to follow Anne C.B's advice.

    This forum I suggest is neither benefitting the West Somerset Railway or National
    Preservation. In both cases it is denting their Public Image.

    Michael Rowe
     
  15. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Hold on to your hats, I agree with you here! Although that doesn't mean that, once lockdown was imposed, reopening scenarios could be devised. Indeed, initially the board did just that, including options for only operating on part of the line. So what changed?
     
  16. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    my workplace was actively anticipating that lockdown was coming as that was happening across Europe and the world . my social media feed was full of clamour to introduce lockdown

    my messenger conversation this morning had multiple conversations going . each one has done as I have and watched the events unfold , each one sees exactly the same conclusion .

    you will note there are a lot of people shouting ICEBERG (metaphorically speaking) you may navigate around it , you may hit and sink . Should I not shout iceberg and let the play pan out ?

    finally , do you believe the actions wrt to the S&D trust are enhancing the WSR image or the opposite
     
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  17. Long live the PFP!
     
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  18. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    as my tongue in cheek post re the trailer has been reported an observation

    its loss was widely reported in the press, social media and on here . The owner sort help in its recovery and received a lot of sympathy as a result of its loss

    since then nothing ,no updates , no appreciation . People invested their time to help , a little update as thanks would not go amiss .

    Others also made the link between the video and the trailer , others have kindly confirmed it is not the same .
     
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  19. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    I have just checked my diary and the first silver command briefing I attended on Covid was February 25th. Our first confirmed case amongst the team was March 13th. All main buildings for a FTSE top 35 company were shut w.e.f. March 16th (next working day) unless tasks were deemed mission critical.

    Tempus fugit.
     
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  20. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    @Maunsell907. Two comments for you about your post, with moderator's hat off.
    I think that you will find this is true of all heritage railway discussion threads to some degree or another. It's a discussion forum and that inevitably means you will get comments that do not align with whatever the prevailing 'company' view is at any one moment.
    This Forum doesn't exist to benefit the West Somerset Railway but neither does it exist to bring it ill. However had you been reading what the national heritage press is reporting about the WSR you should have come to the conclusion that the NP input is a relatively minor one. And the feedback we get from people who never visit the WSR, but are also involved with heritage railways and main line steam, suggests to us that Nat Pres does a half decent job.

    You may have noticed that our strap line is 'Bringing the heritage community together' and that's what we do. But in the case of the WSR, there are limits as to what we can achieve in that regard.
     

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