West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Already back at Chinnor.

 

Shame, but as it means they'll be able to cope with a temporary steam restrictions .... good for Chinnor.

"Unprototypical" be damned ..... it looks very well in BR Blue and seemed to get through it's stint at Minehead without any undue issues. A very interesting machine.

 

I liked DHP1...

 

Ever seen those very early (1928/9) Danish mainline diesels? They featured near carriage bodywork and clerestories, apparently to make them look more "respectable"!

Found piccies .... The first three images, series MT, MV and MW
http://www.sebtus.de/fz_dsb_vlok.html

Not SG, but there was an interesting 15in gauge double-ended Diesel-Hydraulic B-B, built in 1956 and named Royal Anchor, it ran trials on the RH&D for a while, before being declared under-powered and returned to it's builder, Charles Lane, who sold it on to La-al Ratty in 1961. Following a stint at Carnforth (1977-2000), it was bought by an American chap and AFAIK remains there to this day.

 

"Mr Rigby added an external valuation of the land had concluded "the offer price is in excess of the open market value with use restrictions", as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service."

Looks like they still need someone with some (any?) business acumen on the board.

Why do they do this? Pleading poverty one minute, then letting things drop with no reports of success or other information and then coming up with this which basically says "We have a spare £50k to buy the car park..." Of course people will be moaning - because the impression the board are giving is one of a completely disorganised and dysfunctional senior management. And then they wonder why supporters of The Railway pay such close attention to their actions...

 

Any news on the heatwave, or is steam still running.

I note that the appeal features on the home page but nothing about what has been raised.

 

Black Manor just left Minehead and a 33 from BL.
No idea about tomorrow.

 

In November 2021 someone called Charlotte (apparently a Top Fan of the railway) posted the following under the Appeal on Facebook:
“What are you raising money for? (Out of interest)x”

Her question remains unanswered.

Edit - link (I hope!)
https://www.facebook.com/WSrail/photos/a.202116356477764/4704322419590446/?type=3

 

So do you think the Council would have considered selling it if the offer had been below the open market value? All we know is that the offer is in excess, we don't know by how much. It may be £30K, it may be £1K. From experience of such things, I'm fairly confident that there will have been prior discussion between the parties involved and a figure that the Council rep can justify arrived at, which he has with the statement "the offer price is in excess of the open market value with use restrictions."
The question that should be asked is what is the business plan behind the proposed acquisition? Are they planning to charge for its use and how much? What is the expected return? Are the toilets going to be refurbished? How much is the upkeep going to be? I'm sure that these things will all have been considered but why should anyone not directly involved need to know or even expect to know?

 

One key problem that I see with the BL toilets is that, by the nature of their location, their primary target users are visitors to the railway. So when something goes wrong with them, not surprisingly some visitors at least - even if they have read the relevant notices - will complain to railway staff. Even with a very polite and apologetic reply, it does not give a very good impression to be told - in simple terms- "nothing to do with us, you need to speak to the Council". What makes it even worse IMHO is the fact that the railway itself provides no alternative facilities, but actually directs its customers/visitors back to those same toilets. At least if they pass into WSR hands then the railway will have the opportunity to tackle any problems in a more rapid and customer-friendly manner (hopefully).

 

And the Council cannot be expected to sell it for less than the ‘open-market value with use restrictions’. Perhaps, without use restrictions, it’d be worth more and some future council administration might be tempted to pursue this. So this might be a good strategic purchase by the railway, before they do.

The toilets are reported to be in poor condition. Councils do not have a statutory duty to provide or maintain them, and many authorities have been closing them down in recent years, expecting businesses and tourist attractions to provide their own for their customers.

 

Because, for a Railway that is still running an "Emergency SOS Survival Fund" that has barely got out of the bulb of the thermometer, spending £50K on a car park and toilets, to avoid a few complaints about said toilets seems to me to be very much a WIBNI (wouldn't it be nice if...). It's not as if the owner of the car park and toilets doesn't also own nearly all the rest of the railway itself. Should the Board not be trying to persuade SCC to include the car park and toilets in the land covered by the lease, something that would give the Railway control over them and cost a damn sight less than £50K?

 

The whole toilets thing raises the question as to whether the finances are down the pan or the railway is flushed with cash?

Jon

 

A question that has been asked repeatedly, with a resounding silence by way of response.

 

I am assuming that a BL without toilets is hardly a workable option let alone one without a car park.
Looks like something the council want rid of, so maybe it is Hobson's Choice even if the railway is cash strapped (or not?)

 

For once I think I am in sympathy with the board. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Imagine the flack 5 years from now if you don't buy it and it gets developed, losing it for good.
It's like people today looking back at 1968 and saying why weren't more locomotives saved. At the time every loco was hard fought for and paying for it even worse.
But I am still waiting to be convinced of the financial stability of the company.

 

In principal, absolutely spot on.

 

In real however less so

 

But it possibly could be attached to one the other businesses that border the WSR? Even worse that a non railway tourist operation takes it over.