Platform tickets on the Bluebell

haha, yes I do Frank

 

What always surprises me about heritage railways is that there is so much expertise as to where management are going wrong and how it should be done, yet those in possession of this almost super-human level of knowledge seem strangely reluctant to offer their clearly considerable skills to actually be involved in the management of heritage lines. This is left to the idiots with, apparently, no idea who end up spending many hours out of sight of the workers wrestling with budgets and the like, secure in the knowledge that their efforts will be readily identified as pathetic by those far too clever to actually offer themselves up to undertake such task themselves!

Steven

 

Thank you for that Steven , always ready to listen to another opinion.

Regards
Chris

 

yes of course what you say is true to a large extent, sadly some of us dont have the time to commit, most of it however is down to communication and working together as a team of course, but point taken Steven and a good post.

 

You're right, of course, in the majority of cases. However, the system on most lines doesn't help those who might be prepared to offer their services.

Take the example of three directors retiring by rotation and all offering themselves for re-election for those three posts, and a relatively unknown person standing against them. It's inevitable and understandable that the members will vote for the people they've heard of, unless these people have made a real pigs ear of things during their term of office. They are a lot less likely vote for someone who they've not heard of and whose abilities (or lack of) are an unknown quantity. Unless one of the incumbants isn't standing again, such a person really stands no chance, so probably won't bother to stand at all.

Dave

 

Ain't that the truth - if you have ever gone to the trouble to simply become part of a nine to three minority, led by the masons and the freemen, you soon learn how a power block works and self perpetuates; and how all those earnest reulators like the Charity Commission actually run away from those prepared to whistleblow - as they did from me - literally - in 1995.

Sometimes you simply have to let time take its course and prove you right, and then be prepared to roll up your sleeves and sort out the wreckage after the day.

There is no satisfaction at all about being proved right in the long run, merely sorrow that no-one would listen or do anything while there was still time

 

Dave b and TBird have hit the nail on the head there, well done lads , could not have put it better myself.

If you try to change the old order , one is then accused of bringing the Railway into disrepute and shot down in flames. Free speech is doomed and you end up in a situation of the few controlling the many and taking all the credit when things go right. However when things go tits up it is somebody else,s fault.

There is no justice in this world.

Chris

 

Further to your posting Dave, would it not be a good idea that say for example after two three year terms of office that the Directers have to stand down for three years before seeking re-election this giving someone else the chance to stand with fresh idea,s?.

Just a thought.

Chris

 

What does any of this have to do with the price of fish / Bluebell platform tickets?

 

Good point , gone off topic I am afraid. Perhaps the mods could transfer it to another topic?

Regards
Chris

 

The K&ESR are meant to, however, they aren't checked on admittance to the railway. If, however, someone is stopped and they say they're going to the shop, café etc then they're allowed in. If, however, they attempt to board a train, they can. They will then be asked by the Ticket Inspector to show a valid ticket. If they can't they will then be asked to buy one.

 

Its called a logical discussion about management, of which the issue of designing and operating your business so that the opportunity to maximise revenue is uppermost.

The platform ticket scenario is but one aspect.

There are unfortunately many examples of the "this is the only way to do it" mantra around - and well beyond the preservation world too.

As has already been indicated - they are very good - and fast - to operate the self protect mechanism if they see alternatives that could improve upon, or expose their shortcomings, and belittling is well up there amongst those mechanisms..