35B's Recent Activity
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35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
My instinctive reaction is that the picture is more complicated than appears, and that the take-up also relates to issues over the absolute level of fares, and the value of the tokens given with the uplift*. * - this is not about the financial...
Oct 13, 2026 at 9:56 PM -
35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I'd focus on the simple bit discussed ad nauseam previously about getting the Gift Aid uplift on donations. Fares are a different issue, and should be considered downstream.
Oct 13, 2026 at 8:58 PM -
35B liked Jamessquared's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
That's where we might diverge in view. I'm not so sure it is as clear-cut as that, as a reading of the NYMR thread (especially a couple of years back) may show. The headline looks good, but model 1 (free return within a year) appears to have had...
Oct 13, 2026 at 8:55 PM -
35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Just as this thread used to be recommended reading for discussions of principle, I suggest the NYMR thread occupies that (sad) place now. The message that comes out from that is that that success is borne of lots of little things, not a few big...
Oct 13, 2026 at 6:19 PM -
35B liked Jamessquared's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Oh, I don't disagree, I think some kind of wholesale structural reform on the WSR would bring many benefits - I just caution against throwing all eggs into the Gift Aid basket! The other benefits may in the long term prove rather more beneficial....
Oct 13, 2026 at 6:17 PM -
35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
That assumes that you don't get a compensating reduction in demand as the perceived prices rise (and the NYMR example appears to suggest in the absence of detailed figures that the "giveaway" component trashed cashflow later in the season).
Oct 13, 2026 at 5:59 PM -
35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I wholly agree. The "return for a year" model had a lot of hidden costs, especially around access to things like galas. The "+10%" model, to which NYMR have moved, is a less attractive option to visitors, and looks an awful like a price hike....
Oct 13, 2026 at 5:02 PM -
35B liked Jamessquared's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Although I support the principle of moving to some kind of charitable model, I think there are some somewhat heroic assumptions in that £400k figure. The biggest one is to reckon on 75% of the income being inherently charitable. That takes some...
Oct 13, 2026 at 4:58 PM -
35B replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
It's a question of perspective - there's an implication that buying tickets for the special appearance is necessary. If you don't maintain the premium, then the risk is that people won't pay it.
Oct 13, 2026 at 1:15 PM -
35B replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I'm pretty relaxed, but @cksteam does highlight the risk of selling something at a premium, and then offering the same thing later at an ordinary price.
Oct 13, 2026 at 1:03 PM -
35B replied to the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
How many of the moaners would travel if the prices did fall? And how often? More practically, that 25 visitors per running day is the best part of half a carriage, on a railway that has a strong tidal demand - so really only on a couple of...
Oct 13, 2026 at 1:01 PM -
35B replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I received an identical message. I'm not sure "veracity" is a reasonable test - it is a comment on the posting style and content
Oct 13, 2026 at 9:05 AM -
35B liked 007's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Simply tragic, no other words for it. No one deserves this, at such a young age, to leave so much behind. RIP.
Oct 13, 2026 at 7:41 AM
