West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Prior to water tower and crane installation at BL, it was usually the practice to top up the tanks of the 45xx and 6412 at Williton during the up trip,ensuring one had a full boiler as well.I can't remember taking water there on a down trip.

 

Reference to Ian's The Minehead Branch shows that there were two water cranes at Williton for a while, at each end of the platforms & in the six-foot.
Watchet, in the very early days, had a tank, replenished by a horse pump or 'gin', so there's an alternative pumping method.
The tank was replaced by two 'balloon tanks' which were later removed. See page 228 et seq.
I presume the harbour shunter might have occasionally needed a quick trip to Williton in later years.

 

Some of photos taken yesterday first of the Williton loop extension which I think is now the running line is complete and just needs the tamper to come along which should be next week.
Next a few photos showing a bit more of the remains of the old water tower.

And finely AB 1219.


Will try to take photos most weeks of the work done on extension of the Williton loop and post on here.

 

Thank you for those; in the 3rd & 4th, one can just make out the bricks of the well or sump, to the left of the white tarpaulin behind the shed.

 

Also look at http://www.wsr.org.uk/ and see what's going on at Crowcombe at the same time - the WSR is as busy now as during the running season!

 

I would say busier! I went to see for myself today on my way back from steak and kidney pudding testing at the White Horse in Stogumber (It was as good as Robin had stated). . From the amount of pipework stacked along the up platform another attempt to improve the drainage is being included.

 

Interesting some time the water tank its self at Williton was rebuilt, as in the early days it had a flat top and some time later the curved roof. The height of it would make a good feature at that end of the station.

 

Disappointed to see the cancellation of the beer festival, It always seemed very popular and brought a lot of people in. Got very good reports from friends of mine.

Rob

 

Yes I had heard it had been cancelled.....Not good at all as it always seemed very popular.
Be interested to know the understanding why it is not part of next years events....
On the upside thats an extra couple of days to spend at another railways beer festival.....

 

A couple of years ago I had heard that it was out-growing the venue. Plus the fact that it is difficult to find volunteers to operate the trains and signal boxes on a very long day - double shifts are required - when many staff would prefer to be enjoying themselves at the event!

 

The loss of the beer festival is a great shame. As far as I can ascertain it was not outgrowing the venue. Perhaps beer lovers who are also shareholders in WSR plc might ask the directors why this popular event cannot continue? I wonder if there are external pressures we are unaware of?
There are many events that call for longer working hours, for example, we are just about to enter Santa season and that calls for people to book on at 04.30 in the morning, DBC calls for late running and we seem to manage those.

 

This is also under discussion on the wnxx forum, and someone has posted the following quote:

From "scoopgen" page-
Colin Heapy

Nov 18 8:17 PM

I am afraid this is true. The railway has refused to let us hold the festival next year . They are saying officially that we have outgrown the platform but the main reason they gave at the meetings was they were not making enough money. There has always been a faction at the railway that did not want the festival and this year certain staff were extremely unhelpful and a number of items agreed by the railway were not put in place or delayed. It was also the first year we had complaints about the behaviour of one particular member of the railway staff. You may hear that the railway offered us a bolt on event this was the possibility of a marquee in the adjacent car park but nobody would be allowed on the railway site so a bit pointless really and not even sure they own the land. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years the branch would love to continue but this has not been an option. We are looking for alternatives so keep an eye on the. Somerset CAMRA website.

Cheers Colin Heapy ( original festival organiser )

 

Somerset CAMRA response to Somerset County Gazette article

This response should be read in conjunction with the SCG article on this link:

http://www.somersetcountygazette.co...d_Cider_Festival_at_Minehead_Station_in_2016/

Somerset CAMRA are somewhat taken aback at the suggestion safety issues were the reason West Somerset Railway have cancelled our Real Ale & Cider Festival, traditionally held on the platform at Minehead Railway Station on the second weekend in September. The event has run for 16 years without incident because it is well managed. Concern over numbers attending is a red herring as in recent years attendance has not increased. If numbers attending really were an issue we could have restricted numbers by selling an agreed volume of advance tickets. Entry only by advance ticket works well enough at other festivals. This wasn’t suggested because the issue wasn’t raised.

In reality the only issue WSR did raise with us was concern over falling revenue. We agreed that approximately half of our estimated 3000 festival goers purchase train tickets. The other 1500 therefore contribute nothing directly to the Railway. Our proposed solution was for WSR to operate ticket barriers during the event and charge those not travelling a £5 entry fee. We are confident this would have generated between six and seven thousand pounds additional revenue for the Railway. As we explained, there are very few CAMRA festivals that are free to enter; attendees normally expect to pay an entrance fee and £5 is not unreasonable. Unfortunately WSR declined this suggestion despite the fact it operates barriers during ‘Day Out with Thomas’ events.

WSR’s suggestion that we hold the festival in a marquee adjacent to WSR property is utterly impractical logistically and we clearly explained why. Our Unique Selling Point is that the festival is on the station platform; a marquee event would most certainly not have the same attraction. The land footprint potentially available is only a small fraction of the space we currently occupy in any case. An event effectively held on the street has absolutely no security for the 150 casks of beer and cider, equipment and paraphernalia associated with the event. Then there are the licensing issues. I could go on.

When it became clear WSR were minded to withdraw the option of holding our event on Minehead Station platform we asked them to consider one final festival in 2016, for the following valid reasons:

- WSR plc had already agreed with Somerset CAMRA to stage a festival on these dates
- 10th September 2016 is an advertised peak timetable day in anticipation of the event
- the event dates had already been advertised to our customers/their passengers
- upwards of 100 regular attendees have already booked their Minehead hotel rooms as a result of that advertising
- it would be a fitting conclusion to 16 years of goodwill between Somerset CAMRA and WSR plc

Unfortunately this request was turned down so we can only apologise to the many folk who may lose their accommodation deposits. Minehead hotels and B&B’s were always sold out weeks before our festival. We anticipate many local businesses will be rather displeased by this decision.

WSR plc have recently released a three year business plan. It is full of fine words about their relationship with stakeholders and the need to increase revenue. As always, actions speak louder than words. As a West Somerset Railway shareholder and the original proposer of this event I am very disappointed. The event was conceived as a partnership between the Campaign for Real Ale and West Somerset Railway plc as a ‘shoulders of the season’ attraction. The festival was successful from outset and Somerset CAMRA had wished to continue with it indefinitely.

Bottom line is the plc had decided they didn’t want us anymore. It’s a shame because it bought so many people to the West Somerset Railway that would never have otherwise considered it. They told their friends, etc, etc.

Barrie Childs
Festival Liaison Officer (retired)
Somerset Branch
Campaign for Real Ale

 

Unbelievable! Letter sent to PLC Chairman

 

Good grief! From the above post- 'the other 1500 contribute nothing to the railway' ,no ONLY THEIR GOOD WILL! dos'nt that count for anything! I know you've got to have income ,but when will people realise that the bottom line of an accountants sheet is'nt the be all & end all of everything! Especially for a one off weekend like this. This sort of attitude is one reason I no longer vol. on the railway.

 

I do sometimes wonder whether the future is a homogenised tourist line with no special events or galas, a fixed pool of Company owned engines and no effective support organisations. The business case seems to be pointing that way. All it needs is a Board content to follow that path.

 

I wonder who actually made this stupid decision? I copied your previous post verbatim to the WSR Chairman.

 

I'm surprised no one has blamed it on the WSRA Trustees

 

Perhaps the WSR Shareholders need a Reform Movement

 

Such a business case would contain one rather large flaw though - an engaged loyal & hard working volunteer labour force who enjoy working on the WSR. Loose that & you have some very large unbearable extra costs over & above the existing operation. A main supporters organisation which took its support role seriously & had a proper relationship with and the right level of influence at the WSR Plc Board table might just be the right way forward. This only gets harder as time moves on though.