West Somerset Railway General Discussion

More like Dunster Station 1958 / Dunster Disgrace 2017

 

My words are only "risible nonsense" if you are having trouble understanding them, unfortunately. I will try to help you by explaining myself more clearly.

Incidentally, anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am clearly not biased or prejudiced against phone cameras purely from the number of phone camera photos I post on Instagram and Facebook.

A railway photograph is, fairly obviously, a photograph in which a railway is the main subject, or at least a key part of the composition. I would have thought most enthusiasts would be familiar with this concept; the number of books of railway photography which have been published just in the UK is probably in the tens of thousands.

Here is a concrete example of what I was trying to explain. If you are visiting Dunster Castle and look roughly North, you can see trains travelling between Dunster and Blue Anchor, at a distance of about a mile or so. If you are visiting Dunster Castle and have the right camera (and lens, if you have an interchangeable lens camera) with you, and the right weather, you can take a lovely photo of a train chuffing through the landscape, the "sea" behind, Steep Holm on the horizon on a clear day. With a phone camera, that photo will be simply impossible to take. If you are visiting Dunster Castle and just have your phone with you, you can take excellent photos, but you can't take excellent photos that have the WSR in.

Now, on the other hand, I have some N Gauge model trains that have lettering that is illegible, at least to my reasonably sharp eyes. With my phone, I can photograph said trains, closely enough that the lettering is perfectly clear to read (it's roughly half a millimetre high, at a guess). None of my other 50 or so cameras can do that (no doubt one of the SLRs could with the right lens, but I don't happen to have one.

As for my other point: as Colin said, there is always something new to try and something new to learn. However, learning how to take a technically competent photograph - one that is properly focused and properly exposed - and what the relationship is between aperture, shutter speed and depth of field, takes a reasonably intelligent adult no more than about a day. How do I know this? By being alongside photographic novices (in multiple situations) and seeing how quickly the average person can do it.

Now, I didn't claim my daughter can do all that. What I said is: she has good compositional skill. In case you think, though, that I am biased by parental pride (which is fair enough) I suggest you look up the work of Jacques-Henri Lartigue, not to be confused with the monorail chap. He took up photography at the age of about 7 or so, and his childhood work, done circa 1910 when he was still pre-teen, is (since its discovery in the 1960s) considered to rank alongside the top photographers of his time.

Hopefully the above has been explained in simple enough language for everyone, now, and we can put this matter to rest.

 

On the subject of Whistle boards we make our own traditional style boards for the NYMR.
They work out at around £100 per post.
As you can see we also do LNER Style gradient boards.
So far about 25 whistle boards have been planted with about 10 to do.
All funded, made and installed by York Area Group.

 

One railway - remember................?

 

Maybe in the then picture they were allowed to use more toxic weed killers ???

 

The recent history of discussions concerning this vehicle is worth re-telling. When I was chair of the Association we had discussions about disposing of the coach. As already noted the coach came redundant from the QB formation when the previous trustees "refurbished" the set. For those that don't know 27114, this is a very early Mk 1, with a number of original fittings including the original luggage van "cage". It is in reasonable running condition. However, partly because of the cage it is not really suitable for everyday WSR use (the cage means that the luggage van cannot easily be used for push-chairs and there is certainly no suitable area for wheelchairs).

As many have discussed in these pages, trains in the fifties and sixties on the Minehead Branch were rather different in formation from those on the current WSR, not least because current main season traffic requires trains of seven or eight coaches. At the same time the Steam Trust have a number of coaches of varying ages and designations which they are slowly restoring. It seemed to us at the time that there was an interesting opportunity here (and to give credit where it may be due, assuming my memory is correct I think the idea may have come from Robin White). The idea was to put together a three coach set of the two most nearly finished Steam Trust GW coaches, when they are ready, together with 27114. And then to haul it with a appropriate small loco as an example train of the early 1950s. The train would probably only run on selected days, and provided the interior was finished to a very high standard, it would be possible to charge a premium fare for an authentic historic train ride of sixty years ago. And an even bigger premium for first class travel... The first step was not to dispose of Phoenix - a coach which you certainly cannot buy in your local Tesco's. This train would hit the "heritage" buttons in a number of ways.

The project is still in the pending tray for these reasons. We really need a champion of the project to drive it through and overcome the problems. The first challenge is that the obvious small loco is 4561 which is as yet incomplete, and, as readers know, we sold our pannier tank a few years ago. The second is that, as I said, there is no straightforward accommodation for buggies and wheelchairs. The problem with buggies might be overcome by attaching a goods van to the formation (certainly prototypical), but we could not run a train in this day and age which was inaccessible to wheel chair users. So this is the present situation with 21174, which at the moment sees only occasional use on some gala days. In my view any decision on disposal should only be taken after all other options have been fully explored to the end of the road. We would never get another.

Frank

 

Well, I went with my 3 sons (7,9 & 15) today

The 10.20 didn't leave BL until 10.30 followed by a rather pedestrian run as far as Watchet. The constant blowing off suggested that steam wasn't a problem. We fitted in the most important part of the visit - sausage rolls from the buffet car for the two youngest.

A slightly curtailed visit to the boat museum at Watchet saw the two youngest each make a length of rope - thank you very much indeed to the volunteer demonstrator followed by getting the next train to Minehead, the DMU which was being driven enthusiastically and brought back many happy memories from my youth. Amusingly the front and rear of the train were full as passengers enjoyed the view. Sadly the DMU seems very neglected especially compared with the DMU on the Severn Valley - scenic land cruises anyone??

I grabbed a very good coffee from the Turntable Café while the boys went to the beach to build dams, the youngest getting very wet in the process. Th.e Station Master was in evidence looking the part

The return on the 14.30 was crowded and could have done with at least one more coach, especially given that the weather while pleasant wasn't that warm so for most passengers on the first train from BL a 14.30 return seemed to be an obvious choice. I wonder if a few extra vehicles should be available at Minehead to reinforce busy trains? Raveningham Hall was driven enthusiastically but then delayed by the Diesel Driver Experience train at Blue Anchor. Brisk running from Williton necessitated a long stop at Stogumber to top up the boiler followed by a further brisk climb to Crowcombe which filled my hair with ash. Is there anything more sublime than Williton to Crowcombe on an Autumn afternoon?

As always another good day on the WSR, however as always timekeeping could be improved A quick visit to Watchet between the first and second trains of the day is possible but late running eats into the short time available.

 

@FrankC First off, I'm not for a moment suggesting any reduction in disabled accomodation on regular scheduled services, but I note that several NG lines run "Vintage Services" which appear not to conform to current disability regulations. Indeed, in London, Routemaster buses (ultimately kyboshed by their inability to comply with said regs) still routinely ply regular routes, though clearly identified as heritage buses having limited disabled access. I believe such services are specifically derogated by (or on behalf of) TfL. If the proposed "premium" vintage set were clearly identified as such, especially if marketed as an additional attraction, I can't imagine too many legal hurdles.

I might suggest marketing the caged luggage portion to long suffering parents of rowdy sprogs. In particularly extreme cases, perhaps a practical demonstration of how luggage was secured to prevent it moving about in transit? No? .... pity! Still, folding buggies shouldn't be a problem. If access is via double doors, neither would full sized prams.

 

Please excuse my ignorance but, how can two pieces of wood, two screws and some black and white paint add up to £100?

 

Indeed. However if the item is surplus to WSRA reequirements but the WSR PLC want it then it would not be unreasonable for money to change hands. There are already far too many surplus vehicles on the railway rotting away for lack of funds and the inclination to restore them. WIBN is no longer sufficient justification,

 

Pleeeease lets not start another thread drift on the inherent inaccuracies of GPS systems....

 

What ??? No boarded or tram-lined crossing? No steps up the shoulder? No "Anti Trespass" grids?

Goodness me, anyone would think the WSR is still trapped in the 1950's

 

Probably so - and no doubt the work was much more labour-intensive also.

 

Sorry I'm coming a bit late to this pair. Irrespective of the style of the 2017 sign I don't understand its purpose. If you're just walking off the end of the platform, the obvious way to go is along the footpath and there is no obvious reason why you would want to cross the line. If you're arriving along the footpath, even if you might have some reason to want to cross the line instead of walking onto the platform, you only see the back of this sign. (I don't know whether there is another one facing the other way, but even if so it doesn't explain the need for the one in the picture.)

 

Thank you Frank. That is most helpful and it is obviously well worth keeping.

 

In this pair the 'then' shot is much better than the 'now' shot.

 

Meanwhile W21174 has been moved to the 'unloved' siding at Minehead and the local stone throwers have, entirely predictably, been using it for target practice. The now broken glass will attract further vandalism very soon and the winter weather will encroach and spoil the interior. You are incorrect about the vehicle being used during gala events. I understand the daily hire fee charged by WSRA deters this. We should hire this coach to a railway that has a genuine use for it, at least until WSR finds one.

In the necessarily harsh commercial environment we operate within, a robust business case needs to be made to retain the vehicle on the WSR. If it is to remain here without a use then it should at least be stored securely. A vandalised, apparently unloved vehicle in QB livery, displayed prominently, will potentially damage the QB brand we are working so hard to build.

Barrie

 

deleted

 

West Somerset Railway -Then and Now #108

Dunster 1958 / 2017

We are fortunate that the goods shed here survived the run down of the line to closure. whether the Railway is making the best use of its heritage assets at the tourist hot spot of Dunster might be a subject for debate.

1958


2017

 

Quite a contrast in the 'now' picture. On the right we have a beautifully presented heritage station, on the left we have what looks like a rubbish dump.