West Somerset Railway General Discussion

You betray a complete misunderstanding of local authority budgets - particularly those which like SCC are responsible for Social Care.

 

Councils do not fund hospitals.

 

The 'wobble' stems from 1979 when the track layout was modified ahead of the re-opening of the Stogumber to Norton section. The line with the 'wobble' wasn't used that much so the introduction of a point with a Y shaped geometry (all that was available at the time) didn't matter that much and allowed the Railway to met the target re-opening date. All straightened up in later years of course.

Steve

 

"Come with me ,And you'll be,In a world of
Pure imagination"

 

Add that to the cost of the minehead rail loonies group wanting 45mph trains off the main line. I took them sort of seriously till they mentioned running a freight up to minehead, All these extra signs around and other consultations are starting to make sense now...

 

West Somerset Railway - Then and Now #156

1988 Minehead

I don’t have a suitable ‘Now’ to go with the ‘Then’ shot of 4 WSR stalwarts pictured with the frames of 4561, but the ‘crew’ shot yesterday proved popular, so I thought I would slide this one in.

All 4 still involved, approaching 30 years later. Must be something in the water...

Copyright Graham Stagg

1988

 

'' entertainment of the last few years"

But a very serious business to many of us .

Paul . K

 

Last time I was there, a dozen years before Robin's photo, that spot was taken by a half sheeted-over and rather forlorn looking S&D 7F!

 

Talk of a County Surveyor's department (I used to work under folk having that rather nice title) suggests that you are stuck in another era when funding contraints were rather less onerous. I think the last County Surveyor's position in the UK had disappeared about 15 to 20 years ago. Not sure when the title was last used in Somerset.

(The even better title of an earlier era was "County Surveyor and Bridgemaster")

 

I didnt intend to belittle the issues...was just trying to describe it in "short-hand".

 

I find it incredible that, after the all too public bloodletting of years past, anyone involved with the WSR/A could be considering another round of self-harm. Such an unedifying spectacle does not reflect well on either the WSR or, for that matter the entire heritage movement in the eyes of the wider public. Is some modicum of self restraint truly beyond those involved?

 

A handful of ill-informed people are making up things and drawing absurd, and totally inaccurate comparisons with the past situation of the WSRA. In the case of the WSRA the public exposure of the wrong doing on here, and elsewhere, significantly helped to remove the ex 6 + 1. AFAIK there is no comparable situation with WSR PLC at this time. Time for the usual ne’er do wells to break the habit of a lifetime and keep quiet.

 

What part of my comment is invalidated by SCC's responsibility for social care?

I do know that. "schools 'n' hospitals" is just shorthand for that public expenditure that everyone would like more spent on and which politicians invariably suggest is the only possible thing that can be cut if expenditure is to be reduced.

 

You are right, I was thinking of some time ago, not that funding constraints were any less onerous AFAICR. However, although the name has changed, I expect the department still exists, probably just called "Highways" or some such. As I pointed out above, my experience with my current local authority is that there is still, even in these times of "austerity", money for officers' pet schemes, whilst social budgets are being cut.

 

Yes, but the people who are pleading poverty are the same people who are compiling the accounts and the website, so to quote Christine Keeler, "They would say that, wouldn't they".

 

Getting back to railways, does anyone here have any photos of 44422, in particular the safety valves? A friend in our model engineering society is building a 7 1/4" gauge model and would like to make some safety valves that resemble the real thing rather than using off the shelf valves from a model engineers suppliers.

 

I don't some people can't help themselves.
It's all about their rise up the ranks but can't see the wood for the trees,
Cause they think what they are doing helps but can't see the harm they cause or get a sick kick out of it.
There's no smoke without fire,

 

Oh no not another conspricay theorist. Utter nonsense.

 

I would like to believe you are right, and that these issues can be worked through quietly, calmly, and without rancour. However, and though I suspect it is over honourable disagreements rather than the gross wrongs of the X6+1, and despite the encouraging posts of (in particular) @Paul Whitehouse and @ikcdab, the somewhat sharp tone of some posts on here does not fill me with as much confidence as I would like that things will be done quietly, calmly and without rancour.

I strongly agree, however, that whatever the issues, time and space are required to allow them to be worked through - which means that those like me with a taste for car crash tv should be denied our fix.

Perhaps all might also care to remember Sayre's Law - "academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low" - and consider it's applicability to railway preservation which is, after all, a hobby.

 

A pedant might point out that it was actually Mandy Rice-Davies...