35018 British India Line

James, I thank you sincerely for that warm, candid and eloquent insight. Nobody will take issue with any of what you say, I am sure, nor should they. The only thing I would respectfully invite you to consider is whether the perception of 'freeloaders' has a disproportionately dominating influence on the way in which you choose to engage generally? I fully understand the guarded manner, based on bad journalistic experiences mainly it seems, but social media really does put you in charge of the message should you wish. An occasional fleet blog would be wonderful PR if you could find the time and undermine even the most vocal of 'armchairs', as I think you once wrote.

 

Thank you James. Hopefully that will draw a line under this mostly pointless discussion but I won't hold my breath. One thing the usual suspects should think of is that in future it will be the likes of Messrs Smith, Hosking, Ian Riley and Tyseley who will keep mainline steam alive. engines owned by individuals or single loco preservation societies are in decline due to ever rising costs and bureaucracy, 6201 has little prospect,of working in the foreseeable future and John Cameron has thrown in the towel. The days when we could see an S&D 2-8-0, a Stanier 2-6-0 and a variety of locos from heritage lines have long gone.

 

Whilst I acknowledge the truth in much of your posting I question whether John Cameron has "thrown in the towel" rather than accept that at his age he has acknowledged that once 60009 is withdrawn from the main line at the end of its current ticket he doubts if he will be alive to see it through another major overhaul. He has therefore made his arrangements to preserve the loco for all time, albeit displayed in a museum with the K4 in order to provide a guaranteed future rather than see it end up like 6201 being the subject of an appeal for funding following the result of several short term decisions by the current owners. John Cameron would consider his actions "careful husbandry" although many may disagree but after 50 years of preservation following 30 years of LNER / BR service he feels that its time to let 60009 retire gracefully - a choice that many agree with !

 

Want to name the "usual suspects"???

 

and indeed what they are specifically accused of being suspects in relation to

 

Not really. I was using the term in a general sense and I do not have any particular individuals in mind.

Peter James

 

I think it's fair to say from the above barrage of posts that January is essentially the railway enthusiast's version of 'silly season'. Just give people a break and let 'em get on with it is what I say. If readers are having trouble dealing with a perceived lack of news, then I would suggest visiting a fort, castle, folly or museum, or even taking up flower arranging, tiddlywinks or interpretive dance.

 

Well said.

 

Now that would be worth a thread all of its own.

 

James, thank you for this post - I've been an interested third-party watching this thread up until now.

At the risk of diverting this thread any more, does the bit in bold explain why WCRC never came back to me with my media enquiry when I asked a few questions a couple of weeks ago? (as it turns out, we didn't run the story, as nobody really had much to say, but that's beside the point).

I must've phoned, ooh, three or four times in a week to chase it and emailed three times. Why did I chase so much? Because (the admittedly polite and friendly) person on the end of the phone couldn't put me through to someone who deals with media enquiries and insisted I had to email the specialtrains AT WCRC DOT com address and it would be forwarded on. After a couple of days, I had heard nothing so chased and was told to email again as the same person couldn’t remember my enquiry. The same happened a couple of days after that, at which point I gave up and stopped chasing.

I've just sent on another enquiry - about a different story, which is not WCRC-specific - and will update this thread if I hear back either way. I don't want to write that by far and away the largest charter operator did not respond to my questions because it makes us both look silly and like I haven't done my job properly, but I will do if I have to.

I hope that the above experience was a one-off occurrence. For the record, I’ve set a deadline of COP Monday, which I think is more than achievable for what I am after.

Sorry for the slight rant, but I thought I'd add my 2p to the discussion about whether or not WCRC is sharing enough. For the record, I'm with others in saying that a regular blog would be useful - but then again, I am in my early 20s and am of the age when I expect information and updates at the click of my fingers - though I can see the drawbacks.

 

Ian, it is becoming obvious this is an age thing.
As the age of the following enthusiasts rises, so the need for younger ones to replace them, and maybe get their hand dirty increases.
The way younger ones find out about many items is FB and Twitter, and blog's as you say.
They take not a great deal to administer, and the ones I am involved with allow us to advertise to followers.
An example of how strong they are is in December we did a £28 advert, that bought in over £24,00 of revenue, that is the true power of social media.
If people or organisations choose not to use it, they will end up being left behind.

 

I feel confident to state that if WC decided they wanted a social media officer for their fleet operations there would be plenty of suitable candidates willing to do it in a voluntary capacity.

 

Not all 'older people' are 'techno-peasants!'

 

I am quite sure of that, its using social media to your advantage, post, lock the comments, so no shots can be fired.

 

Couldn't agree more, the crucial element being recognising what advantage can be gained. Monetising like you have is a sure way!
As you say it requires a shift in thinking. Not easy if you generally prefer to keep a low profile and not draw attention to yourself or activities for whatever reason.

 

FFS, been round the houses and now saying publicty is a good thing!!!!!

 

I Haven't got a gas oven, I'm off to find a friend who has... Will some of you just look at yourselves and give it a rest, your so bloody childish...

 

You quoted my post but I'm not understanding the meaning of yours, sorry.

 

I can't resist...... I assume this is a typo and not a damning reflection of our failing education system.

 

and joking about taking your own life over an internet forum debate exhibits the highest possible level of maturity ....?