West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I'm with Paul Kibbey - I'm not attracted by Southern locos on the WSR and won't be attending this gala.

 

I like all locos, wouldn’t boycott a gala because of the traction myself.

 

Agreed. I know it's become a bit of a cliche but I'm going to say it anyway because it remains the truth - outside of the National Collection we are lucky to have any of them.

Gawd bless Dai Woodham.

 

Each to his own, but I like the WSR as a GWR Branch Line. I continue to wonder why it has so little faith in its own identity that it pretends to be the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway.

 

I wouldn't boycott a gala just because of the traction either, to have Swindon locos is just icing on the cake.
SR locos are probably my least favourite, but I still went to the MHR's Southern gala on two days last year (and was very impressed with 92 Squadron which looked fabulous).

 

You won’t be going to the diesel gala then?

 

red rag bull alert!!!!!!!!!!

 

A Report on the Woodford Halse accident of 19th December 1935, in which fortunately there were no deaths, though 11 passengers were shocked or slightly injured, and the train guard and slip coach guard were more seriously injured, certainly bears this out. See the Report at http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Woodford1935.pdf There are interesting drawings of the brake pipe release mechanism at the end of the Report.

 

My then 15 year old father and his younger sister were among the "11 passengers shocked or slightly injured" in the 1935 Woodford Halse accident.

Peter James

 

Well just think how many other GWR branch lines we already have - Bodmin, South Devon, Severn Valley, Chinnor and Dean Forest all come to mind. You can go many other places in the country and get an authentic GWR experience (If you consider the GW coaches available at the SDR and SVR you can actually get more authentic experiences there). Contrast that with the old SDJR, which for such a small network has a very sizeable following and big 'fan base', and aside from the SDJR group at Midsomer Norton, the only other railways which are close to SDJR territory are he East Somerset or Avon Valley, neither of which can offer the route length or intensity of trains, the diversity of services, or a resident 7F. So to me it makes perfect sense that the West Somerset has tried to capitalise on the fact that it can do a better job than pretty much any other railway at recreating the SDJR, and has made an effort to do and even greater job. If you don't like it, just be thankful they haven't painted a rake of coaches in Southern Green and they don't regularly slap a 'Pines Express' headboard on the front!

 

Rather few tourist railways are especially "authentic", particularly when it comes to carriage stock. The WSR is no worse than the average.

PH

 

The problem with that being that the WSR is fundamentally GW in character, whereas the pictures I've seen of the S&D suggest to me that it was anything but GW in character.

 

Remember the majority of visitors neither know nor care about what steam locos run on the WSR or any other preserved railway. They are those from who most of the revenue comes.

 

This is only true so far as the revenue generated from providing service (tickets, catering etc.). If you want to raise money from appeals, share offers or whatever then people who know a bit about steam railways become a larger proportion.

 

My grandfather and father worked in the works and I worked for the G.W.R. for 5 years starting in 1943 and then onto the western region. When I worked in Leicester any locomotive going by the works I said out loud " Scrapper" So as a born and bred Great Western man I say concentrate on keeping the W.S.R. Great Western or B.& E. R.. But I see no harm in bringing those other inferior engines to the line if it brings in needed finance. Indeed I plan to go down the Station sometime to see the U.S.A loco which I haven't seen for over 70 years.
I

 

This is just a bit too tribalistic.

PH

 

And for a large amount of the regular working volunteers around the country, it doesn't matter either.
Most people are just happy that any Steam or Diesel is still running.

 

Frequently mentioned in this thread is a strong desire for 'a heritage appearance' on the line. Why not concentrate on the lines own heritage rather than someone else's?
When the locos under restoration at Tyseley are complete there should be a strong GWR presence. Not in the immediate future, but some years hence, the locos awaiting restoration in Somerset, such as 4110 and 4165, will add more authentic classes.

 

Precisely why an S&D focus seems doubly questionable.


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