West Somerset Railway General Discussion

A reminder that the 2018 Steam & Vintage Rally online ticket facility will be available until 10am on 1 August 2018.



steamrally.org.uk

Steve

 

It is indeed and the WSRA hope to return it to the WSR plc for use in traffic soon subject to the normal FTR etc.
On the subject of sprucing up coaching stock we are discussing this with the plc, it would seem that lining up the operational ducks needed to take a coach out of traffic and move it to Williton in the high season are eluding us at the moment. We can only hope that we will be able to spruce up one or two more in the shoulder seasons.

 

It will be interesting to see whether the first class compartments in W21174 will be de-classified once the BCK enters traffic for the plc, as is the case with the DMU's former first class seats. The WSR has always been a single class seating operation, perhaps missing a commercial opportunity?

 

No American locos today Paul, all three locos are Great Western ....although two are black.

Update: Class 33 no D6575 arrived at Crowcombe at 14:30 with stock for the weekend's Steam & Vintage Rally at Norton Fitzwarren. <BJ>

 

Some good news:-

The West Somerset Steam Railway Trust is very pleased to announce that it has received a National Lottery grant of £40,000 for an exciting heritage project to relaunch the Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard Station. The Trust say:

Made possible by money from National Lottery players, the money will improve the displays in the Museum and widen our outreach to the local community and visitors to the railway. In delivering the Project, we will actively engage with the local community by, for example, recruiting and training volunteers to help manage the Museum and its collections, to research and document the social and operational history of line and to undertake a recording project with retired railway workers and users of the line. The National Lottery grant will also enable us to employ a part-time Learning Officer to promote the use of the Museum for school visits.

Announcing the grant award, Trust Chairman Chris Austin said:

We are delighted with the grant which, together with our fundraising and volunteer input will allow us to make the museum more interesting and relevant to the railway's visitors. It will also allow us to reach out into the community and inspire a new generation with the excitement of a steam railway and to understand better the rich history of the WSR in the Somerset community.

 

Now that is really good news , well done Steam Railway Trust .

 

Congratulations to the Minehead fitters keeping the S160 in service for 10 consecutive days. But thankfully now replaced on the Minehead duty by 7822.

 

I think the whole business of two class seating is a can of worms. I've had mixed experiences traveling on heritage railways that have both 1st & 3rd class seating. On some lines the 1st class seating is very smart and very obviously First Class, on others the 1st class seating has been, well, a bit tatty and the only obvious difference between it and 3rd class is that there's 3 seats across not 4.

I have been evicted from a 1st class compartment by a TTI who informed me that I only had a 3rd class ticket and the upgrade was, in his personal view, far too expensive. I have also sat in 1st class and been told by the TTI that if I wanted to stay there I'd have to pay a supplement, which on inquiry was a modest and reasonable sum, which I happily paid.

I think also that two classes makes more work for the TTI's. I've been in 1st class and the TTI has come along and collected the supplements from those in the carriage and at the next station more people got on, but the TTI didn't come along to check tickets, so the newcomers got 1st class for free. (doesn't bother me, but there are those it would bother).

Sometimes I think railways don't make it clear that there are 1st & 3rd class tickets. When I go to the booking office and ask for a day rover, or whatever, I'm given a 3rd class ticket by default, I've never been asked if I want a 1st or 3rd class ticket which does tend to give the impression that it is a single-class railway.

 

I must confess to rather liking the S160 as I remember seeing the Scottish ones on freights in 1943 or 1944 when I was about 3 years old! And that whistle reminds me a bit of the Hartz Mountains.

 

Pretty much sums up my thoughts. I'm not convinced charging extra for first class in Br Mk1s is really worth it , the only real difference between SKs and FKs is armrests, I've never seen people sit 4-a-seat in SKs anyway. We used to charge £2, but frequently people didn't realise, and because we TTIs don't currently carry cash we couldn't do much to help. Around the time I started we were really beginning to get busy and more and more often having to declassify first simply to allow everyone to have a seat.

So at about the same time I was starting to contemplate asking to be provided with a small amount of float and some first class tickets only, the powers that be decided to stop charging altogether much to my relief.

I think it's more worthwhile charging for first class on railways that have at least pre-nationalisation, or even better, pre-grouping stock, because there is a larger gap between third and first which is marketable, and the railways that can and do do this seem to charge an extortionate amount for first class tickets compared to our nominal £2 we used to do, but thinking about it and comparing it to the mainline today, it's probably priced about right to keep the plebs like me down in 3rd.

 

An observation coach like the Devon belle would be good on the WSR

 

BCK 21174 only has 12 first class seats (2 compartments), so whatever the premium, it wouldn't amount to much. That said, folk would gladly pay if the option was made known to them (by the booking office on the day?) The DMU's former first class seats couldn't possibly justify a premium, although those 'in the know' often make a bee-line for them. I do.

Using the QB's mk1 First Open 3108 to offer non-dining first class seats for a £2 premium (per single journey) during galas has been a moderate but welcome commercial success. The initiative works because providing another little extra during galas is greatly appreciated and anticipated by those passengers making use of it. Most importantly, during galas QB staff are on hand to look after the passengers as well as the vehicle. That can unravel a bit on very busy trains when the guard sometimes rightly authorises general use, to help alleviate overcrowding.

Letting the coach out in normal service has always been resisted whenever it has (very occasionally) been discussed. The very real risk of food and drink spills/stains, children standing on the weak armrests, potential damage to the table lamps and other fixtures and fittings outweighs any potential supplement fare income gain. The cost of last spring's deep clean by an external contractor is another factor. It simply isn't worth the risk putting any cherished but unattended dining car into general service. That said, I've always held the view that our FO should attract a small premium when in dining service. If I had a tenner for every time I've been asked why a passenger had been allocated an ordinary loose seat (in the RU - restaurant unclassified) rather than the 'plush armchairs' in the FO. Commercial opportunity for sure.

At least this year, for the first time ever, I managed to persuade the 'powers that be' to charge a small premium for a guaranteed table for two. The trading profit is all in the marketing.

 

We have the Hawksworth saloon.

 

We've been brave enough to put an FO into our main service train, so it's in use every operating day in the busiest train. It does benefit from being hoovered rather than just swept as with the rest of the rake but in the year it's been in use it's had no major problems.

 

One of the attractions of first class stock is supposed that, when properly administered, one is less likely to encounter unruly and/or spoiled passengers, allowing one to enjoy one's visit.

 

Is there any rail space left at norton for static steam loco display for those not in steam?

 

Getting this when try to get on website to purchase steam rally tickets before the 10am deadline?

 

All seems to be working now. Sometimes, the techies tend to do upgrades at quiet times

Steve

 

Not always

Steve