West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I suspect we know who he was talking about dont we Robin!

 

I suggest that it is a request for a fresh start, no names no pack drill but this is how we mean to go on

 

Social media can be a very powerful tool for good. Without it, we would not have built the coalition which 'sorted' the WSRA. However, like any tool, from the penny post, the telephone, radio, TV, the fax machine, the mobile phone, e-mail and whatever means of communication we wonderful humans invent in the future, it can be used for good or evil.

I am an unshakeable defender of free speech (and along the way have - literally - put my life on the line for our liberal western democracy against the evils of totalitarian dictatorship. A bit ‘heavy’ I know but true.) but let’s use those precious freedoms responsibly and generously.

Not hard.

Robin

 

The most important thing for now is for people to help the railway to turn around and, let the ones who are/will be responsible for getting the sms back up to scratch and, all the paper trail so the next time when the railway is up and running the ORR can find out when X engine had its last boiler wash out and who did it and the person who did it have up to date paper work to do this. Also sorting out all the re/training, so in the future when the ORR come to check the railway s/he says well done everything is in order and keep up the good work. Yes there will be things which will be done some people wont like but that is human nature.

So can we have no more people demanding to know everything all the time and, hopefully over time more information will come out when they feel the right time to put this information out such as was said such as at the meeting held today and more of how can we help the railway.

 

This meeting was mentioned about on FB earlier today.
I look forward to any official announcement on the unofficial announcement web site.

 

Totally agree with that statement, spot on.

 

You are missing the crucial point. How did the railway get into such a state and who was responsible? What, if any, steps have been, or will be, taken to ensure such mismanagement does not reoccur? Surely the board and the management have been doing a lousy job. Are the culprits going to be retrained and future checks made that they doing the job properly?

 

You are off again. Can't you give it a rest?

 

Two things. First, the poor perception of the WSR has been generated by a number of things. The major disagreements between the various organisations and people of the railway at various points in history stack up fairly highly, followed by comments that reflect this attitude on here and elsewhere on socail media (such as the above). And latterly, the fact that ORR have had to make a number of recommendations that seem, at least to some, as fairly fundamental (I don't wish to over-egg the seriousness, well aware no offical notice and allowed to continue to operate in the interim etc. but SMS and training records seem fairly fundamental to me).

Absolutely none of that can be laid at the door of any perceived lack of candour from JJP, not least which because he's only been in post for what, a month or two?

You and other members of the public do not need to know every single step made. As a supporter of the railway I'm delighted to hear that such a meeting was held, it certainly instils a bit of confidence that things might be changing. It sounds like it could have been slightly better publicised, but that's something to bear in mind for next time, not a reason to moan about the well-intentioned idea. I'm especially pleased that I and others have been kept in the dark about it, hopefully this will start to see a gradual change of WSR internal affairs becoming just that, just like on any other railway. The WSR is not the only railway to have had recommendations from the ORR, but I've never noticed demands above and beyond what your chairman has already done, in my view that is perfectly sufficient for all but volunteers and staff, who should be more closely involved for practical reasons.

 

Once again, whatever the answers to these questions are (and some of them are important questions to ask, some are downright unhelpful) I see no reason to make them public. Again, how often do you hear of this happening on other railways? It does of course, but it's kept low-key, as it should be.

 

The Chatham House rule (there is only one rule) is that what was discussed can be discussed, but the speaker(s) and their affiliation(s) can not be identified.

What was said can be said. Who said it can not be said.

https://www.chathamhouse.org/chatham-house-rule

Ironically, the point of it is to allow people who are members of an organisation to voice opinions that are not those of the organisation without fear of recriminations and thus aiding free speech and discussion.

 

Why should I? Or don’t you believe in freedom of speech? This is the harsh reality. How about you giving a coherent argument rather than just naysaying?

 

How about remembering that freedom of speech does not give the right to short “fire” in a crowded room?

Confidentiality and it’s little cousin, discretion, have a legitimate place. The railway’s management have chosen to adopt that approach as they make what seems to be a serious go at addressing the recommendations from ORR. Do we need to know more of the details?

As a non volunteer supporter, I see no right to know more - I certainly didn’t get anything substantive from the GCR after either the runaway of 37198 or the derailment of 46521. As a (the?) whistleblower, I can see why you may wish for more, but I’d suggest that private contact and quiet requests might be more productive than intemperate demands on a public forum.


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I do wonder sometimes whether some of those who are constantly demanding X,Y and Z from the current WSR management really care about their railway and maybe whether they are being influenced by those who were removed after the series of EGM's.
No other railway has had this sort of exposure.
Look at the MHR for examples. They have had their issues over the years and the staff (paid and volunteers), the management and members have knuckled down and got on with getting their railway back to a better place. Shame that cannot be said for some on here.
If you really care about your railway give the new management time and support as by constantly "slagging" them off on here does not help and it is SH1T that they don't need. They need to concentrate on their roles to bring their railway back to a better place. Also the rest of the staff need our support and encouragement and not to be dragged down either.

So I request that we give the WSR a break, let them get on with what they have to do and if you have any issues please don't post it on here...... Thank you.

 

You are confusing the WSR PLC and the WSRA. It was the latter that went through turmoil and I was a strong supporter of those who campaigned for reform. To suggest that I am influenced in any way by the EX6+1 is quite ludicrous. Being open with the supporters would take minimal time or effort and would not impinge in any way on the management’s efforts to put matters right. I don’t think that the WSR will flourish unless, and until, those who created the mess are removed. Getting the many supporters on side requires openness. Sadly a direct request for information remains unansweredunanswered. Good PR is not an optional extra for any organisation.

 

Freedom of speech does not confer a right to be constantly updated on every single issue. Your near constant somewhat bullying "requirements" come across as if they were from someone who has a particular personal issue with the WSR, or parts of it. As such they look rather like a one person campaign.

 

I am not confused about anything but was referring to the WSR as a whole.
Did I mention you? No I didn't.

Anyway lets give the management and staff time to bring the railway back on an even keel.
And that's more important than anything..

 

It’s a staff briefing. Would you expect to receive details of every staff briefing in every company in which you owned shares? That would be ludicrous.

Just accept that in running any enterprise, there will be messages and briefings and documents that are important for those involved in the direct operations, and which are of no relevance to anyone else. A heritage railway is no different in that regard.

Tom

 

Some of this - if of course it is the case is personnel information and as such must remain confidential.

At least one railway and one loco owning group have got into big big trouble over this sort of issue & it was only the forbearance of those libeled that prevented the WSRA from a similar fate

 

Or, if you suddenly start piping out all the information to everybody, you end up spending more hours dealing with the raised question than actually fixing anything that may be wrong. If a supporter like yourself believes in the railway, then they should trust the railway to get on with it. There is no point in going for a witch hunt as to who hasn't done their job otherwise you'll end up having to get new people in to the posts before you can fix the issue - they then have to learn the role before they can ensure things are done correctly. So what you are actually doing is creating more harm than good!

Leave the various parties to it and I'm sure, in the course of time it will work out just fine.