West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I am still watching both cameras on Railcam

 

I have now spotted the problem. I hadn't looked outside the station before. Surely a small repositioning of the cam would solve the issue if in fact one exists.

 

I had occasion to call on the WSR Commercial Department this morning. There will NOT be a dining option at the WSF.



WSR Commercial Manager Mark Hill hard at work on the Commercial Office whiteboard - the centre of WSR Commercial Operations. ‘Quite by chance’ (!) he is pointing at the record that revenue was up by 6% and passengers by 4% on 1.11.18 with more good news likely to come from Santas.

 

Those increases will be good news, indeed, for WSR supporters. The PLC, I believe, is heading in a different direction now, less influenced by some of the destructive forces of the past that have affected the line and its perception. I get the impression that the WSR will be somewhat different next year than it has been in the past. Time will, of course, tell!

 

Almost two million in income - good news indeed!
But without a context, what do those numbers really 'mean'?
Did expenses change by a lesser percentage?
There are other fascinating numbers on that white board - we could all make wild guesses what they 'mean', too.

I would not expect any of this commercial data to be shared with this forum.

 

Quite worrying really, About the same as Swanage, with overall income at £3 million.

Considering that Swanrail is struggling to make ends meet with a 6 (sometimes 10) mile line, I am concerned for this brilliant line.

 

Indeed - 6% up on what? On the prior year? On budget? Without context it is meaningless noise, of the sort that sensible businesses generally don't release via an unofficial photo of a whiteboard.

 

These are figures for 2018 v 2017, which the WSR Commercial Manager was happy to make public. I asked specifically. They represent hard work by a number of folk and are a specific counter to some of the WSR doom and gloom some individuals are happy to spread.

Perhaps we could celebrate that achievement rather than moaning constantly?

The other figures represent no more than capacity management on Santas, so nothing of deep confidentiality.

A little less ‘headless chicken’ and more ‘Christmas Turkey’ folks...

Robin

 

Williton is very busy this evening.

 

This is Nat Pres though, lets be as negative we can despite not knowing the full facts

 

At least things are now being put in place to turn the downward trend around- not without time as the Wsr has been its own worst enemy fir some years now. It will take time and a lot of hard work, I’m guessing infrastructure repairs are going to swallow up any profit fir a few years, 23 miles is a heck of a lot to upkeep.
As a comparison, the Gwsr, in 2016 did 1.7 million with 100,000 passengers. Looks like 2018’s record year will be around 140,000 with similar increases in takings. Wishing the Wsr all the best in there endeavours to get back to where they should be.

 

I think you speak for many of us. I have kept out of this thread as I know neither the personalities nor the issues. However, I have visited the WSR on a number of occasions and have felt sad that this lovely line has been through such a hard time in recent years. It has so much going for it - scenery, decent gradients, attractive stations, good locos, a decent length run and some very friendly., welcoming volunteers. So much potential. I wish the best to all those involved in trying to heal the wounds and turn the corner.

 

Some may say " if you've seen one Manor you've seen them all " just choose black or green . Tin hat fitted .

 

Some more than others.

 

The figures look good! So does the Bishops Lydeard cat! Nice to see a picture of her on WSR.org. Although we don't volunteer at BL any more we often look out for on the webcam.
Happy Christmas to all of you. Joyce and Keith

 

Not this one, surely?



Tom

 

Lovely looking loco, but is there more than one of them?
If not, then if you've seen on you've seen 'em all.

 

It was more the comment about "just choose green or black"...

I guess you could consider Wainwright P class - four preserved, available in multiple colours including blue, and some are individually available in multiple colours

Tom