West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I dont know what drugs they were on to write that but can I have some.........................

 

Have to agree that the top left corner of Wales can receive much liquid sunshine. But I was there in June last year for the FR Hunslet 125 event, when the sun came out with a max well into the 30s, and TV reported that Porthmadog was the warmest place in the UK. Fortunately Spooners at the Harbour Station had good supplies of chilled liquids to help survival.

By the way, this was in complete contrast to the SVR SSG in March last year, when there was six inches of snow at Kidderminster by the Sunday morning. The first train of the day was booked non-stop to Bridgnorth, but was held for 30 minutes at the Safari Park while frozen points at Bewdley were dealt with. However the larger park animals provided some unusual shots while they ran around and foraged in the unfamiliar white stuff. Further north there were ice chunks coming down the Severn. The usual fishermen gave it a miss, but the hot coffee at Bridgnorth was really welcome.

 

And so were the real log fires in the waiting rooms, but despite that my feet still didn't defrost until the middle of the next day! Worth it though, looked great in the snow.

 

In response to your query I use many media to check what's going on - but specifically the media that reports on those railways. I make time to read NatPres every day to keep up to date with the Heritage Happenings, read both Steam Railway and Heritage Railway for steam info, read Today's Railways UK for modern traction and am a subscriber to Railway Herald. From snippets gleaned from these magazines I then go to the website of the particular railways to glean further info.
As an example I am aware that 60163 Tornado is pencilled in to do the Forth Circle in August hence I will now be looking to fit this into my August plans which will include a visit to Bo'ness. I also have family connections with the Swanage Railway hence am looking to make a visit during the Flying Scotsman visit although this has come with shorter notice.
In terms of the WSR I have been involved with the DEPG in the past and continue to monitor their activities hence my interest in the WSR and my visits to the line when I am in the area. Whilst not monitoring all the events I keep a check on an infrequent basis to see if there is anything that might attract me outside my family holiday commitments but - to date - all I see on NatPres is details of the internal squabbles that are weakening the value of this line for which I once had high hopes of success. My most memorable piece of WSR publicity is that engendered by the episode of "Some Mothers Do Have Them" in which the hapless Frank Spencer had problems with a Hymek-hauled train at Minehead station when looking to become a Parliamentary Candidate - but that was some time ago and was arranged through a DEPG member in the first instance IIRC.

 

Here you go.
Minehead becomes a through station with an arrival in the main platform and in the next sequence a departure from the bay to give the impression that the train is still heading in the same direction!
Park Royal DMU in red with speed whiskers (I always liked that interpretation of the WSR house livery) and the hymek with D+EG branding.
Railway action from 26'30".




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I was at Arley on the Saturday; my primary memory is looking out of the window at the falling snow wondering if I would get my car back up the lane again at the end of the day!

 

Meanwhile there is plenty of practical stuff going on currently on the WSR as well illustrated here: http://cgibin.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?h=Latest+pictures&t=pics

 

Thanks @fred. I think I misunderstood your earlier posting. I thought you were saying the Swanage/Bo'ness were doing something in your local media to make non-enthusiasts aware of them.

Steve

 

We're talking about the WSR here , not the NYMR. The point I was making is that journey length is not necessarily a deterrent to travel. FWIW I think the NYMR has gone too far down the commercial route and is in danger of losing them altogether but that is a different discussion. The WSR undoubtedlly needs to find a hook to bring people back - how about tying up with a boat owner to operate combined services? - and to do that it really needs to work out why it has lost them in the first place!

 

Simple questions:
Does the WSR know who their current audience is?
Have they any idea where the holes are and are they tryng to plug them?
I've got the lurgi at the moment so have been looking at the Internet. Putting in West Somerset Railway brings the official site at the top. However, what do I see but a very conventional picture of a train. I scroll down and the next thing to hit me is a photo of cream tea. Where are the photos of mum, dad and the family enjoying themselves? They are there but you have to hunt for them. The Middleton Railway recently came runner up in the Visit Yorkshire small attractions category..What let us down was the website:"great for enthusiasts but not so appealing to families." That can be applied to many heritage railways, not just Middleton or the WSR.
After the official site came Steve's unofficial one. Its fantastic for anyone with any interest in the railway but not for Joe Public. Perhaps there should be a banner redirecting them? If there is I failed to spot it.
Wiki came next on the list, followed by the WRSA site. Great for the association but again, no apparent link to the railway's official site.

 

I don't fundamentally disagree with you, Roger. The NYMR has become quite commercialised. I'd say it has had to do that to survive. You only have to turn the clock back three or four years to see the parlous state it was in. The WSR is in a similar position now.. I'd say the WSR is still largely an enthusiasts railway. It can stay like that and slowly wither or become more commercialised. Of the two I'd say the latter is the best one, even though its not what many will want.
Of course, a couple of £1m legacies would soon alter the balance of things!

 

I don't have a problem with commercialisation, but I do think it is possible to improve the heritage offering at the same time. It would take an adjustment rather than a fundamental change. Places like Beamish manage to do so very well after all. One of the probelms the WSR faces, and why it needs an overhaul of its structure, is that most folk are unlikely to leave a legacy to the PLC, and money left to the WSRA cannot necessarily be channelled to where the PLC needs it.

Anyway, enough from me - I'm off to the Harz for a week for some largely unspoilt everyday steam!

 

Thanks for the feedback. Always helpful.

Steve

 

Steve,

Apologies if I've misunderstood this statement, but at the foot of the home page on Steves website there is a link that takes you straight to the home page on the WSR official website.

 

If they turned the company into a Community Interest Company that could improve the chance of being left a legacy.

 

That's really the point. If it is not at the top you have to start searching. If I'm Joe Public scanning through looking for information and don't t realise I've got the wrong site, you've lost me. I do wonder if the front page could be a mirror of the official site with all the necessary links. Just my thoughts and others will have theirs some of which will be far better, I'm not a website developer, just a user.

 

No thank you!

 

I quite agree, yesterday I had a drive up the M5 to have a day on 75069. Many non enthusiasts on the train were talking about the short film the local BBC had shown. Great way to attract additional passengers.

 

There has been a lot of publicity in the past but of the wrong sort, usually about personalities, rather than promoting the line.

 

New attraction for this summer?