West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Whose fault is that then?
It is up to folk like you to tell others what you are doing to constructively maintain the line.
But, this thread - and its WSR predecessors - have consistently character assassinated some people, engaged in frequent infighting and self promotion, so is it unsurprising at the re-action from many looking at what they read as a recurrent catastrophe at the most or a joke at the least.
Another WSR web site does usually give interesting events about the line, but that is not totally relevant to this thread.

 

After his Long March will he be publishing a little red book entitled “The Thoughts of Chairman Jon?

 

View attachment 42181 Sundays BL PW pics....

 

A statement following the weekend meeting has now been posted on the WSR plc website:

https://www.west-somerset-railway.c...ks-them-in-at-pre-season-stakeholders-meeting

Robin

 

The rules on disposal of creosoted sleepers have been relaxed in recent times and you can now sell them on for certain uses. They are classed as hazardous waste at end of life, however, and must be disposed of accordingly. Hence, you can't simply burn them.

 

My thanks to Mr Jones Pratt for this interesting statement. I look forward to the more detailed account of Saturdays meeting which he has promised to publish soon.

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk

 

If you know where to look, there are WSR-maintained flower beds with passenger trains operating from the platform every day in March!



(Hard work by the Bishops Lydeard Station gardeners.)

 

It seems strange that a railway that has been running as long as the WSR needs to urgently update it’s safety, training, competence and operating systems. Has no-one been keeping up with modern legislation? The phones of a number of people in the preserved railway world have been overheating from receiving calls for help and advice from the West Country.

 

I would of thought that was the job of the General Manger to be up to date on all matters regarding, Safety, Training, Competence and Operating Systems and take a lead as necessary.

Ed

 

For [Insert your deity here]'s sake, the new management team barely had time to warm their chairs before the ORR walked in (that must have been nice for them) and they are evidently working on/to a plan to turn things around.
How about giving them a chance?

Ah, I forget, this is the WSR thread, home of the keyboard warriors.
Oh, and FWIW, I would cheerfully say that to your faces in a pub before walking away to leave you spluttering into your pimms.

 

With respect, it does seem strange that, apparently, so many of those problems are having to be sorted out now. The GM has been there for how long? I have been involved in railway preservation and am actually aware of just how much stuff has to be learnt and carried out correctly. I fully appreciate that the Directors of the Company have played "musical chairs" but I thought you had the continuity of full time staff to look after the day to day running of the railway and all that entails. I am genuinely puzzled that these problems have arisen.

It is, of course, good to hear that rapid progress is being made.

Ed

 

Playing devils advocate, I would think that the WSR had all these systems in place. The problem can easily become one of what one person thinks is satisfactory, another one doesn't and if that second person is from HMRI, you have a problem. I am aware of a railway which has had such systems for years, well before The Transport & Works Act and ROTS/ROGS, but failed to keep up with what was now expected until the eventual visit. It is not unusual.

 

I have to question if this is a sensible comment at a time when the railway needs as many friends and donations as possible.

Let's hope that the WSR can return to the days when it was such a magnificent and successful railway. <BJ>

 

When is the 40th gala please, can find no mention on wsr main site

 

In a large organisation you have staff whose sole job is to keep on top of regulatory & compliance arrangements, something a small organisation doesnt have.

 

Any heritage railway that does not keep on top of regulatory & compliance arrangements can expect to be on the receiving end of a visit and advice from the ORR. It matters not if the organisation is large or small, or whether the staff are paid or volunteer, the same regulations apply to all. The ORR are specifically targeting heritage operators with a view to remind them of their responsibilities under the ROGS regulations.

Andy

 

To be fair, the ORR didn't order an immediate shutdown, which it would have done if the railway was dangerous or being run in a dangerous manner. While it is necessary to impose high standards for safety on any railway that carries passengers, and it is clear that the management is taking its obligations seriously, the WSR was not exactly dangerous at the time of the ORR visit. After reading the summary of last Saturday's meeting, I feel confident that the WSR is in good hands.

 

I'm surprised that infrastructure issues can be sorted out for only £140,000. You don't get much for that sort of money these days.

 

I don’t think it said issues had been sorted out; the report said that much had been invested in renewals, “with even more spending on it needed every year from now on just to stand still.” So clearly that £140k is the beginning, not the end of the necessary investment.

Perhaps more interesting was the comment that further necessary investment of £500k per year is needed. Which seems to be a recognition that, in common with most other similarly sized railways, the revenue alone won’t cover the costs of renewal work.

Tom