West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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Is the Queen a fully paid up member of the Branch Line Society - she seems to end up getting to traverse some rare track quite often!

 

Perhaps she should be offered honorary membership?

 

Just be grateful Prince Philip wasn’t driving ...

Tom

 

It is not that complex IMHO. Whilst the PLC runs the railway working members must belong to the Guarantee company and whilst working are treated as if employees of the PLC. The Guarantee company hold shares in the PLC.

 

At the moment they are!

 

I know it works very well Dave - and it's been simplified in recent years with the Guarantee Co absorbing the SVR Association.* The HLF grant is evidence of that.

My point was more that people sometimes say the WSR is dysfunctional due to structural complexity - but as there are successful railways with more complex structures, then if that is the case, this cannot be the whole explanation.

* in Association SVR rules only the keeper can pick the ball up, whereas under the Guarantee SVR code you score 4 points for a token exchange, or something like that. I'm not a sport person.

 

But she has to put up with the same locos for haulage every time - she must be clocking up mega mileage with those two!

 

Europhiles must love the locomotive livery.

 

When I read stuff like this, combined with all the eye-wateringly frank accounts of what has, or has not, happened recently from the Chairman, one thing does strike me, why is the current GM (who I note is also a director of the WSR) still in post? Surely, many of the multiple failings should have been picked up by him, or did he do so, but was then ignored by the board? Do people on here think he is the right person to take things forward at this critical time?

 

I *certainly* don't think here is the place to discuss such a thing regardless!

On the structure complexity, as I've been one banging the drum fairly loudly, I'll say again, how complex it appears on the face of it is immaterial, it's whether each body has a defined and discreet purpose. Those on the SVR do, those on the WSR don't (and *please* no one bring up station groups, for the billionth time, I'm not talking about them!!)

 

Dare I suggest that mindset towards raising funds (in all its forms) has been the greater barrier for the West Somerset. Start looking at raising money and what you need to do to get your structure in order will become clearer.

Perhaps the background problem has been a lack of a coherent, agreed overall 'vision for the future' on which to 'hang' funding is the even more basic issue.....

Steven

 

Do you think she also moans about the 'box on the back' and being helped up banks..?

 

The locomotive for this weekend is now 53808 rather than 6960.

 

I would expect her to be fully appreciative of all forms of motive power and not not be biased towards one particular type, as she has to be seen to be neutral in all political views!

 

Though I notice in matters ferro-equine, she does at least have the good sense to count the South Western station as her local, rather than the Great Western one

Tom

 

You can bet the Duke has a strong opinion. Now back to WSR matters.

 

Some good news. <BJ>

''We have just heard from our Trusts and Foundations fundraiser that she has secured a grant of £10,000 towards the restoration of Small Prairie 4561, from the Swire Charitable Trust''.

 

I've alluded to this point, and also whether the GM deserves some allocation of culpability in earlier posts, but I think there may also be an element of a third factor - complacency. Comparing the level of ongoing PWay work over the past few years with that on other major, long lines suggests a real lack of progress in this area and it can't all be down to lack of funds as that's an area that has only arisen recently. Even now, JJP's statement said, I think, that they hoped to relay 30 lengths of 60ft rail next winter. I make that around 600 yards, or just over a third of a mile - at that rate it will take 60 more years to relay the whole line, and if it doesn't all need doing straight away it certainly will by then!