West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Agreed, and the correct place for a shareholder to ask that very legitimate question is at the AGM of the WSR plc. Fred is completely correct in his assertion in my view.

 

It's a matter of confidence, though, isn't it? The WSR has become renowned for its mega-galas and look at the financial position it has ended up in. On the one hand you have the railway launching a 250K appeal to buy new rail, and on the other potentially frittering it away on a gala event that looks as though it would have to do phenomenally well to break even. The impression being given is that nothing has been learned.

 

Dont forget that the 66 xxx are air only. The SVR hired in a rake of Mk3s for air brake only workimgs

 

As we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the re-opening of the West Somerset Railway. It is perhaps important to remind ourselves of the amazing work carried out by the enthusiasts at that time.

For this reason I would like to draw attention to the photo by Don Fraser on Mr Edge’s excellent web site. (http://cgibin.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?h=Latest+pictures&t=pics)

When we see these loco’s so beautifully maintained and turned out on our Railway it is also good to see the condition from which they were rescued.

 

I will be a little provocative here I suspect, but yes I think you are wrong to want to keep the politics out of the public. The antiseptic of daylight is precisely what is needed to keep driving forwards. Secrecy and back room dealing is what got the WSR into a mess. Of course there is a balance, and I support the BoD being given chance to explain and to make change. They must feel compelled though to continue to be open, and forums like this help to ensure that happens.

 

I'm afraid that you have no chance of keeping the discussion to loco operations. This is a discussion group and is no different from a group of people talking in the pub. The only difference is that those taking part don't have to be standing next to each other. Like any discussion, even in boardrooms, the topic will wander and it will require a very good chairman to keep it on track. That's life.

 

For a railway to Operate it requires effort from all different departments not just one narrow little part.

So therefore any department can rightly have input into operations.

 

There have been several other lengthy threads concerning non-operational issues on the WSR, most recently this one, but that and I think one other (regarding the attempted track path purchase) have been closed.

I personally would be happy to see a 'WSR Non-operations' thread, and would help encourage people to keep non-operational material there, but as long as this is the only open WSR thread, it's inevitable that non-operational material will show up here.

The politics inside the WSR have been a large factor in the line's troubles, so it's inevitable that a serious issue in one of the largest and most important heritage lines will be of public interest. Furthermore, as pointed out by others, poor decision-making brought the line to the brink of insolvency, and since its problems are a long way from solved (in particular, the overall 'business model' in place since the line's forming cannot generate enough money to maintain its infrastructure, and there's no clear, wide acceptance of a new structure which can), public oversight of the decision-making, etc are necessary going forward if the possibility of that being repeated is to be definitively avoided.

Noel

 

There are a couple of transport forums I know where if there are non relevant posts, they are either deleted or a new thread created. It`s all down to the moderators.
But here, unless there is personal abuse anything goes.

 

2019 Diesel Gala - timetables and allocations now available. Usual places.

Steve
(apologies for thread drift )

 

So do the following thought experiment (and this could apply to any heritage railway; it's not WSR-specific):

1. The railway has infrastructure issues that it mitigates by imposition of temporary speed restrictions
2. The TSRs have an adverse impact on time keeping to the point that the railway has to adjust its timetable to maintain a reliable service.
3. The railway implements a track replacement programme with the aim of bringing the infrastructure back to a better standard.
4. To pay for the programme, which is beyond the level that revenue can support, the railway launches a fund raising appeal
5. Before donating, potential donors feel the need for assurance that the railway has robust management and governance procedures to allow it to properly carry out a programme that may, over the course of a few years, run to a seven figure sum.

At what point do you think that the discussion is no longer about operations but has strayed into politics?

Resources (money, people, space, skills, materials, equipment) are at the heart of everything that happens on a heritage railway. Ultimately, you cannot have a sensible discussion about operations without considering the resources that are (or aren't) available, and how wisely (or not) they are being deployed. My feeling is that, to a great degree, many railways are currently struggling because for too long they have tried to deliver a level of operations that is more ambitious than the available resources will sustainably support.

Tom

 

Fantastic well done WSR. Nice to have it for free.

 

I'm sure that they would appreciate a donation for it, though, however small. Or large.

 

3 day rover ticket is enough thxs

 

Double headed Hymeks
Double headed Rats
Double headed Cromptons
Double headed EDs
Class 37 + 14

Gonna be an epic gala

 

Off topic but what has happened to the proposed GWR shuttle from Taunton to BL?

 

I understand that that final details are being discussed and it will be running in time for the summer peak.

 

Whilst I do not disagree with your questions I do not accept that this thread is THE forum to discuss them. IMHO these are the consequences of decisions taken by the Board of Directors (BoD) hence the correct forums are the AGM (EGM if appropriate) and the only persons involved should be the membership that elected the BoD personnel. There is a difference between the decision makers / takers and the customers and I feel that this thread should be for customers and their legitimate concerns about the operations of the railway in providing the advertised / timetabled services; any concern regarding how both the service and standard of service is provided is within the remit of the BoD and therefore should be the concern of the BoD and those who elect its members.

I well recall the public interest in the problems of the Ex-6 due to their intransigence but that IMHO became a public matter because their actions had consequences OUTSIDE the WSR hence the interest of the media including enthusiast magazines and the BBC. In that context the situation became an exception to my view that BoD matters should remain confidential within the BoD and its electorate but AIUI the current BoD is taking action within the WSR that does not require wider public involvement. The public reaction will be identified through the income stream inasmuch as continued support will show support for BoD decisions and decreasing income will show the reverse. Note that this applies to any heritage line - not just the WSR - as customers have the power to accept or reject the service being provided.

If you disagree with my analysis then ask yourself these simple questions;

1. As a non member; if you demand the right to be consulted about every BoD decision do you demand the same right to be consulted about every DfT / government decision in relation to franchises ?
2. As a member do you want non-members to be consulted about BoD business or retain the right for these to be discussed between members and the elected BoD only.

As a final point I presume that the BoD has established relevant Operating Departments to provide the appropriate services (including support services) required to meet the advertised level of service and it is for these Departments to challenge any BoD decisions as reflected by the appropriate changes in income; IMHO this thread should therefore restrict itself to concerns raised by the actions of these Operating Departments thus meeting this thread title of West Somerset Railway Operations.

 

If this were a forum under the aegis of the WSR, I would agree - and is the pattern of at least two railway-specific discussion groups or fora that I belong to, not connected with the WSR. It is not, and the fact that it generates such interest suggests two things to me:
1. That there are significant challenges on the WSR that people think worthy of discussion; and
2. That the WSR is acting as a microcosm of issues facing preservation as a whole, and the discussion is often a reflection of those wider issues.

The WSR suffers this attention because of the Ex-6 and the successful used to dislodge them means that the workings of the railway are subject to unusual levels of external interest.

I note that those around the railway are now observing a self denying ordinance around commenting on internal matters here; one that I hope (despite some suggestions to the contrary) reflects a developing unity and improving working relationships within both the WSR Plc and between plc and linked organisations.


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