West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Yep there is usually two or three for non dining

 

I think you will find that many, if not all, 'doubting Thomases' fervently wish for the WSR to be a roaring success. We (I assume I am counted in that crew, but I certainly wish the best for the line) are, however, mindful of past form that has put the line in a parlous state - close to going under recently, if the current Chairman is to be believed, and needing a small mountain of money from as-yet-unidentified sources for vital infrastructure work, going forward. Hence a certain level of caution and concern. I expect the line will manage to deal with all this, and be a success - but at the same time, caution and concern are, I think not just plausible, but vital; there is no room at all for over-confidence.

Noel

 

7752 lives at Tyseley and is going home after a period on hire to the WSR.

 

But there weren't any on the QB working on the Sunday of the 40th Gala which, unlike the Saturday evening train, wasn't shown in the timetable as being for dining ticket holders only.

 

I am not making a comment at Robin but rather a general point. Knowing the audience might help with some messages and avoid adding a further 10 pages of debate.

Perhaps the message should have been; with the great progress on 9351 we are now able to allow 7752 to returning home following a period of hire. We still need support to finish the overhaul, all contributors welcome.

 

Despite the thoughts of the odd moaner on here the railway works tirelessly to produce another exciting gala. From Thursday it's the turn of the annual Diesel Gala. <BJ>

https://www.west-somerset-railway.c...sel-running-days-on-the-west-somerset-railway

 

Well the trains have TTI's on them so they won't be on there if there wasnt tickets to check, and they have nothing to do with the dining part. So I'm pretty confident all is well for normal passengers
Supposed to be loco arriving by road Tues (25901) and arriving by rail Wednesday (73's)

 

That will keep the gricers happy then. Hopefully, there will be enough of them paying for tickets, food and shop items to keep the accountants happy as well.

 

I take the view that it's good enough if the event breaks even. The good will generated cannot be valued and those going home happy will be more likely to respond to the financial appeals.

Even better if the event makes a profit.

 

Breaks even as in event income equals event expenditure, or breaks even as in event income less event expenditure equals the expected daily profit for a normal running day at that time of year?

I agree that goodwill is extremely valuable, but if the extra effort and cost of running an event results in a reduction in the amount of hard cash available for investment in the railway, I'd be asking some hard questions. I see the same at work - "goodwill" is often cited as a reason to do expensive things, but starts to look very expensive when looked at properly in the cold light of day.

 

This was certainly true in pre grouping times but not on British Railways; I mean how stupid would BR have to be to rely on mixing paint by hand when they could have just bought the right colour in tins for a fraction of the price? It would have been impossible to have a corporate livery if every loco was a painted different shade. One reason why preserved engines vary in colour so much is because many restorers are in the habit of obtaining old paint samples from rusting hulks and then thinking they can replicate the original colour by getting some company to mix it for them which usually just means they match it to the nearest shade on their list, a process which is very often done by eye. You only have to look at old diesel locos fade with age to see why many enthusiasts actually believe there were different shades of Rail Blue which is a comparatively recent colour. Obviously paint will vary in colour depending on age and exposure to the sun and oxidisation but if different colours are used in the first place the errors will just be accentuated.

 

You are quite correct to state that Bristish Railways and some of the 'Big Four' sourced their paint from outside manufacturers. However, going back to the 1960's and earlier, not all manufacturer's paint was precisely the same for any given shade. There were always colour variations in batches of the naturally-sourced pigments, the way that it was milled, and the amounts added to the paint mix. There were also variations between paint manufacturers in the types of varnish they mixed in to form 'gloss' paints. It should also be understood that the final shade of the base coat can be affected by the type and number of coats of varnish that are applied. Copal varnishes in particular, can make the base colour quite a bit darker.

I have been painting and lining steam locomotives for almost fifty years, and if I have learnt nothing else, I know that the subject of liveries and paint shades must always remain subjective to personal predjudice, right or wrong.

Andy

 

Modern paints use different compositions and dyes to those used in days gone by so when newly painted and illuminated by non pure white light they'll look different anyway. I'm of the opinion that it's impossible to totally replicate the original characteristics of paint produced years ago so it's waste of time, effort, and money to get an exact match. Close is good enough.

 

Why do they hold road trafffic for so long at Blue Anchor crossing, the other day I counted 43 vehicles had been held up, I'd be very upset sitting there for 5 mins or more.

DJB.

 

Am I reading that right, GWR shuttle from Taunton for steam rally. Or is the DMU from BL to Rally site. Many thanks.

 

Many worse places to be stuck in traffic Dennis , without the probability of seeing an example of Swindon's best . I assume the BA signalman has heard the bell from the MH box then the BA signal man is obliged to give the right of way to the train from MH . I'm sure our esteemed barrister from Stogumber can answer more confidently .

 

Quite the opposite earlier this afternoon when I was watching on the webcam at Blue Anchor. Loco was heading up towards BL, and seemed to close and open very swiftly.

Ben

 

Clue ..….7822 is on its way to the WSR today...….the low loader returns with guess what tomorrow.

 

Yes saw her tender being moved up on Thursday just gone, was a delightfully odd consist to pass as Blue Anchor of a diesel and a tender.

It was my first visit to the WSR in several years and I was very impressed. The stations looked like everything had had a clean and repaint. Trains very, very busy for a term time Thursday. Lovely stuff.