West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Only visionary if the considerable costs of putting on such an event are met by extra custom or sponsorship. One trusts they were but set up costs are the "Elephant in the room" for galas.

 

Nah, a growler is a reusable beer container for carry-outs, £3 a pop from Quantock Brewery (bear extra).

 

Hi Paul, what time frame are you. in the mid 50s the barn was filled with the local coal merchants unloading and weighing their coal. Grass was loaded into opens and tripped to the paper works usually with a pannier but often a 22xx. When the grass boat finished the main traffic was bedford vans in kit form in boxes. 2 16T minerals would carry a complete van in large crates. I cannot remember coal coming in by boat. Ken

 

Lol damn you auto correct

 

I think it was a reference to feeling like a bear with a sore head, the day after........

 

I guess this part of the post you selectively quoted from doesn't fit your "if it isn't a terrier with C19 carriages along a short bit of flat siding on an island stuck in the 1950's, it cannot be a success.

I suspect most others read F2G's post as a positive outcome, but oh, not Mr Grouchy Knickers.

Lighten up. Stop putting other people's efforts down, and perhaps you might not seem like The Grinch 99% of the time eh?

 

The answer is, as always, "get real". If an event, whatever its size and nature may be, is financially worthwhile, then whoopee, do it again. If the organisation is broadly in the black and can afford the odd loss maker which amuses its own active helpers and supporters to see run then okay. It is unwise to say the least, for a railway in financial difficulties to run a loss making event merely to keep assorted gricers at large happy.

A number of railways made losses last year, some significant.

 

It seems it made a profit. Looks like they "got real".
Seems that upsets 'ol Grumpy Knickers.
Why not celebrate a success, not berate it?

 

Where is the "berating"? If you read what I actually said it was if an event "is financially worthwhile then whoopee, do it again". Presumably you are in a position to compare the net figures with those for similar weeks without any special events

 

I haven't seen many sets of figures for last year so I'm curious to learn - which railways made significant losses last year (apart from the WSR, obviously)? Please enlighten us. To the best of knowledge this year is looking reasonably good so far, for some lines at least.

 

As examples, Bluebell and Swanage, with Kent and East Sussex also in the red but rather less.

 

The question surely is not the extent to which the railway is in the red, but how it deals with it.

Clearly in many cases this is by support from its supporters organisation, something that the WSR does not have on the scale that many other lines manage

 

deleted

 

Maybe it's were all the class 14's hang out.

 

Just to say that all of Swanage Railway Debt is held internally. No loans are currently outstanding to banks, the SRT supports the SRC with working capital through the winter months.
It would therefore be inaccurate to say its in the RED. Thats not to say its a wealthy organisation, far from it.

 

Technically the WSR plc's accounts for 2018 haven't been published yet (at least not to Companies House; maybe they have been sent already to shareholders). For 2017, the WSR made a profit (small, but a profit, not a loss).

That said, generally heritage railways don't start with the over-riding aim of making a profit (most contain some sort of statement in their accounts that any surplus they make will be re-invested in the railway); equally most have assets that depreciate slowly but are very expensive to renew. So I am not really sure profit is necessarily a good metric for making comparisons; at least not without also casting a really forensic eye on the long-term trend in condition of assets: are they generally getting better or deteriorating? Improving assets and a paper loss may well be better than deteriorating assets and a paper profit, at least provided there is a mechanism to ensure cash flow is maintained.

Tom

 

Hmm!

 

The WSR extended its financial year end to 31 March, so the accounts to 31 March 2019 will cover a 15 month period.

 

Quick question guys

Does anyone have a working /current email address to contact someone regarding volunteering as signalman please.

Tried using the one on the website but over a week later and no reply
Cheers

 

Is there an open date where one could see a signal box in action