West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I believe that many here, who as volunteers on other successful heritage lines and who have or have had important roles do make some very good and constructive comments on this thread. I am sure most readers (non WSR?) perceive their posts as being helpful to the WSR. Many of them have good qualifications in what they do. Maybe you missed them?

 

Most of them (dare I say us?...) Seem to be on ignore lists these days...

 

Can you reduce that to a TLA, Colin?

Robin

 

Isn't it already a Three(hundred) Letter Acronym ?

(no, I haven't actually counted all the letters)

 

Many threads on NP from time to time move towards managerial and finance matters, not least because most railways face related problems. Ultimately, if a significant number of a railway's supporters don't engage in thinking about the organisational, operational and financial realities, there won't be a railway within a few years. You simply can’t separate operational and managerial matters. Want to know why the WSR could operate a Hall last year but not this? That’s an operational question that has its answer bound up in many years of managerial decisions - or indecisions. My hunch is that on many railways, too many people are somewhat blasé about the scale of the difficulties that lie ahead if we want to continue to enjoy the hobby on similar terms to now.

The WSR has also provided a case study in what happens if supporters forget that they have a scrutiny role in the actions of the railway's leadership - which isn’t meant to imply that those in Director / trustee type roles are inevitably malign, far from it - but to note that the strength of any railway lies in having a vibrant and engaged membership.

Tom

 

Feel free to set one up yourself.
It's not hard just click the button that says "Post New Thread"

 

I suspect it's neither 1 or 2, but rather a combination of both

 

I think one aspect of it is so many of the contributors here don't post elsewhere on the forum. So when they log on they feel that they have to post something, whereas those of us who have perhaps a broader interest usually find something else to witter on about on another thread.

 

Very definitely 2!

 

It has previously been posted, I think by @Jamessquared, that the WSR issues are a microcosm of the issues faced by railway preservation. As such, much of the “management” discussion is not just about the WSR but actually a broader discussion on the challenges of railway preservation in case study mode. Therefore, though items 1 and 2 are undoubtedly relevant, space must be allowed for 3.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

3. Imagine that the SVR or the Bluebell had had the same recent history as the WSR. Power struggles in the supporters organisation, the turnover of chairmen and directors, financial crises. Wouldn't their threads have as many posts, if not more? Doesn't mean all posts on this thread are informed or helpful, but the root cause of the interest is events on the railway.

 

In one way, the fact that these issues are discussed and dissected is I think healthy - that many seem not to have been addressed over the long life of this thread, clearly less so!

I think @Jamessquared is right that too many members of pretty much every railway (including the West Somerset, where those who post here are a small minority and clearly a number see no problems) don't consider important issues not just of planning and sustainability but also the underlying ones of governance. Railways (like most organisations) don't happen by 'magic' and much work to keep them going is not as visible as that which is.

The fact that we are discussing why the thread for a line which the Chairman of the Operating Company reports nearly went bust over the winter and which has had to arrange loco swaps because of the state of the track has a thread that isn't just about what is running, and that some of its most vehement supporters still view such discussions as 'trouble-making by outsiders who who don't understand' is perhaps the scariest thing - people still haven't 'got it', have they?

Steven

 

I can imagine the ex-6, viewing current developments, thinking to themselves that they were right to fight the PLC and try to take control of the whole shebang. That is not to say that I think they had it right; but Michael Rowe's coinage "Neroesque" seems apposite not only for some posts on here but for quite a lot of the management goings-on in the last few years. Some (many?) of the changes on the PLC Board may have resulted from someone shouting "Rome is burning" and someone else saying "Go away; I'm enjoying the fiddle music".

 

I wonder if there is a case for a standard report to be presented by all Heritage Railway boards each year which covers the sorts of 'sustainability' issues that have caused issues for the WSR?

I suggest that it may well help them face regulatory issues as well

 

"people still haven't 'got it', have they?"

I usually agree with much of what you say but this time I'm not sure this is the right take on things.

The problem for me, at least, is that there has been extensive commentary on the WSR and its structure, governance, organisation, management, finance etc etc with many postings being reprises of earlier ones. It all seems to have been worked to exhaustion, to the extent that I have been thinking of no longer following this thread.

Personally, I find the operational issues are of greatest interest, especially when illuminated by people who can contribute insider expert knowledge - such as those of "Aberdare". More of this, please!

Bill Knell

 

The W SR is unfortunate in that the issues with the WSRA brought, perhaps, a disproportionate number of people to this and the other thread.Then the issues that the WSR face represent the most public example of the issues faced by the wider world of railway preservation. It is there going to be difficult if not impossible for the W SR to sink back into obscurity on this forum.

 

Ok I'll bring home an "operational issue" that probably dogs all heritage railways.
Do you all remember those little signs from long ago that said "Do Not Flush the Toilet when the Train is Standing in a Station"
A lot of you will, no doubt know why the sign says this.
So there I am going underneath to un-couple just a few short hours ago when I hear the unmistakable rumble of the flush toilet. ..... and yes I did check the sign was still in place after my narrow escape.
I wonder if the perpetrator heard my "Thank You" echoing up the pipe?

Maybe not the sort of operational issue that some of you were asking for??

 

The problem may be that some passengers think that such signs are just there to recreate the past - all part of the "heritage" thing, and don't actually apply in 2019.