West Somerset Railway General Discussion

There are some simple ideas here: https://recyclenation.com/2015/05/6-natural-ways-to-keep-bees-away/

 

I've almost had that experience on PA equipped trains on UK heritage railways, it seems that there is a certain type of volunteer who if they see a microphone they just have to keep using it. And station staff can be afflicted by the same disease too.

 

Can’t they get rid of PA system at BL and replace with LED screens.

 

I'm pretty much in agreement with you, Tom. However, I did see one advantage when I went for a ride on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. The guard/whoever, kept telling us why we were stopping and doing this, that and everything else. Way OTT but I did note that, towards the end of the journey he mentioned the gift envelopes on the tables and asked people to put their loose change in them. From where I was sat I could see well down the coach and nearly everyone I could see reacted to the request and put money into the envelopes, which had lain empty up to that time.

 

Mea Culpa

I used to do the commentary on Balmoral when sailing down the River Avon many years ago

 

It seems to me that the WSR is quite appropriately re-creating & interpreting an historical experience.
There's no point in on-board PA systems, LED displays & so on because one can find those on Network Rail any time.
So I'd bring back card tickets & curled-up cheese sandwiches to make the journey authentic & memorable.

 

Possibly the next suggestion will be to demolish the station buildings at Dunster and replace them with a bus shelter. <BJ>

 

WSR is a Heritage railway not a GWR mess......

 

Go the whole hog, and recruit some suitably grumpy booking clerks - 'whadderyerwant?', to really recreate the good old BR past. Seriously, though,the thing that most puts me off modern train travel is the constant drivel on loudspeakers both on stations and in trains; it makes me want to shout, "shut the f*** up, I'm trying to talk to my friend."

 

The last time I was on Minehead station, about a year ago, I did notice plastic waste bins, notices attached with cable ties and lots of Phillips head screws. Sometimes it is impossible to be totally authentic but attention to detail is important else no one cares any more.

 

Donations to the WSR rail appeal creep up. News from the WSRA. <BJ>

Donations to WSR Rail Renewal Appeal exceed £70,000

The WSRA and WSSRT are pleased to announce that donations to the WSR Rail Renewal Appeal have now exceeded £70,000. Individual donations vary range from £5 to £8000 and the railway is very grateful for all of them. There are also donations from groups and commercial enterprises, demonstrating the important part the West Somerset Railway plays in the life of the local community as well as the wider heritage movement.

We’d like to especially acknowledge the donations made by friends and family in memory of Michael John Gay. Michael Gay was a steam and railway enthusiast and a long-standing supporter of the West Somerset Railway from its very early days. He retired to Loxton, near Weston-super-Mare, after a lifetime in the newspaper industry, finally becoming Managing Director of the then Bristol United Press, publishers of the Western Daily Press and Evening Post. His friends and family have made their donations to the WSR Rail renewal appeal in his memory.

The figures quoted for the appeal here and elsewhere on this website are donations received to date. Associated Gift Aid forms part of the original gift (unless otherwise specified by the donor) and will be added to the Rail Renewal Fund as and when it is recovered.

Please follow the link to our online donations page to make your donation https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/railrenewal2019

 

Maybe the PA systems could play steam chuffing sound effects to detract from the Hymek on the front?
This could operate in reverse at Diesel galas for those about to comment on this option.

 

That's a problem it can't be beyond the wit of man to sort out, e.g. have the blanks in a punched A4 sheet, retained just at the corners so that they can be pressed out. They could be pre-printed on the rear, too.

 

Today.

 

Although there is as of yet AFAIK no published current business/strategic plan issued by the PLC it has been often
stated by PLC board members that increased volunteer activity ( ie less paid staff ) will be a prerequisite to a
return to viable operability.

Two recent postings on this forum have addressed this subject ie No. 21217 from Mel Hillman and No.21318
from Frank Courtney. ( These have clearly attracted attention with 17 & 24 likes respectively )

Particularly aposite: Mel asked "How many new volunteers have been recruited by the WSRA since
it took over volunteer recruitment earlier this year ?"

Frank inter alia wrote "They ( volunteers ) will however require ( and expect ) a rather warmer welcome
than has been in evidence over the last year or two "

I am not aware that either of the two WSRA Trustees who regularly contribute to this Forum have commented.

In defence of the WSRA my understanding is that over 90% of WSR volunteers are employed by the PLC.
Also less than 50% of current volunteers are WSRA members. Under such circumstances I fail to see how
the WSRA can authoritively recruit volunteers for the PLC.

I do not know whether the PLC was glad to hand responsibility for volunteer recruitment to the WSRA or
the WSRA was keen to take on the role. Either way it was a mistake.

The WSRA should concentrate on growing its Membership ( as an aside new members often
subsequently become volunteers, but that is a bonus) and fund raising. The PLC should
operate the Railway which includes recruiting and managing( both sympathetically and
empathetically ) staff, whether volunteers or paid.

At the risk of being a "I told you so" this was spelt out in the WSRA Business Plan which was
prepared after consultation with the then PLC Board in 2016 . Not everything that happened
previously was wrong

Michael Rowe

 

Laser printers that support card of Edmonson thickness are few and far between, because fundamentally the mechanisms tend to require flexible material. As for having a partially-cut sheet, I'm sceptical, after seeing the results when people have tried to put an already-partially-used sheet of labels through a laser printer.

Inkjet printers can cope a bit better, but tend to be too slow to work very well in a busy booking office

 

Them and us is obviously still alive in deepest Somerset.

 

Edmondson tickets

Since the WSR have largely transitioned away from the use of card tickets, this may be an academic post.
But may I suggest this:
Those interested could get together & arrange a demo at Dunster, you could see what's involved in the production of Edmondson tickets.
Maybe the Autumn Steam Gala would be a good weekend for this.
Then, if someone has the time, energy & inclination, assemble a register of all the Edmondson printers in the country. I get the sense that there are at least a dozen or more.
Then find the sources for resources that go with them; card stock, font supplies, ink etc..
Then do the same for the date-stamp machines - there must be hundreds of these - presumably 10 or more on the WSR alone.
& assemble the results into a central database that could be accessed by Edmondson enthusiasts everywhere.
Maybe this exists somewhere, but I & others have yet to find it!

I'll start digging around, but I'm too far away to be any real use.

 

Not amongst those of us working to move the Railway forward.

Don’t expect long moaney post from us on social media. Or responses to such.

Robin

 

I sell tickets at Blue Anchor, and, just speaking for myself, I'm glad to see the back of Edmonson tickets. Even though I'm old enough to have learnt (and was actually quite good at) mental arithmetic, selling multiple tickets and also the end-of-day accounting process is so much easier now. If you come to BA and want an Edmonson ticket I'll give you a free platform ticket or even an infant's free ticket.