West Somerset Railway General Discussion

It might be tempting to reply in kind but I think that when the level of debate has descended to insults (people with pretty impressive CVS are “goons”?) then it’s time to go and leave NP. Goodbye.

bill knell

 

In Somerset ..... ? No

On the WSR, YES.

 

Back in the days when I was slaving along in lower/middle management for several large companies most of them had a fairly common set of offences which would make an individual liable for serious disciplinary action, one of which was always along the lines of "Bringing the Company into disrepute"...
While some might say that has been the situation for quite a while it's generally only been on here. Now the steam press have brought it to the attention of the general public and I can easily imagine what the reaction would have been in those companies in a similar situation. The midden would have definitely hit the windmill - with all sorts of directives from 'on high'. But what do you do when the problem appears to be with those 'on high' themselves?
Well, company policies and procedures apply to everyone in a company as I'm sure our learned friends who deal with employment issues would confirm. So why no action?

Oh, hold on... Hasn't someone on here already said something along the lines of - the companies HR policy is that they have no policy or procedures???

Only in Somerset...

Such a shame.

 

I have avoided NP for quite a while because this thread had become a soapbox for those individuals affected to air their grievances.

The bottom line is that without this hard medicine the patient would have died.

 

As opposed to being on here which one might refer to as a 'specialist' forum it is in the open, on newsagents shelves for anyone to browse and read and other news media to highlight if they wish. I'd consider that to be open to the general public.

 

To a degree I would agree with you, but most of us when we write our CVs tend to emphasise the positives and play down the negatives. When the Chairman was first appointed some of us expressed surprise that someone whose business had been reported to have reduced in size by the authorities for substandard maintenance then later had its licence revoked, and considered for disbarment on the grounds of lack of professional competence, had been invited to become Chairman of a railway at risk of being closed down for, inter alia, poor maintenance standards!

Under the circumstances, I'm not sure that goon is an appropriate term for him, but it certainly seems apt for those who invited him to accept the post. Perhaps they will eventually, preferably sooner rather than later, atone for their actions by thanking him politely and suggesting that he spends more time with his engines somewhere else.

What the WSR really needs right now is a clean out of the stables and some fresh blood in the form of a new chairman with the vision to be inclusive unite all the warring factions in the goal of stabilising the railway at first then moving it on.

 

Potential volunteers do though, as do potential donors.

Taking just the volunteer point - it’s often said the WSR has ~ 1000 volunteers. Let’s suppose the average lifespan of a volunteer is 10 years. (There will be plenty who have worked longer, but equally many who just do a year or two and then drift away).

That means you have to recruit 100 new volunteers per year just to stand still. So if even 10% of those potential new volunteers are dissuaded from offering their services, it is going to start causing issues - maybe not immediately, but cumulatively you will start to see difficulties filling rosters; certain important but non-essential maintenance tasks (cutting back the linesides; painting; building repairs) slipping; greater reliance on paid staff to do what previously were volunteer tasks etc.

So the perception is important - even if the bulk of passengers don’t read the specialist press and forums, the bulk of prospective volunteers are much more likely to do so.

Tom

 

As reported, their behaviour seems to support the epithet. These are not the tactics of those who are trying to build, but those of destroyers.

From afar, I see little that I would describe as vision or objective, but a fair bit of behaviour that seems unnecessarily destructive and frankly unpleasant. The surgery that's required to restore the WSR to health - and, like another poster, I do agree that some eggs need breaking to create the omelette - appears to be going to a point where it is being undertaken for it's own end, and as an exercise in power rather than cure.

While my opinion is coloured by posts on here, I have only to go back to the public announcement, cuckoos and all, by the WSR plc to form my judgment.

 

I do not have access to the patients notes. If it is part of the treatment that has so far been successful, then I trust the doctor that it is necessary.

I also know that recoveries are not helped by constant picking at wounds.

The patient is recovering. That is enough for me.

 

The patient looks pretty sick to me and most of the wounds seem self inflicted.

Be careful of trusting quack doctors or snake oil salesmen to cure you. It never works.

 

I repeat. The patient is recovering. There may be setbacks but the cure is working.

There is nothing worse than a relative thinking they know better than the doctor.

 

Sometimes - though I've met more than a few doctors who've been so focused on the original disease that they've lost sight of the underlying welfare of the patient. At the moment, the smoke signals emerging suggest an old fashioned form of chemotherapy is being used, where the side effects may be as dangerous as the original disease.

The WSR is more than just the Minehead branch.

 

That may once have been true but certainly isn't today when doctors rarely have full knowledge of a patient's history and are usually obsessed with short term targets but not long term health. Fortunately patients can refuse consent it seems WSR members and would be supporters don't have that luxury.

 

Is it possible to take analogies a bit too far sometimes?

 

Depends on whether the doctor is a quack or not doesn’t it?

It doesn’t take a genius to diagnose the problem when someone is standing in front of you with gunshot wounds to both feet and a sawn off in their hands.

 

@tracker as a matter of interest, is the newly appointed GM also a "goon" in your book?

 

Yes there is : a doctor who refuses to explain what they are doing or why, leading to doubts about their competence.
Continuing your analogy : In order to make a full recovery the patient is going to need the support of their family and friends. If these have not been properly briefed or have been treated with disdain the patient's welfare may well be compromised.

 

It is very sad that this is happening to such a lovely railway which I visit every year and may do for the Gala, virus permitting ( I am in the at risk category). Though tempting I am not sure a boycott would be appropriate as it simply deprives the railway of much needed cash. Something more drastic seems to be needed to solve the problems.

 

Although if everyone continues as normal, then the chairman will claim his decisions are justified.

Keith