West Somerset Railway General Discussion

And there was a bus service between Alton and Medstead last year, was there not , not sure though if that was the timetabled stagecoach service , or a special service put on by MHR.
Busitutuion though tends to only be done if something had meant its not possible to operate a scheduled service, i'm not sure the WSR situation fits into that category.

 

I guess most who read the publicity from heritage lines are able to distinguish between positive, upbeat information and baloney!

 

Good question! The WSR has a long history of "bustitution" ie replacing train services with buses (or minibuses or even taxis) Usually when a DMU failed or sometimes when the steamer ran out of steam These upcoming events could be the first time the WSR has offered a bus but no trains.

Yes it is disappointing the WSR is not able to restart train services but considering the obstacles (there are several) I would not say it is "galling".

Steve

 

An update from the group behind the petition has been sent to all signatories today. It is freely available on change.org here

https://www.change.org/p/west-somer...=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs

 

Has anyone seen an appeal for people who can wield a spanner and fit fishplates while social distancing ?

Nope, me neither.

 

Which is end of 2018 & into 2019. Lets say up to March 2019, which is the year end.
Well fully half/3 of the current board were appointed after then.
JJP, MLS, MHB were the only directors from April until December 2019 (were FMC & PWC around or not?)


Surely the Chair has got more than a full-time job running his own businesses, so when is there time for the WSR?

MLS would be busy with the 5/6 other boards he's on.


The S&DRT Notice to Quit was issued when there were only 4 plc directors.


Does anyone consider the WSRplc to be an example of good governance?
As an example, UKA affiliated clubs have 4 named committee roles that they must fill.

 

My reply to the WSRA Petitions inbox, chairs of the relevant organisations & Councillor Rigby

Dear Sirs,

I am pleased to see that a response has been made to the petition on Change.Org, I am a signatory.

It is disappointing to see however that no action has been taken to withdraw that Notice to Quit served on the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust at Washford.

The incident has done little other than to bring the railway into disrepute.

As has no doubt been pointed out many times, the situation on the West Somerset Railway is critical, however in order to raise money the line needs to demonstrate that it has the capacity to survive, and that money will be used wisely.

Not only has the issue crystallized doubts that many, myself included have about the management of the railway and associated organisations and the ability of the line to survive, but I do not wish to make a donation to a Railway if it is to be used directly or indirectly to fund an unnecessary and avoidable Court Case against another Heritage Railway organisation, rather than helping the WSR to survive.

Withdrawing the Notice to Quit would both demonstrate a desire to change by the wider WSR family and remove an obvious obstacle to fund raising.

Yours Faithfully

 

I note a line in post 27508 by John of Wessex, that the line has been brought into disrepute. I believe it has been 'in disrepute' continually over the last few years.
First the wrangling - PLC v WSRA - over the freehold, then the Ex-6 Saga. The next crisis thrust upon the supporters of the WSR was the threat of insolvency followed by the unfortunate way the sale of 4110 was dealt with.
A short time later the ORR arrives on the scene and the line closes for a short while to commence remedial work (still on going I believe) and finally the eviction at Washford. Another ripple, along with the previous issues aired on televison and in the press, is the matter of the HPC money not being used in the way it was hoped.
Small wonder that not very much new money - from outside the WSR - has been forthcoming.
I feel sorry for the many people who have spent lots of their free time = and money in many instances - on the railway only to see it being the subject of so much bad publicity - and I don't simply mean here on NP - sadly it is much wider than that.
One obvious thing missing is that many of those, who formerly stood up to be counted on occasions such as this, are noticeably quiet about it all.

 

Which considering they were stopped by money & not the shutdown, must make the originally planned opening very optimistic.

Could it be that the money spent issuing the S&DRT Notice to Quit also caused a fall in donations...

 

Well...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/938692759562654/permalink/2939508479481062/

 

Some people just don’t accept that reporting can be a neutral act.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I understand that is probably the real reason trains are not running, however it is not the reason being given by members of the WSR Plc board when asked in conversation

 

And indeed not reporting can be a biased act too! I think Steam Railway's reporting on the WSR has got better over the last few issues. Back in February when the Washford issue first emerged it was very poor, but to be fair the writers are probably used to just taking railway spokespeople at their word to a greater extent than, say, political journalists. It seems much roe robust now.

 

The WSRA haven't owned an operational loco for over a decade. They have never owned an operational loco that has been suitable for peak season traffic. They own the Hawksworth saloon, 4 QB vehicles, 5 TSOs and a BCK. So basically 1 rake of carriages for everyday use.
The WSSRT historic carriages have never carried passengers. Museum items do not operate the WSR.

Strange things to argue.

 

I'm not an expert in loco performance and capabilities, but from a factual perspective I would argue that 4561 - when first restored to operational status - was probably quite capable of handling what was then peak season traffic (ie in the days before WSR became much longer).

 

There are two questions in the 21st century.
The first is the loading, and the second is the water capacity.
Hopefully Michael Rowe will be along soon to give us all the detail we need on this.

 

I was referring to 7-8 coach trains that have graced the line in recent years.

 

The letter to the railway magazine has probably increased their sales. I suspect many who are distant or armchair supporters of the WSR only get an alternative version of life on the WSR from such magazines. Like the writer says there are two sides to everything.