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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    It's odd, I draw a very different conclusion, knowing from a reliable source that what has been reported on here about the incident of the cheque is a mild version of the truth. I therefore suspect that the real fear of the WSR management is that their nature is being exposed to light, and that the desire of their supporters is to close down such discussions, in the hope of denying them oxygen.
     
  2. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    So you would be quite happy if the ex-6+1 were still in post? You think the ex6+1 were playing fair by disallowing votes and changing personal statements? IIRC everything that was done to remove the ex6 was done within the rules of the WSRA. I'm not sure why you see their removal as a bad thing.

    You've never come across a situation were one party makes life so difficult for another partry that they just give up and leave? I think most people will have encountered this in their lives. Remember this is supposed to be a hobby - there is no reason why someone should have to put up with being shouted and sworn at.

    I can't quite believe that you actually wrote that. Do you seriously believe that bullies are always older than the bullied party? Amazing.

    I don't believe anyone has ever stated that. His life made so uncomfortable that he left, yes. Dismissed, no.

    Most of what is discussed on here is based on statements from the plc/wsra/wssrt/sdrt so it's not rumour or supposition - some users might get a bit carried away at times, but so do a group of people having a chat in the pub.

    Are the mods not allowed an opinion? That's not very democratic of you. Or are they only allowed an opiniono if they agree with you?

    I think everyone wishes they would concentrate on the job in hand. In fact we've been saying that for months now. Still no signs of any action except to censor awkward questions.

    Keith
     
  3. John Palmer

    John Palmer New Member

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    At first glance such a transfer of the shareholding appears to be a straightforward way in which the WSSRT might stand aside from the warfare that besets the WSR. However, if @Lineisclear is correct in his belief that there is a legal defect in the arrangements by which the S&DRT's lease of Washford was extended then it seems likely that the the sub-leases to the WSSRT of the Blue Anchor museum and Bishops Lydeard goods shed granted by agreement made in 2017 are correspondingly defective, such is the similarity of that agreement to the one made between the plc and S&DRT in 2018. So whilst the negotiating leverage conferred upon the WSSRT by the shares it holds in its landlord is modest, I can understand why its present trustees might be loath to assign those shares to the WSRA and thereby forfeit such leverage.
     
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  4. 242A1

    242A1 Well-Known Member

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    Many of us here recognise that the WSR is not in a good place financially. If it were to close with the S&D Railway Trust still in place at Washford how would this event impact on the group? And would they be better to have moved elsewhere before the total collapse of the WSR came about?
     
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  5. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    I have absolutely no doubt that without the shareholding and the power it brings, the WSSRT would have come under the same pressure that the SDRT and 169 came under to 'cough up and get out'.
     
  6. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

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    The whole issue summed up in one sentence, its blindingly obvious for anyone on the outside that for reasons most of us are not party to the various factions appear entirely unable to ever work together and instead just want to maintain, and where ever possible extend, their little fiefdoms, ravenously going from one battle to anotheer.

    It happened with the WSRA and is now happening with the WSRT and time and time again its the same names cropping up prominent in the shenanigans, do they have the best interests of the railway at heart (who knows they probably think they do, they may just be seeking that elusive MBE), or do they just like power and the publicity that comes with it (its noted that whenever there is a story about the railway in SR, if its positive the source is named and very happy to chat, if its a negative its 'a spokesman'), but if they don't wake up and smell the coffee their legacy could just be to finally tip things over the edge and destroy what is a much loved resource for many.

    FWIW whatever the outcome of the latest skirmish, I can see nothing changing until those at the top, on both sides, just go away and think about what they are actually doing to the community.

    One other small matter, I only came back to this after the HRA posted the PLC statement on their Facebook page, which seemed to be something of a case of stirring the proverbial and hardly presenting the wider 'movement' in a particularly good light, but then again they also seem to have morphed into the official spokesman of the UK coal industry, but that's another matter.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
  7. baldbof

    baldbof Well-Known Member Friend

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    So very true. Well said!!
     
  8. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Is it just me or has the Plc statement on the WSSRT candidate trustees totally disappeared, I can't find it on Facebook or the main website? I can't remember if it was ever on Steve's website but it's not there now. Edit - I have checked, and it was never on the .org website, good on you Steve. Either they've thought better of it from a publicity point of view, in which case it is way too late for that, or its been pointed out that Plcs interfering in charitable trustee elections isn't wholly best practice. Either way, how many retracted press statements have we had now from this board? Can we expect a "clarification" press release imminently? Oh well, cue a few more pages analysing this particular move...
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
  9. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

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    The link to it is still on the HRA facebook page, but its a dead link.
     
  10. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    And quite what it was ever doing on the HRA Facebook page in the first place is worthy of consideration. Plus the WSSRT's Facebook page no longer redirecting their readers to NatPres, but retaining the quote and pointing to another link where you won't find that quote, I think it's fair to say that, if nothing else, the WSSRT having some new candidate trustees sent everyone into a bit of a flap.
     
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  11. jnc

    jnc Well-Known Member

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    So the hypothesis is that one 'member' of the WSR 'family' needs "leverage" against another? Some 'family'; I think I'd probably use a different term, though. Too bad Eugene O'Neill isn't still with us, it would take his talents to produce the next volume of the history of the WSR.

    Along these lines, I was pondering yesterday what the future of the WSR is likely to be. If the line doesn't totally fail in the interim, I reckon one faction will eventually completely defeat the other. One can predict that the losers will have to migrate elsewhere (indeed, some may have already formed connections with other lines, in case they have to bolt). More curious will be the outcome for the 'winners'; it would not be unheard of for them to fall out with another. The important question will be 'can the 'rump' WSR keep the line alive'? I guess we'll see.

    If they can't, as I previously observed, "to the vintage rail world, the [failure] of an entire, lengthy, preserved branch line, in a scenic setting to boot, would be an irreplaceable loss". [If so], we'll know exactly what to put up for its epitaph, though.

    Noel
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2020
  12. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    It is almost as if someone on the PLC board is also on the HRA board.
     
  13. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    And someone on the WSSRT board also has close links with the HRA.
     
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  14. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    The aftermath could be just as toxic as things are now, or sence might just happen, As i see it, it depends on who wins, lets assume the new trustees of the WSSRT win, remove the pro PLC trusties including the chairman, and conciliate both share holding's, at the next PLC agm, The board will be in danger of being replaced , as new people come to the fore, that would have two immediate benefits, a less toxic atmosphere and hopefully people working together to rescue the line and change it's fortunes, there will be fall outs from discarded x board members and trustees, some might want to take their toys away with them, but post the upheaval things might actually improve . But should the PLC prevail, then the only future will be one of everything is at the behest of the Chairman, which would be just about the worse possible outcome, as clearly only people who toe the company line and tug their forelocks will be welcome, The railway might even have a volunteer problem, if many leave for other railways, or are lost to the sector .
     
  15. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

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    And I wonder if the HRA senior management were aware of it and agreed for it to be posted?

    It's amazing how many interfering people and organisations have leapt on to the bandwagon of what is purely an internal WSSRT matter. I wonder if they realise just how foolish, self centred and, in many cases, ignorant they appear from a distance?
     
  16. nine elms fan

    nine elms fan Part of the furniture

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    Doubt it, like water off a ducks back. :rolleyes:
     
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  17. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

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    Sadly it is a case where many people do see it as a case of winning or losing rather than just natural progression (or evolving if you prefer.) If the Board of the WSSRT does change direction there may be more unified calls for a change of direction from the Plc board. But who is losing?

    Since when has the act of being elected onto a Board been a competition where getting elected and staying in power is more important that what they actually achieve while on the Board? If there is anyone on a Board who thinks that being deselected or replaced by another is 'losing' then I'd suggest that it shows that that person is more interested in their personal position and power than they are in the good of the organisation they allegedly support. Are those that don't get elected or those that stand down and who are not re-elected really 'losers' or just participants who, for whatever reason, were simply not chosen this time?

    And finally (for now :p) If there are people on a board who are frightened into claiming that the exercise of a democratic process is an 'attack' then those people need to recognise (though I doubt they would admit it) that it is their own poor performance, their own inability to deliver what their membership wanted and their own refusal to accept responsibility for this that has caused action to remove them. It is not an 'attack' it is simply the membership looking to improve the management - something that the individuals on any Board should be looking to do themselves anyway.
     
  18. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

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    Are you suggesting that they are all quackers...?

    Taxi.....
     
  19. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    I know that "But he started it" is the classic playground defence, and usually can be ignored, but in this instance as far as I can see it was the PLC that started most if not all of the disputes, and the other parties have only been reacting to that and trying to save the railway (or else, for the Steam Trust and probably many of the volunteers, keeping their heads down and hoping the problems will go away). The most glaring dispute (and the cause of the most comment from inside and outside the "family") is the eviction, where the reasons originally cited were nonsense and even when those were followed by "We need the site for ourselves" there was no indication of how they expected to be able to pay for the extensive rebuilding. But there have been several other disputes entirely separate from that, all either started by the PLC or escalated by the PLC's excessive reaction to an expression of disagreement about something.
     
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  20. toplink

    toplink New Member Friend

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    Have I missed it somewhere but how many seats are available on the WSRST board?
     

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