West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Made my day, that did.

 

unfortunately even if the WSR did collapse tomorrow I doubt that the wider preservation industry would learn any lessons from the debacle. The GCR about 20+ years ago was on the verge of collapse due to an inept management who had managed to almost bankrupt the company and had alienated a large proportion of the work force. and only the financial support of a supporter of the railway and the swift removal of said management by the grass roots membership, saved the day. And I'm sure other railways have had there own close calls, the mid Norfolk back in the 90's nearly losing, county schools comes to mind So If the lessons of how not to run a railway have already been learned why has the WSR pretty much gone and made the same mistakes.

Cheers

Colin

 

The difficulty, looking at the GCR example of course is that the membership cant get rid of the management

Perhaps for those in the know a thread on railways that nearly collapsed?

 

As Colin says, I understand that school of thought, but I don't buy it. Lines with sensible management already know they need to focus on financial stability, those without sensible management won't be sensible enough to think "that could happen here".

 

But you did spend the pricely sum of £12 to gain membership of the WSSRT (part of the WSR) this year did you not? £12 that contributes towards costs associated with the WSR. You could of spent an additional £3 and got a 20 mile train ride out of it!

A bit contradicting to your previous statement perhaps?

 

Its a fair point, but 2 points against. My £12 went towards an attempt to change the tide, rather than in support of the current direction as a train ticket would, and it also went into a fund specifically assigned for restoring a GWR Toplight, rsther than any more general WSR pot. So whilst I accept the charge of hypocrisy to an extent, it is tempered somewhat in my mind by that!

 

The big lesson that succeeding generations seem to have to re-learn is that they are running visitor attractions of modest length and not public transport services over twenty miles or so . It may be coincidence but about the first line to resume services after the first lockdown was one of the shortest, i.e. the Lakeside and Haverthwaite.

 

The problem with Bailey as I see it is twofold: One an overemphasis on institutions/structures as the necessary remedy for curing the ills of the WSR and two the limited vision in what those institutions should be.

This in my view is a recipe for disaster, the wrong emphasis with the wrong vision. Having experience of various things maybe useful but it may also make someone subject to bias, prejudices etc that prevent them from sufficient critical vision. It is a very common problem with policy-makers.

If someone puts their name to a plan then obviously they will get the plaudits but they should also expect criticism.

Just because someone is in authority or well known doesn't mean that people should turn around and be deferential just because of who they are. That way lies disaster and group think.

No one is saying that structures don't matter - they do, but unless a holistic view is taken of the WSR - organisation, culture, funding, etc etc then it won't work. If you think focusing just on x will mean y will resolve itself then you will get no where.

If we go back to our post-conflict examples - it isn't just about devolved power structures/power sharing, it isn't just about decommissioning, it is also about truth commissions, it is about addressing the structural socio-economic causes of polarisation, it is about managing flash points so an argument doesn't turn into fight into a riot into a race riot etc etc.

And this takes me back to my point about limited visions - what works in say Indonesia wouldn't work in Bosnia, but just because something doesn't work in Bosnia doesn't mean it couldn't work in Ukraine.

What I would add to the NI example is this:

Successful peace efforts depend on two things:

High incentives to compromise -> power sharing is a good example of this (opportunities of office that would clearly not be possible without peace)*
High costs of failure -> return to conflict

There needs to be plenty of carrot but also a lot of stick. If actors do not perceive the costs to be high or the rewards great enough then they won't buy into it.

* Interplay between actors and structures - incentive to actors only works if the structure offered is right for them. Wrong structures -> weak incentive.

A final point - I'd suggest that in many cases when we look at societies where things blew up it was by accident rather than design. Milosevic and Tudjman did not set out to break up Yugoslavia. Nor Klaus and Meciar to break up Czechoslovakia. Milosevic thought he was saving Yugoslavia by dealing with the republics and centralising (and whipping up nationalism was a path to getting to it), Tudjman thought decentralisation was the answer. My point here is that they all had their eyes on their own local power games. all thought they were saviours and didn't foresee the big results of their little actions.

 

Interesting to see that both the Swanage & Mid Hants are showing events & running in 2021 while the BL -WN shuttle offering doesnt exactly jump out and grab me in the way the Swanage's daytime winter timetable does

 

So does the IOWSR and, I presume, plenty of others as well.

 

Well, the Mid Suffolk & the Somerset & Dorset at Midsomer Norton are both seeming to be alive & well from their websites

 

Nene Valley's running its Santas and is having a New Year "celebratory afternoon teas" service on 2/1/21, then the lovely old Swedish railcar for the rest of the month...

Plenty of pictures on the NVR blog of the Santas... http://www.nenevalleyrailway.co.uk/NVR_blog/

 

However, credit where credit's due, the latest WSR online newsletter is very informative of what's going on on the railway. No doubt it will soon be on the website. I notice that the WSRHT is advertising for more trustees. Previous applicants need not apply, presumably.

 

Just a personal word of thanks to those who have helped, over some years now, put the WSRA back on an even keel and attempted to do so with the other WSR organisations more recently. It is to be hoped that the value of co-operative working, respect for others, respect for knowledge, experience, the ability to look beyond the personal, and acceptance that divergent views are a source of strength will, in time, come to be recognised in Somerset as it is elsewhere. Let us also hope there are not too many more Seaward Way level crossings, enforced departures of locomotives or family members or much more 'my way or the highway' style management.

I'm not going anywhere, and I will be continuing with my railway volunteering, but I have accepted an exciting opportunity to do some policy work for a government department, alongside my legal work. This is an amazing chance to make a real difference, offered to me just as I have turned 57. The relevant folk have been holding the door open for at least the last six months, and I have decided to step through it in the early New Year. The nature of that work means that I will be adopting a lower social media profle for the time being, at least on controversial subjects.

Regards to all, thanks again, and 'bye for now.

Robin

'Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.'

 

I hope this isn’t the last we see of you Robin, can I just give you my best wishes for the future. Good luck

 

I 'liked' because the chance to do policy work is an amazing opportunity to make a real difference to the wider world in which we live. Congrats.

Good luck. I am sure that there is a joke in there about there being less politics and infighting working for a govt department than the WSR.

 

+1

 

Good luck!

Can you give us an idea as to what you might be working on?