Clan Line in 2020

Agree with you Martin, its just a shame that Railway Herald got hold of it and quite understandably, everyone then assumes that it's officially in the public domain. The sort of customer that parts with the thick end of £400 for a day out probably doesn't trawl railway social media so I would think no damage was done on this occasion. I can fully understand why Belmond would want to contact their customers before they hear it from other sources and that's the reason why the posts, including mine were taken down.
Linesiders and photographers have no right to be told anything until those that matter ( the paying customers ) have been informed

 

I suggest we all grow up and realise there's nothing to be gained from throwing wobblies: it's happened and that's it. Please let us avoid upsetting our own apple cart. One strength of the railway enthusiast community is that we are all in this together and, by and large, all enjoy it and get on with each other.

Happy Christmas everyone!

 

West Somerset Railway?..........

 

Indeed Yes! Just because there is a degree of dissent down there does not mean that most of those at the sharp end - the volunteers - do not get on well with each other in their effort to keep their railway alive. I'm sure that there is a lot more to the WSR than the organisational struggles that make the headlines here. Team work at grass roots level is I suspect as important and vibrant there as on any other railway.

Peter

 

I have been involved as a member both working and not, of a few preservation societies, since the 60s and in every case the teamwork and camaraderie between the members has always been first class. The problems start when the men in suits take over at the top.

 

Sadly that is what I was alluding to in an earlier post. The problems come from those who regard the heritage railway sector as a "business" first and heritage second. Unfortunately this is a creeping tendency.
I well recall the uproar amongst the Mid-Hants supporters when a businessman tried to take over the PLC but was, fortunately, rebuffed, although the various support groups then had a civil war which resulted in the moniker "Mad Hants Railway" which now seems to be, happily, no longer appropriate.

 

In such cases, the smart thing to do is to get ahead of the news cycle. A simple post on the Belmond social media channels, that can be reposted on the MNLPS FB page, here, Railway Herald, etc would have knocked the speculation on the head - or at least contained it. Something along the lines of "We very much regret that neither Friday's tour of ... nor Saturday's trip with Clan Line are able to go ahead as scheduled. We are contacting all passengers as a matter of urgency to discuss alternative arrangements. All enquiries should be directed to our Communications Manager on 021..." Moderators here could quite reasonably then request the rest of us not to speculate on the background, especially if there was a promise of a better explanation later from someone in the know. It really surprises me that, this far into the Internet Age, companies like Belmond haven't absorbed this simple and obvious lesson.

 

There was such a post from Belmond, that stated that due to Covid 19 regulations the train was cancelled, this disappeared.

 

Probably a topic for a different thread but a statement that I would strongly disagree with.

Personal perspective: I’m in my early twenties, have been a volunteer now for nearly a decade on the line I am involved with and a Trustee/Director for 2.5 years and my day job is within financial services. I’m
Probably one of a very small number of people of my age willing to have quite as much voluntary involvement in an organisation when competing with requirements of a full time job, family so on. Succession planning is a major problem for many lines for reasons such as that.

A heritage railway is all about recreating the past - which I am all for - but needs to be primarily run as a business if we want the sector to survive. That means that sometimes heritage will lose out where the business decision takes precedence (financial controls, HR policies, H&S legislation, marketing I could go on!).

A perfect example may be a station buffet or gift shop: we all want the heritage decor and product offering, but behind the scenes that is irrelevant unless you have a solid EPOS system which creates an automatic Audit trail, provides data for analytics to increase sales and actually reduces manual input from volunteers and staff. From experience one of the primary barriers to entry for such a system in a heritage environment is that “we’ve always done it this way”.

For many lines the next decade will be adapt and survive or fail, well that’s my opinion as someone who still occasionally has to wear a suit in the day job. There are of course the right and wrong ways of achieving this change, and the most important factor is taking volunteers with you on the change journey.

 

Thank you, you confirm my analysis, which is from the observer's side.

 

Very interesting article in latest SVR News by the Severn Valley's outgoing Engineering Manager, who also tackles this issue. If steam is to survive, increasing the value of the product and getting in extra cash is essential. I believe he quoted that costs had increased 25% in just 4 years. However, he was optimistic that with changes the business model was sound and would survive. Just don't expect a fleet of 16 locos anymore, expect more dining trains and higher fares.

 

As a 2021 thread has now been opened - may I suggest this [2020] thread is locked.
Peter