West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Thank you.

Summer Saturdays even in final years of the branch there were through workings from IIRC Wolverhampton which were loco-hauled.

 

A branch or the branch? There are certainly photos of hymek 7003 on a freight working on the Hemyock branch in '71, so a WR branch not too far removed from the Minehead branch. Certainly more plausible than many of the steam locomotives that have shown up in recent years

 

There's a video here that shows the process

 

My only complaint with this photo is how sharp, clear and the richness of the colour is, this photo is definitely not from ‘the good old days’
But there’s a lovely interaction going on between the 3 people involved.
After sorting the Shunting duties out, are they maybe arranging for pint after work?

 

The post is still there #39091 not that it serves much purpose except to stir the pot.

 

Skittles, perhaps?

And:

 

I have a slide taken in the late 1960s of a failed DMU on an Up train being hauled by a Hymek through BL. Whether the Hymek was sent out LE from Taunton, or was already on the line somewhere anyway, is not known.

 

Buy the latest Modern Railways (August) for more WSR news.

 

Good or Bad?

 

That’s more like it! Second complaint is the Loco’s too clean! Seriously it’s a lovely photo Robin thanks for sharing

 

But it does show another person viewpoint. It does seem that anyone posting a viewpoint in favour of the PLC is dismissed which does not encourage the debating ethos of NP. It is reminiscent of the Brexit thread.

 

The difficulty though, as with the Brexit thread is that many posters assert a position without providing evidence to back it up, were they to do so then the debate would be much more productive.

 

TBH if anyone dares to state a neutral or conflicting view on this thread (with or without evidence), they tend to just get shouted down by the usual suspects as being wrong. There is little "debate" on here - just a number of people using any bit of information to back up their opinions.

 

Using information to back up an opinion? What on earth could be wrong with that?

 

Despite a request to justify this assertion, none has been provided, on the other hand however

I appreciate that it might not be a straightforward assertion to justify for various reasons none the less none has been provided despite a justified rebuttal being provided.

 

Because there is very little acceptance of other views or other interpretations of the evidence. It just becomes "I'm right, you're wrong".

 

As i see it, some members of an organisation decided to stand for trusteeship of same organisation, which as members they were fully, and legally entitled to do so, Someone thought it would upset their little cosy world, and misused their position not just with in the trust, but also as a senior member of the PLC to ensure not only that this would not happen, but to ensure it would never happen again, if you ask me, this was just wrong on so many counts, and supporters of the PLC can't see why people will not support their lastest appeal for help, If you only look after your friends, and no body else, you soon find out it comes with a cost, Upsetting your MP, is not wise, because, if the railway becomes insolvent, you will need all the friends you can get, If the Council decides it wants rid, of the responsibility and for an TOC to operate services to Taunton, and for the branch to be part of the national network again, there's votes in it for them, and if they have the ear of the transport minister, who can give the go ahead for funding so network rail can acquire and relay the branch, thats when past mistakes can come back to bite you very hard.

 

Ok. Thanks, now I get the context. I tried to follow back by clicking on the up-arrow next to the poster's name in the quote box which usually works but for some reason did not in this case.

By the way, I am still waiting for a reply to my question.

 

Well, if you choose only to notice those posts that back up your view, then of course you're right. It's the "Sore finger syndrome" where you wonder why the number of times you bash your finger when it's sore is so much greater than when it's not sore, when in reality, when it's not sore, you don't notice it so much. Ditto, "why are there so many cars on the road like my new one?". In fact there is much reasoned discussion about most points, it's just that those who post in support of the Plc tend to be along the lines of "this is how it is", without any supporting evidence. The fact that most of the pro-Plc posts tend to be "shouted down", as you put it, is because they are bald assertions, not because they are pro-Plc. In any case, a request for supporting evidence is not "shouting down", it is a request for supporting evidence, which the requester would be interested to hear. It's not just the likes of you that get bored of hearing everything from the same viewpoint. @FrankC , when he can, will advance supporting arguments to justify his statements, and it is always interesting to hear them, however to expect them to be received in reverent silence is a bit much.

 

Sorry, I have to disagree. Whilst there are a couple of posters who seem to have personal issues with some of the current Board, most have asked serious questions regarding a number of issues that concern them and have not made personal attacks but, with the occasional exception, have either received no reply or have been treated with disdain.
As @Matt37401 implied it is usual to be prepared to support an opinion with some sort of evidence and for that evidence to be challenged. That is what debate is all about. You say that there is very little acceptance of other views but, over the last couple of years, I have seen very few "other views" put forward with any detailed reasoning; one of the few exception being @Maunsell907. More often there seems to be a dislike of criticism, without the poster actually responding to the issue raised (and, sometimes, I wonder if the poster actually understands the issue !).
There are an ongoing series of issues around the operation of the WSR which, shall we say, seems to have more than its fair share of mis-steps and controversy.
Given that there is general agreement that the railway is under threat,would it not be better to acknowledge that there have been errors of judgement and that some of the suggestions raised on this thread, such as better communications with members and supporters, presentation of a properly prepared and costed business plan, a reasonably detailed explanation of the purpose of the funding appeal and so on, might have some merit ?
I look forward to your detailed response.