West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I would think the DEPG just haven't updated their site yet. I would be surprised if there are no diesel loco hauled trains at all in 2022.

 

You can add the NYMR to that list.

 

How does the cost of a diesel & coaches compare with a DMU and do loco hauled diesel trains have the ability to bring in enough revenue to cover any extra costs?

 

A plan, a budget, and an answer to my two questions would be a start.

 

Are you having a laugh?

Yes don't run a hymek on a Tuesday in April for the fun of it, but certainly run it in the summer on a Friday. I would say summer Saturday but I notice there's no diesel hauled trains on the yellow timetable due to operate. I would hope they put on extra diesel services.

I had a cracking August bank holiday weekend Saturday in 2019 with 3 steam and D7018 out on of 4 sets of carriages. The main reason for my visit was for D7018 - on a packed 3 coach train (1730ish off MD).

 

Well clearly a plan is to scrap lightly loaded services.

 

Why am I having a laugh?

I have no idea as to relative costs or the potential to raise revenue, I am simply curious.

Clearly if a loco hauled train isx% more expensive to run than a DMU BUT has not ability to raise enough extra revenue to cover the costs then clearly commercially clearly its a non starter.

 

Various railways run diesel diagrammed services, particularly on summer Saturdays, clearly well advertised with what loco is expected, sometimes many months in advance.

The WSR / DEPG have done this in the past.

 

In my usual ham fisted way, that was the point I was trying to make, somewhere like Hampton Loade or Arley on the SVR for example are never going to be major money makers but say if your a family out on a drive from Birmingham or the Black Country and you follow the road down to the river for Arley, as you come over the bridge you see this lovely restored station with its flower beds and gardens.
There might not be any trains running but it’s a great advertisement for the SVR even though there’s nothing to do there.
It can encourage people to make a return visit, as an example during my time there I remember a conversation with a gentleman who’d come down from somewhere in London and was exploring the area one Sunday afternoon, 2 weeks later I saw him again with his lady friend enjoying a return visit having driven down from London to Kidderminster absolutely massive smiles on their faces.
I know Washford isn’t the most attractive of destinations or a starting point for most journeys on the WSR, same as say Damens is on the KWVR or Staverton on the SDR but the 2 I’ve mentioned are wonderful advertising for the Railways I’ve mentioned, what does Washford advertise now?
The ego’s of a bunch of bully’s maybe?

 

I should really apologise to you for being a little strong with my feelings in my reply to you, perhaps I should refer to my post #41429 above

 

That would save the Trust a lot of bother, so during the protracted negotiations they offered exactly that, but the PLC replied that they can't afford it -- hardly surprising when they need £500k pa of donations to survive (as they have sometimes claimed to be the case).

 

Yes you can make marginally more money by dropping unprofitable services, but the fact remains that the amount of money to be made in this way is relatively small and nearly always less than you think as there are always knock on effects. For years after Beeching, this was the mantra of British Rail, cut the unprofitable services, close stations, close lines in a vain quest for profitability. Not only the railways, all our major industries had the same knee-jerk response, to get rid of the very people and things that were making the money in the first place, leaving an ever-decreasing amount of workers and infrastructure supporting an ever-increasing number of overheads.

Any meaningful amount of money is only going to be made by running more services, and running them fuller. Possibly other lines are doing the same, that doesn't mean that the WSR is doing the right thing, it could easily mean that they are all doing the wrong thing. Cutting back is easy and a quick win. That's why it's usually the first thing to be done. It is not the solution, it merely delays the evil hour.

 

What you need to bear in mind is that you need to offer an attractive service.

Fir example, in the past there used to be an hourly service between Watchet & Minehead at peak periods, this may well be more attratctive to holidaymakers so encourage them to travel in a way a two hourly service doesny.

 

I think that what you’re looking at on Google Maps is the new(ish) cycle way.
No way could that be used for vehicular access to the yard.

 

For starters, i would not run steam full line, i would run an DMU BL to WN, And steam from Minehead to WN, and have an earlier start from Minehead end, Only maybe later in the season, would i even conicider running a few services the entire line, and that would only be the last off Minehead, to ensure customers don't get strained, In effect your be running the line as two separate operations, untill such time as things improve,

 

This is the key point. Maybe it is only a few people who break their journey but the reality is that they did. Take the SVR for example - some people might want to break their journey with a pub lunch, in which case Arley is a good place for that, some want to potter round a museum so you break at Highley, some want somewhere to explore so break at Bridgnorth and wander into town.

It is easy to say 'well they can just go to somewhere else' but that misses the point, you are only losing by losing the station and the museum. You aren't actually gaining things. To go back to our SVR example - you could close Arley, but that doesn't mean those passengers will automatically go to Bridgnorth or Highley. You are just losing things and passengers.

We are always told that the profit is in the last few carriages - and maybe it is those people who wanted to go to Washford, or the casual/drop in visitors (to refer to concerns reductions in running days).

The comments about 'well only a few people went there' and 'plenty of other stations on the line' sounds like the arguments of someone railing against their ex and claiming they are better off than they were while drinking lukewarm cuppa a soups for dinner.

 

I don't think you appreciate the historical loadings. For many years, the majority of passengers have started their journey from BL in the morning and take a return to MD. Generally trains don't run lightly loaded from BL to WN then fill rapidly after that. So, even in 'quiet' times, you would be making 150 - 200 passengers take the DMU to WN then change to steam at WN. There's a possibility that people might think 'well, we'll just drive another 10 miles to Williton and start our journey there' but facilities, especially car parking would not cope without much expansion. Morning loadings from MD have always been very light, so starting earlier would just involve running more almost-empty trains. I don't expect the loadings to be any different this year, unless you know something about holiday trends which are going to change all that this year of course!

 

I've always seen Bishops Lydeard as Minehead Parkway.

Perhaps some diagrams need to work on doing one round trip BL-MD in the morning and MD-BL in the late afternoon with something else "shuttle type" during the day for the station explorers.

Whatever the discussions/arguments, the year end results will show if the 2022 timetable has worked.

 

Prior to Covid-19, Railway X could be busier in the morning and Railway B in the afternoon. Covid brought the need to pre-book which had a side effect in some places of spreading out the loadings. We just cannot presume future patterns.

 

The Dmu was not used last year , I can’t remember if there was a reason for it ( COVID or repairs )As It was at Williton until Recently Then moved to Md , There was another Dmu power unit moved from Bl toMd there’s no news on that , And the one in stone sidings MD a cross from the signal box under covers which is we’ll just sitting there. (Parts or Scrap)
The idea of using the Dmu a shuttle service is not a bad idea , MD To Ba may not be a bad thing.

Be interesting to see the depg running Dates The Two Class 33 would Run most of the time
With the class 35 Hymek 7018 on a Saturday , The return of the class 14 teddy bear in May is a possible option. Western campaigner 1010 under repair, Class 47 , North Star in Nymr York for Two years Earning some money for the Depg, Would be great to see the 47 on the rails Of the Wsr although I can’t seeing happening hope Am proved wrong As It’s to heavy to run on the current track .