West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Yes, sorry, I was thinking in monetary terms, but a cheap bottle of wine or a bunch of petrol station flowers can be pretty insulting, too, so this form of thanks takes some care. Often, just being sincerely thanked and being let know that your efforts are genuinely appreciated and have given pleasure is enough.

 

Given the unresolvable and long running situation to be found on the WSR it might be that a glance back into the very early days of railway preservation might be useful.

One of the early ideas considered for the Talyllyn Railway was to relay the line between Wharf and Abergynolwyn to a gauge of 10 3/4". The section between Wharf and Pendre would be gauntleted, retaining the original 2' 3"and the new miniature track and the original locomotives and stock would be displayed over this section. In practical and financial terms this proposal had much to recommend it. Practical and financial, there is a clue.

The NG G16 class could easily work trains over a line like the WSR with a loading capacity more than sufficient to meet passenger requirements. You wouldn't need to worry about 20 ton axle loadings and the costs of maintaining 22.75 miles of standard gauge line to RA9 but you could and would run and display GW branch type trains over the gauntleted section. The stations would remain much the same, so would much else.

The line length would not be lost but the GW branchline aspect would be reduced to a more manageable section.

It is a bit late in the day to change now but someone should have been paying attention to the past and have been prepared to think outside the 20 odd mile GW branch cum commuter line box.

 

In the two periods ending '21 and '20 the PLC reported profits, '19 was a big loss and the previous year ('17, restated) was a profit. So it's reported a loss one year in four, though the consolidated '17-'21 period does show a big loss, if that makes sense.

 

Does the income for '20 and '21 only come from the farebox and fundraising, or does it include big dollops of covid-relief money?

 

That's interesting, but of course it doesn't tell the whole story. If they were spending less than they should on infrastructure maintenance (as would appear to be the case) then of course the P & L position would appear to be better than it was in reality.

 

This passage from Nevil Shute's novel, "Ruined City", about a banker trying to revive a bankrupt shipbuilding company, is apposite here I think:
"You must make this first year's accounts as bad as ever they can be", he said. "You've got a marvellous opportunity to do so now, one that you'll never have again. You must examine every contract that you've got, with Jennings, and Grierson must tell the auditors that every contract will be carried out at a loss. He will probably be right, of course - but you must pile it on. .... You must show in this year all the losses that you're going to make next year, and the year after. If you can swing the figure of this year's loss up to a hundred thousand pounds - that's grand. If you can get the auditors to make it a hundred and fifty thousand - so much the better. ....Get it as high as you can. In your chairman's speech, just say that full reserves have been made in this year's accounts for contracts negotiated by the the late chairman. That's literally all you need to say in the way of explanation."
To a large extent, figures can be made to say what you want them to say.

 

Only until there is not enough cash.

 

Sorry to take the subject back to the paid/volunteer discussion but I have just discovered this in the "Become a Volunteer" section of the website:-

"CIVIL & STRUCTURES ENGINEERING LEAD

The CSEL will be responsible for checking that the WSR plc fixed infrastructure and related facilites are maintained in a serviceable and safe condition, available to support the passenger services operated by the WSR.

The CSEL will play an important role in supporting the Infrastructure Manager in setting policy direction and delivering the strategic requirements. This includes its Ten-Year Plan, together with the business requirements of the three year business plan.

The postholder will be an experienced civil engineer ideally educated to degree standard and with incorporated or chartered professional status..." (My highlighting)

Now is this ancient history and the web page just not been updated, or is it new? I don't know.

Either way, harking back to the paid/volunteer discussion it appears that the board is happy to expect "...an experienced civil engineer ideally educated to degree standard and with incorporated or chartered professional status..." to come and fill a role that could be considered fairly essential for free while a Planning and Compliance Officer (AKA Clerical Support) should be a paid role.

Like I said before, I'm confused, I just don't understand the current workings of the WSR senior management. I suppose Spock (Mr. not DR.) might say "It's logic Jim - but not as we know it"...

 

It's only recently that the NYMR's head of Civil Engineering, whose CV would fit that given above, has retired and he had done it on a voluntary basis ever since I can remember, perhaps from the NYMR's inception in 1967. Unfortunately, from this perspective, his replacement is paid staff. At the end of the day, you don't get these people unless you ask and there's no harm in doing that.

 

Absolutely. Though I would also add the caution that you may get the service that you pay for. In another environment, I can think of a situation where moving from voluntary to paid for a professional role had significant benefit because paid and voluntary work were no longer in tension.


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Just belatedly reading the winter WSR Journal and there is mention of a meeting between the Plc, WSRA and WSRHT boards to be held in December. Does anyone know if this meeting took place and, if so, what came out of it?

 

I think this is a manoeuvre to bypass and supersede the original Partnership Development Group. If you read the minutes of their meeting on 26th May 2021 it appears to have been hijacked by JJP.......

 

Away from Minehead, some very good WSR news to cheer about. <BJ>
£20,000 raised for Stogumber station on West Somerset Railway | Somerset County Gazette

 

They should spend it quickly, before the PLC tries to get their hands on the money!

 

Or before they get called the next ‘Cuckoo in the Nest’ if they don’t!

 

May I respectfully suggest you actually read the Gazette article i.e much of the money has been spent,
including purchase of land adjacent to station, repairs/improvements to the station and surroundings
plus contribution towards the Railway’s rail replacement fund.

The PLC Chair thanks the station master and his team for all their hard work and support.

Also perhaps you should note that a key element of their fundraising emanates from cream
teas, drinks etc and station visitors. ( probably needs an operating Railway ! ? )

A retraction of your post I’m sure would be welcome.


Michael Rowe

 

I’ve read the article Micheal but whilst I doff my proverbial hat to those at Stogumber, it really makes me wonder why those in charge decided that it was a good idea to kick those off at another station down the line at Washford?
There are some big questions that haven’t been answered yet. Or the answer’s we get seem rather vague shall we say.

 

Do you mean "has the whole £20K been included?" as I would have though it would be legitimate to include the amount donated by the Friends towards track renewal. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if the answer to that question were to be "yes". The appeal total did go up by rather a lot recently.

 

Lots of orange suits at work today on the right hand side of Seaward Way crossing nearest the station (as seen from the web cam)