West Somerset Railway General Discussion

For 3 adults and 2 children, it is not a huge amount these days. I fear that coal prices are going to rocket, now that no steam loco coal is being mined in UK. We may soon be looking at £90 for 3A+2C as a bargain!

 

Sadly, the price of everything seems to be rocketing....3 months ago I bought a 600mm metal fence spike for approx £6.50, today the same item in the same retailer would have cost me £11.30 (had I not found another cheaper way of doing the job!) :-(

 

Unduly long runs plus ''big chuffers'' will exacerbate this.

 

The same family would spend £63 on the IoW, or £89 first class, and that's for only one round trip. If they want to go again it's apparently an additional £16. For completeness GWSR would be £85.

 

There is an announcement on https://www.4160ltd.com/ reading:

Taken together, they read to me as signalling the cessation of hostilities in that long running dispute, but significantly to the advantage of the WSRA. In particular, I notice that the movement of shares leaves WSRA with just enough shares in the company to have the right to nominate a director, and some significant rights over other large shareholdings (Para. 18 is rather interesting).

 

Thanks. Could someone translate and tell us what it says?

 

See post #41885 immediately above; but a lot has to be inferred as it only states the conclusion, not how it was reached.

Given the vitriol and duration of the dispute, it's perhaps better not to enquire as to how the conclusion was reached.

 

Covid-19 meant that ''travel as many times as you like'' had to be suspended. Dare it be said that on the IOWSR first class really is first class. Moreover the ''first class experience'' which includes a luncheon basket proved very popular.

2021 in general was very successful. I hope it was everywhere.

 

He was only trying to be helpful. It's customers like you who put people off doing jobs that involve dealing with the public for life.

 

Still waiting...

 

To visit Didcot GWS for the Pendenis Castle event will cost me (family) £85 to just get in, Three adults and two kids - maybe four adults depending on the cut off for child to adult admission. Thats before parking at the station, and petrol your looking at a £150 day out from South Wales with petrol, parking, admission and a simple packed lunch ! You dont event get a decent ride on a train for that either, needless to say ill pass!.

 

God forbid Id like a little bit of respect from a public facing member of staff, its views like this which ensure I'll never waste my money on the WSR.

 

And I would respect the effort of someone who'd tried to suggest a constructive alternative, even if it wasn't one that would appeal (as Cleeve Abbey doesn't - and I have visited it in conjunction with a trip on the WSR).

 

I must be reading something different to you because I’m not picking up any of that vibe from @Another Yorkshireman ’s post. Sounds quite the opposite to me in fact…almost like he was going out of his way to be helpful.

 

I checked the Bluebell out of curiosity (not generally ever paying much attention to prices). A family rover (2+3) is £64 on the day, £59 in advance, for which you get unlimited travel. However, over half term, it was also "kids for a quid" so the 2A + 3C would work out £50 advance / £57 on the day. Oh, and you would have got a six coach set varying in age between 100 and 125 years on one of the two trains in service for the last two weeks

Members go half price on those figures, life members free.

Tom

 

Is it any wonder people have taken the impending arrival of 9466 with not pleasure, but negativity when all past god knows how many years have been clouded in mistrust and nastiness towards fellow 'family members' its no wonder people doubt the paperwork existence and advice given. I do wonder why you as a loco owner and chairman of a railway with a somewhat iffy history of contract honouring and financial management would put themselves under such a heavy watch of eyes unless, there was something in it for you or you simply didn't care.

What if 9466 does contribute to damage of the track of bridges, will the owners be liable in part or will the blame and cost land with those who signed off the permissions ?

 

The owner would have no liability. It would be down to the railway who used a loco they believed/knew/were oblivious to it being overweight for their line..

 

Given that the owner is also the Chairman, could he be liable if he's putting pressure on the loco dept to use it? (Please note this is a hypothetical question and there is NO suggestion that that is the case)

 

I'm not sure you are going to be able to look at the rails and see nice little neat indentations every 43.5 inches caused by the cyclical hammer blow of a 56xx, if that is what you mean. In other words, infrastructure issues tend to be a long time in developing: you aren't going to see a crack in a bridge and automatically be able to ascribe it to the loco that passed over the top five minutes earlier - particularly given decades of use of the line with heavier locos in preservation days.

I think the focus on trying to find someone to "blame" is taking it away from where a light needs to be shone. If those accountable for the decision on the board have gone through a robust analysis process to determine the suitability of a given bit of rolling stock for the infrastructure, then there is not much more to be said: none of us here have detailed knowledge of the actual condition or the bridge stress and other calculations followed. The core question though remains what it has always been: is the WSR generating sufficient money each year to keep up with the necessary maintenance of its infrastructure, S&T and rolling stock? That's the important question that is being missed by an attempt to put blame on one or other person for a hire agreement of a heavy loco.

Tom