West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Most peculiar. With passenger numbers down, fewer running days and presumably shorter trains, why on earth would upgrading the line for a heavier axle load in the best interest of the line ? What return on investment is anticipated ?

If locos are required to be hired in, is there a shortage of available locos that comply with the line as it stands ?

 

Yes there is a national shortage of suitable, serviceable and reliable locomotives which folk don't seem to get. It is about to get worse as locos go out of ticket and overhauls delayed by covid and beset by funding shortages are slow to materialise and replace them. Hardly peculiar.

 

Such would always be likely given the preservation history of the railway and the known interests of it's chair. I'm far from convinced that it's value for money though.

 

Didn't the line used to be able to run heavier locomotives, or am I imagining things? If so, what's changed?

 

I think as structures get repaired the axle loading would increase anyway.

 

You obviously have no idea of the practicalities of running a heritage railway, or sany other railway for that matter. Restrictions such as this place restrictions on how the railway can operate and what it can do. Operating on the cheap, which is what you are advocating, is never the best way to go.

 

Kilmerson would of been the lightest engine on the railway but which one now is the lightest one?

 

Axle loading or overall weight?

 

FTFY.

 

In which case, the bridges are not going to repair themselves, nor the track either. Repairing the bridges and the track is a benefit in itself and needs to be done anyway, the increased axle loading is just a bonus.

 

That presumes that the issue is on bridges needing repairs anyway. I’d understood the issue to also involve earthworks, and to require investment rather than just repair.


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From what I remember I was told that a lot of the documentation that had allowed the line to be a 'Red' route in the past had been lost, which if true doesnt reflect well on the organisation

 

Maybe we should restrict ourselves to facts, rather than speculation and apparent attempts to put our Railway down at every opportunity.

 

Who is " putting the railway down at every turn" ? All we are doing is to remark on what your railway happens to be doing at that moment in time, We are just reacting, to issues, most of use also give praise, and credit where it's due, as regards red route etc, the line was never a red route during its GWR, and BR ownership, and i doubt if the permanent way, especially bridges, earthworks, were built with that in mind, Secondary routes, clearly are not engineered so well as the Main, primary routes, where heavy loads were intended, Lost paperwork is a red herring, it's the actual state of your PW that denotes what axle load is acceptable, It's the one thing any railway dare not keep up to scratch, as a neglected PW bites you back very seriously.

 

The post was a hazy recollection of information from a.n.other which may or may have been true, and may or may not have been related to the current necessary engineering work.

Leaping from that to ‘therefore the WSRplc’s dog ate its homework so everything’s terrible’ is hardly a constructive or credible discussion point.

It’s fun engaging in flights of fancy about current affairs on a forum – we’re not the government gazette and our hypothesising is irrelevant to 99.9% of the electorate – but NatPres is a bit more relevant in the preservation world for good and bad, so random half truths and largely forgotten memory scraps are pretty unhelpful.

Simon

 

While I have not operated a heritage or other railway, I have been asked to do so on 3 occasions, all of which I declined. I won't bore you with details of what I do elsewhere however the economic realities of other much larger businesses are mirrored across all heritage railways.

Spending money wisely is very different to simply "operating on the cheap". The line has operated successfully as a blue route however the economics today are very much worse. Examples of this flowing through include the cancellation of the last steam gala which was disappointing however if the numbers don't stack up then the numbers don't stack up. Today, the customers have even less disposable income which is blindingly obvious to all. The passengers that do spend are probably of a similar demographic i.e. if the engine goes chuff and smoke and steam can be seen curling across the countryside then they are getting what they want. That means pounds in the till. The restrictions you mention are that a heavy loco such as a hall won't be hauling 12 coaches stuffed to the gills with paying passengers. As that demand does not exist, let's face it, trains can't even pay their way on a Friday, where do you think it will come from ? Don't forget to also take the increased cost of coal and other consumables into account in your business plan.

Forgive me if you have an MBA (which in reality, stands for "means b*gger all"), but every incremental pound spent over what is required to operate a business in a steady state has to be earned back on top of BAU revenues. The line has suffered from quite enough crackpot ideas such as designs for multi-storey carparks, petting zoos, expensive outside help on vindictive actions and evicting rent paying tenants. The last set of accounts tells you everything and one individual who I see is allocating "likes" to some recent posts, including your own, stood up at the AGM and told some uncomfortable truths. Would he please repeat them here for all to see.

If you think that spending money on upgrading the line to a state that it did not have prior to closure is a good thing then please can you demonstrate the economic case. Let's say a generous 15 year period in which to make a net gain on the investment.

We all want the railway to succeed but the recent accounts show that it is heading in one particular direction..... and that direction was described at the AGM. This is not the right time, if there is ever a right time, to fantasise over projects that have no discernible up-side for the line. I suspect that the red route aspiration has an up-side for someone.

 

If I were to make an obvious point, if the line can be uprated to Red at reasonable costs it clearly means that there is a wider pool of engines that can be hired in if necessary, and that is looking at it from the point of flexibility rather than gettimg something in that might attract the enthusiasts

 

Fair comment, but I’m with @Snifter on how reasonable might be defined.


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