SVR General Discussion

Take your point but loco owning groups are unlikely to be enthusiastic about leaving locos out in the elements unnecessarily and at risk of a visit from the metal fairies. Some years ago it became apparent that locos stored outside in presentable condition soon get wet boiler lagging and the onset of damaging boiler plate corrosion. The fact that the out of ticket locos are all dry stored is certainly a SVR strong point even though it makes photographing them more difficult.

 

I will always support the various preservation groups. I think the 813 trust has been turfed out to the car park so I will definitely go round and see them

 

Well I can only presume John will point his camera in the opposite direction when 4079 and 8 GWR carriages come past.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the the company's actions, we should all be prepared to support the railway when they do something right. That is the logic of 'voting with your wallet'. I can not think even the most disgruntled SVR 'supporter' can be opposed to Pendennis Castle's first ever preserved railway visit.

 

Would be nice if the railway could run Pendennis on a weekend after the gala as those trains will be wedged just like they were when Nigel Gresley visited last year not much fun travelling in a packed coach.

 

When did I say I was opposed to the Pendennis visit? No I won’t be pointing my camera the other way and I will make a point of donating to the 813 fund as I assume their takings will have gone down since they have been banished to the car park. None of us can financially support everything.
I don’t want to start a pointless discussion on photo charters again but they could have filled five days of them with a prestige engine like this. There is plenty of space at the favourite locations on the Valley so 40 participants each day would gross £25,000 or more plus the secondary spend. I stand to be corrected but I think that would leave around £18,000 to be split between the Valley and the GWS. Not a great deal but unless a rich benefactor comes along the railway’s future will be determined by the small contributions from the many.

 

By stars, it's almost like some people here WANT the Valley to fail. Regardless on what's gone on, or what's on offer, their plight will actually make my family and I make a visit this year to support them.

 

Agreed. Charter goers would have been falling over each other to book.

 

Not the point. Nobody suggested you opposed the visit of 4079. However, and I apologise for being blunt here, you are planning to enjoy the benefit of the visit without contributing to the cost. I call that freeloading. Fine I get you have contributed in the past and that the railway has really upset you. It had no right to do that and I think that many things could have been done better. But I really can’t get my head around why you would go with the intention on contributing nothing in return for what I assume you think will be an enjoyable day watching the trains go by. It is a strange attitude.

 

Really? I know things could have been handled better or differently (in some people's eyes) but I'm pretty nothing has been done that wasn't within their rights. On the other hand, there's no right to not be offended or upset - but if people want to react by taking their business away then that's obviously their right in response.

H0w they take their business away is something different again...

Other than that I agree.

Personally, after lapsing for a few years despite being a shareholder, last night I rejoined the SVR. Having volunteered there from the late 80s until the early 2000s, I thought I'd done my bit for the railway, but here we go again. Seems a bit more constructive.

 

I thought I’d explained that, I don’t have a bottomless pit of cash and in a couple of weeks I will be going to a charter on the East Lancs and the K&WVR Gala, both of which I consider more worthy causes. I became a maker of the K&WVR after cancelling my SVR membership. I am also more concerned with a big Green engine currently down in Devon undergoing an unscheduled overhaul. I will support some of the loco owning groups, particularly the 813 fund who I think have been poorly treated by the railway.

 

Aren't they ALL worthy causes? Time to drop the negativity I feel, otherwise there will be no SVR for you to go back to in years to come.

 

Sorry John, but, as worthy a cause the 813 fund are, they haven't financed the visit of 4079.
I get that you disagree with the current SVR regime, but they deserve our support if they are providing something we all enjoy. If everyone took your stance there would be no gala and potentially no railway at all.

 

Well Said!

The attitude that "I don't like what the railway is having to do so I won't support it" is quite bizarre. It's times like this that support is need more than ever!

I'm sure those responsible for making the painful decisions at the SVR don't like the result any more than posters on here but do they have any real alternative? On my own railway costs have gone up by around £1 million in a few months and it's likely that for many other heritage lines last year's losses will be staggering. If you can't find other sources of income the only responsible course is to to cut costs and you can't do that substantially without impacting service levels. The "spiral of decline" referred to on here is the opposite of that; it's the inevitable consequence of refusal to face up to financial reality which, incidentally, could result in directors and trustees becoming personally liable.

Cut the SVR management some slack. They should be applauded for acting promptly to save the SVR however unpopular the remedy may be

 

I don’t disagree with the decisions they have made to get finances back on track, the spiral of decline is more an attitude of mind. Compare the positivity exuded by the K&ESR with the SVR doom and gloom message. My disappointment is with their general direction and it goes back a long way.

 

See my last post

 

Although I have some sympathy for JohnB (some of the SVR's decisions come across as viewing their supporters and shareholders as as nuisance rather than an asset) I do think he's wrong to take advantage of 4079's visit without contributing to the cost of it. If that is a widespread attitude then it's hard to see the point of continuing with galas as I'd be willing to place a modest bet that for every photographer who buys a ticket but doesn't use it there are several who don't. It would be interesting to find out (railways have the data because Guards count the numbers present on trains (at least, they do on the NYMR) and that information could easily be compared with the numbers of tickets sold.

My own gripe with with railways with large numbers of paid staff is that, increasingly, they seem to be run for the benefit of those staff and less for the volunteers who work alongside them and effectively subsidise their posts. Despite that fact that heritage railways are becoming tourist attractions we should never lose sight of the fact that they are heavily dependent on the support of enthusiasts, and that support should never be taken for granted, it must be earned - and in some cases that means doing things aimed at us!

 

Not on the SVR, though TTIs have been asked to passenger counts in the past occasionally (often when they are thinking about changing the timetable for the next year). Personally (and speaking as a TTI) I think it should be done a lot more regular and might be able to provide some hard data about passenger numbers with respect to passholders.

 

They may be, but all of us have finite pots of money. If one organisation no longer ticks boxes in the same way, there is no reason not to change the basis of support - I've done it before, and would do it again. That may be as a customer, member, donor, or whatever.

That is different and distinct from the question of benefitting from an event that is being put on, but not contributing to it. That sits very uncomfortably with me, regardless of the general question of support.

 

No I was responding to the post that said the GWSR operate a two train steam service. I agree that a diesel offering is less attractive to most, or perhaps less so if well advertised in the timetable. As I have said before I have seen many people at Swanage let a diesel service go to wait for the steam. Far easier to do on a short line with a 45 minute service interval.
Regarding your comment of thinking like an enthusiast a few posts on various threads recently has made me think I am little more than an interested observer. I do not buy the magazines, I do not attend photo charters, I do not have a model layout and Covid and associated health issues has meant I have only stewarded on the mainline twice since Feb 2020, and in 2022 I did not once even have a ride on the line I can see from the window as I type this (even if it is dark at the moment) despit being a season ticket holder previously.

 

Who paid for 7714 to be repainted? In times like this I find it really bizarre that the engine has been repainted when it looked more than presentable anyway.