SVR General Discussion

I was going to comment that maybe any so called freeloaders could make a donation to the SVR existence fund if they really cared about SVR existing.

 

The railways breakdown of where it currently stands, in the FAQ section, is both brutally honest and worrying.

https://svr.co.uk/survival/

 

No, you misunderstand. I am not saying those two examples are the same thing.
Fare dodging is not fair on the fare paying passengers. (no puns intended!)
'Freeloading' a photo charter is not fair on the photographers who have paid.
I have defined 'freeloading' in an earlier post as much more than just taking a picture or two of the train because you happen to be around. I'm not saying that because a train is being used in a photo charter that no one else may take a single image or video of it on a phone or anything else, because that's just silly and unreasonable.
In the case of passenger carrying trains on the mainline or not, nobody taking photographs has paid anything just to do that activity.

 

The quoted figure of an expected electricity bill of £462k for 2023 puts things in perspective.

 

One thingbthey really need to do is get more people travelling from Brignorth. There is a largec catchment area with Telford within driving distance. We went last week and about 4 cars only in the top car park, come on SVR

 

That's quite stark, but full marks for the clarity of presentation, particularly the video.

The governance / structural changes suggested are interesting.

Tom

 

Surprising that the SVR is in far worse position that the WSR.

 

Yesterday was very quiet at Hampton Loade too, but worth a visit for a coffee and an Eccles cake.
Just to repeat what I put in the gala thread :-
If anyone is visiting on Thursday for the Castle non-stop runs why not pay them a visit as they are holding an open day
https://www.facebook.com/HamptonLoadeStation/?locale=en_GB (and I've not seen that mentioned elsewhere)

 

Is the SVR in worse state, or worse acknowledged state, though? There's some real clarity in that presentation which hasn't been the dominant feature of output from Minehead in recent years. I'd be reluctant to make comparisons based on that.

 

A valid point, but I suspect for Telford (and probably Wolverhampton) the SVR competes with the RAF museum at Cosford - where access is free and won't take up as much time as a full ride on the Valley does.

 

I know that when I last visited the SVR (2015), I was staying near Telford and it still made more sense for me to travel from Kidderminster despite needing to head back for the M54. In the same vein, there are other railways where I have been known to drive past the "obvious" starting point to travel, because the options work better.

 

The most annoying example of freeloading was on one of the West Highland Railway charters that cost serious money. One non participant was seen in the distance at a couple of locations and then got one of his pictures published as the centre spread in SR.

 

In the SVR's case, the Railway made the decision during Covid to take out a CBILS loan of £1.5m. It kept the business afloat at the time, but is repayable for 5 years from October 2021 at £25k per month plus interest. It was always going to be a big hit against the bottom line, but would probably have been manageable if life had returned to normal. Unfortunately, it's now one more large factor on top of the increased energy costs, interest rate hikes etc. I can't comment on the WSR, except to say that the published accounts suggest they are not similarly saddled with a debt of that size.

 

What a sad state of affairs, the railway really does only survive by begging a few times a year for money.

Many years of miss management looks to be taking its toll, i don't think you can just blame brexit and Covid all the time (look at all the grants that they had through Covid etc)

No doubt the HLF will put their hand in their pocket again at the expenses of other well deserving projects

 

I don't think the HLF will bail them out, they may get something from the local authority as they are a very important part of the local economy but it won't be all of it. You are correct about mismanagement but it's not just financial, an organisation cannot succeed when it loses faith with its supporters and volunteers. No one I speak to at the Valley is very happy, let's hope the new GM has the people skills to remotivate those involved.

 

An interesting contrast to the KESR which appears to be going through a positive thinking revolution.

In terms of the SVR, I am very cautious when I hear big announcements of resignations. When the last GM resigned, the first shock announcement on cost cutting was announced very soon after. When the chairman resigned last week, I wondered what was coming next. I now have that answer.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c884229ey5wo

BBC coverage.