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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

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  1. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    That's a reassuring read, maybe a 'half full' view but there's nothing wrong with that. Those parts of the above that were apparent to me after attending the recent gala match that view. And given that it is a former GWR line, the fact that GWR locos are the mainstay of the operational fleet also makes sense, as is the departure of the SDRT, even if that was handled badly. I guess that the missing area from the above list is the hidden ticking clock - i.e. the infrastructure, specifically the track, bridges and culverts. Ignore these at your peril.

    Time will tell.
     
    Big Al, May 31, 2024
    #44041
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  2. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    Thank you for taking the time to reply, although I singled your comment out, it wasn’t the only one which gave that impression although I appreciate the reply.

    It’s great to hear some positive comments from you regarding the railway. My only reservation would be that it’s perhaps surprising that the PLC finances are so closely guarded that only those on the board really know what the state of play is with that one.

    However, we won’t dwell on that as despite this lack of clarity it would appear that there is much to be positive about and far from thinking you have had a brain implant, it is refreshing you have taken the time to explain what was behind your comment, often when anybody asks a question on this thread it seems to result in mud slinging or similar and the genuine comments and questions get missed as a result.
     
    Pete Thornhill, May 31, 2024
    #44042
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  3. ikcdab

    ikcdab Member Friend

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    Thank you. This popped up on my newsfeed just now...

    https://www.facebook.com/share/Rp4xRMLjAGu85wVH/

    Enough of the good news. I'll let others comment.
    Ian C
     
    ikcdab, May 31, 2024
    #44043
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  4. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    Given the NVR wants to raise £300k, perhaps the WSR would like to share how it has seemingly raised a far greater amount for the benefit of other lines facing financial difficulties?
     
    The Green Howards, Jun 1, 2024
    #44044
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  5. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    A clue to my assessment:

    IMG_7682.jpeg
     
    Robin Moira White, Jun 2, 2024
    #44045
  6. Edington Burtle

    Edington Burtle New Member

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    Does 6990 have any turns coming up in future,
    Missed the chance at the Gala to have 6990.
    Was hoping to have the chance to have 6990 before it left.
    Cheers
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 2, 2024
    Edington Burtle, Jun 2, 2024
    #44046
  7. The Green Howards

    The Green Howards Nat Pres stalwart

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    The Green Howards, Jun 3, 2024
    #44047
  8. SebWelsh

    SebWelsh Member

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    Yes, 6990 is with us until the end of July thanks to the GCR. She will be in regular use on the Minehead diagram on some weekday running in July (Tues/Weds/Thurs) and she feature in a special weekend event over the 27th/28th July with 3 certain other 4-6-0s... More details to come.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2024
    SebWelsh, Jun 3, 2024
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  9. D1002

    D1002 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Nor me!
     
    D1002, Jun 3, 2024
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  10. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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    I'm glad I'm not the only one, and yes, I know it's the borrowers.
     
    simon, Jun 3, 2024
    #44050
  11. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Thank you for identifying the image - I'd not got that far.

    I suspect that the name gives us the answer to the observation. If so, the questions about whether that borrowing is good or bad need clarifying in terms of the costs of repayment, the relationship to the lender, and what the loans are secured on.
     
    35B, Jun 3, 2024
    #44051
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  12. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Surely Dave could explain though?...
     
    flying scotsman123, Jun 3, 2024
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  13. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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    At first I thought it was yet another portrait of Dave and family
     
    simon, Jun 3, 2024
    #44053
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  14. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    I would imagine that securing a loan on one of the WSR locos would work. The accounts will tell everyone at the appropriate time.
     
    Big Al, Jun 3, 2024
    #44054
  15. D7076

    D7076 Well-Known Member

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    Does anyone know what’s rostered to work on Wednesday please ?
     
    D7076, Jun 3, 2024
    #44055
  16. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    The most recent set of accounts (which are for the 2022-23 financial year) indicate that there is a loan of £291k secured by a mortgage on the Station House at Bishops Lydeard - repayable in instalments through to 2037. There is a Coronavirus (CBILS) loan of £136k repayable by August 2026. The mortgage is split - half is at a fixed rate, half at a variable interest rate (BoE rate + fixed percentage) so the interest has been subject to what we might call the "Liz Truss effect", i.e. has gone up quite sharply. The CBILS loan is at a variable rate. Nonetheless, the accounts appear to show that both loans are being paid down - the mortgage went down by about £12.5k during the year and the CBILS loan (which has a shorter end date) by £40k.

    There is a loan from the WSRA secured against two Mark 1 carriages. It isn't explicit how much that is but reading between the lines I think it is of the order of £23k. As far as I can see there is no explicit mention of interest on that loan, so presumably interest free. If that loan is the line I think it is in the accounts, it also went down substantially in 2022-23.

    I think in total that gives a total borrowing of £451k, down from £527k the previous year.

    Interest charges were £56k, up from £40k the previous year, despite the borrowings having gone down - that must be the impact of rising interest rates.

    I suspect that they are far from alone in being a railway with borrowings hit by the rapid rise in interest rates over the last couple of years.

    Tom
     
    Jamessquared, Jun 3, 2024
    #44056
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  17. 1472

    1472 Well-Known Member

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    It is good to see the WSR managing down these borrowings though clearly there is some way to go yet. Elsewhere there is "appeal fatigue" when some HRs are mounting sucessive survival appeals, the response to which is lacklustre.

    The WSR have a 150 event next month making a visit to the line even more worthwhile:The 150 Event - 16th - 21st July 2024 - West Somerset Railway (west-somerset-railway.co.uk)
     
    1472, Jun 4, 2024
    #44057
  18. Chris86

    Chris86 Well-Known Member

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    I’m not sure appeal fatigue is the right term.

    Everyone is feeling the financial pressure at the moment, and for families like mine it’s prioritising spending, which sadly means that our discretionary spend is less.


    Chris
     
    Chris86, Jun 4, 2024
    #44058
  19. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    "Appeal fatigue" is real, when so many places are running appeals to keep the lights on following the impact of the last few years. Priorities need to be made, but those running the appeals themselves also need to think about what differentiate them from others. When a number of railways, all of which I've visited occasionally but have no particular affinity to, run versions of "gizza bung", my eyes do glaze over.
     
    35B, Jun 4, 2024
    #44059
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  20. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    The interest rate rises are a double whammy for any heritage railway with significant borrowings - the railway’s own interest charges go up, and many visitors have less disposable income so are likely to visit less / spend less when they do visit.

    Tom
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2024
    Jamessquared, Jun 4, 2024
    #44060
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