Teifi Valley Railway

Sharing news and information, yes.

But maintaining a long-running grudge with a railway, no.

A number of threads on this forum have gone this way. Whatever the reasons for their grudge, this sort of "discussion" puts others off from posting anything neutral/positive and does nothing for the individuals concerned.

Posting on this forum will not change *anything* when it comes to disagreements. It simply extends and expands the grievances, with people taking sides without fully understanding the background the individual's case (there are often two sides to the same story).

When this happens, I believe that the moderators should gently step in advise the individual(s) that they should either take up the issue with the railway concerned or try to move on and find another heritage railway to join.

 

Highlighting governance issues with one of the UK's smaller "heritage" railways does serve one purpose; it serves as a cautionary tale for any potential donors/volunteers, to, at the very least, carry out some 'due diligence' before they invest too much time or money into a scheme which, on the face of it, might not be being run properly.

In theory it also acts as a cautionary tale for those running other similar organisations; however given that the enforcement of legal requirements seems to be, at best, protracted to the point of near-irrelevance, I'm not sure it is having the desired effect.

Will it make the slightest bit of difference to the TVR itself? No, clearly not. I don't think that's the point. But bumping the thread occasionally certainly does no harm.

 

Politely I disagree. Im with @pmh_74 on this provided that the posts are not abusive, which they haven’t been.

Do I care if the accounts are filed or not? Yes in two very specific ways, but not to the extent that I want to do anything about it.

I care firstly as an example of how ridiculously toothless the governance by Companies House has become because that has wide Implications and I am curious to see what happens, but apathetic enough not to keep wanting to check CH for myself. Secondly I would like to know whether progress is made by the TVR and other railways on this kind of matter. It is a cautionary tale, from which something may yet be learnt.

 

I am not posting on here to moan about a longheld grudge against the TVR. Since politics broke out in the organisation back in the eighties resignations and returns became common and I joined in. My motive all along has been to bring the current situation to the attention of the heritage railway community in the hope of some helpful advice. Lately I have been more concerned with the lack of appreciation of the importance of administration in running a business, probably because sensible organisations employ professionals to do it for them. There have been several occasions on which lack of admin nearly killed the TVR. When raising money to buy the trackbed in the 70s, the group was horrified to receive a letter from BR reminding them that the property would only be sold to a limited Company in possession of a Light Railway Order. A solicitor was immediately employed. After the purchase, the Company had to produce Accounts and these showed its only income was the money raised by the Society. Tax was due and the Company was penniless. An accountant convinced the Revenue that the money had been advance payment for shares, and no tax was due. In the 90s, Ray Sanderson obtained a grant from the Assembly to publish a leaflet showing all the tourist attractions in the Teifi Valley. It was discovered that he had written a salary for himself into the scheme and he was sacked. Years later a letter came from the Assembly demanding repayment of the entire grant (over £50) because the grant conditions had not been complied with. The files were missing of course and we were summoned to Cardiff to explain. Complete grovelling was successful.
The present regime regard paying an accountant as unnecessary expenditure.

 

Dangerous ground here. This is an open forum, so long as posts meet the requirements of the rules they should be accepted. Saying she should 'move on' or 'find somewhere else' just because some posters don't like what she says is getting far too close to censorship for my liking.
A few points for those who may not know:-
A while back there was a "robust" discussion between Elizabeth and TVR Volunteer and others on here. TVR Volunteer took every one of Elizabeth's comments as criticism of the TVR and its volunteers. If I remember correctly this went on for some weeks with posters trying to get TVR Volunteer to understand that her comments were directed solely at the management of the TVR and no one else. I'm not sure if TVR Volunteer ever fully understood the distinction which is sad because his updates were very welcome here.
As for those who suggest Elizabeth's comments becoming boring or whatever when viewers are here to review comments about the TVR activities etc. I'd ask: Just when was the last time you viewed a comment about the TVR progress or activities on here?
And one final point, I was going to say if people don't like what Elizabeth says why don't they just hit the 'ignore' button so they don't see her again? But it seems that either that function has disappeared or never was and I'm suffering (another?) senior moment. As a moderator could you enquire if it would be possible to add that function? Then those who wish to could simply pass on by without ever having to see another of Elizabeth's posts. I think that could also be quite useful on several of the other threads on NP, not just this one.

 

Well said.

 

I became a member of the TVR society some years ago.
I sent a cautious message to the management that (whilst not wishing to be an English bloke with a bucket of cash) I had some talent and resource and would like to help.
Never heard a thing.
For a whole year.
No news, no updates, no welcome. Nothing.
At the end of the year nobody contacted me to renew my membership, so I didn't bother.
At the same time, the Corris railway- a similar length, later to the party, volunteer led project- sent out weekly updates and photographs 0f what was being done.
Fred painted some benches. John and Tony laid some ballast. Peter serviced the axleboxes. Really mundane stuff, but it showed an outfit that was working toward something.
If you want people to support your project, show them that you are alive and kicking.
And submit your tax return. No-one is going to give you money if it is going straight to the taxman.
Good governance looks good.

 

Click on someone's user name/avatar & viola! a box appears:—

 

Thank you Ross for your report, which confirms the character of the present management's relationship with the public. It needs public support. but expects to get it without disclosing anything, because information is private. This is true if you are selfemployed, but not if you are running a limited Company. Years ago TVR Volunteer said that he would not be giving any progress reports because the management forbade it. Nothing has changed.

 

No, you don't! You come to a consensus which you believe to be right for the forum and its members.

That's not necessarily the same thing at all.

 

We appreciate the mods ☺️
You're doing a good job

 

As it happens, I rarely think the NP moderators get things wrong! But that doesn't excuse an impossible claim. I am well aware that I might be considered a pedantic grammarian, but no disrespect to the work of you or any other moderator is intended.

 

Opinions, sharpened by three pints

 

Where did he say that? Not on here as far as I can see. He did say that he couldn't discuss the 'business' side of the railway, because as an ordinary volunteer, he was not privy to that information.
He also stated that official announcements and progress reports could be found on the website and on facebook. Its true there isn't much reported, but there we are.

As an ordinary volunteer, I would not give out any information, business matters, gossip, personal speculation, or any other reports regarding the railway at which I volunteer.

 

Now there is a challenge!
With hindsight we should have fixed a 10 minute time each day at the Great Gathering at a certain location and worn a red Carnation or similar,
Will we have to wait 25 years for the next chance??
The problem is finding a suitable location. Maybe one in each of the Big Four areas?
I would be up for one, but planning would be a nightmare.
I seem to remember The Head of Steam was used once.

 

Ahhh. Thanks for that. So I'm not quite that senile yet (maybe... )