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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. Thompson1706

    Thompson1706 Part of the furniture

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    Prophets of doom have moved to Yorkshire - keep up !

    Bob.
     
    Thompson1706, Jun 29, 2026 at 5:20 PM
    #45521
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  2. jnc

    jnc Well-Known Member

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    Well, there was that recent appeal for badly-needed funds. (Some lines have had to go that route, but not all.)

    Noel
     
    jnc, Jun 30, 2026 at 11:17 AM
    #45522
  3. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    I seem to recall repeated claims that the WSR needed the odd half million or so every year for a backlog of maintenance, without which it would have to close; no reports of any such moneys being received; and yet the railway apparently still running happily today. One of the criticisms of the management (besides the serious one of treating the S&D Trust and some of the volunteers like muck) was speaking with forked tongue. If all is fine and dandy now, the claims about needing all that cash would seem to have been porkies.
     
    MellishR, Jun 30, 2026 at 1:12 PM
    #45523
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  4. eddief

    eddief Member

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    Something must have happened there, it was only a few years ago they had to run smaller locos for weight restrictions and now this year has seen 2 weekends with an A4 out. From Manors at 17.5T to A4's at 22T is a bit of a change, given Raveningham Hall went to the SVR as it was too heavy
     
    eddief, Jun 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
    #45524
  5. Hemerdon

    Hemerdon Member Friend

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    Some of you must be really bored in this hot weather if all you have to do is raise issues from the past. Move on.
     
    Hemerdon, Jun 30, 2026 at 4:55 PM
    #45525
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  6. Ian Monkton

    Ian Monkton Member

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    Yes, something has happened! A few years ago weight restrictions were introduced due to rail wear. Those rails have now been replaced so larger locos can run again.
     
    Ian Monkton, Jun 30, 2026 at 4:58 PM
    #45526
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  7. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    The point is not to rake over past issues in themselves but to enquire by what miracle the railway has (apparently) recovered from the supposedly dire financial situation of a few years ago. Was it never as bad as was claimed (management being economical with the truth)? Is it actually still much worse than it appears (ditto)? Or has there really been a miracle, and if so can the rest of the preservation movement please be told how to do it?

    Good to hear, but where did the money come from?
     
    MellishR, Jul 1, 2026 at 10:36 AM
    #45527
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  8. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

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    My experience is that things are seldom as good or bad as they are made out to be, that both doomsters and cheerleaders have an axe to grind and that Mandy Rice-Davies hit the nail on the head when she said "they would say that, wouldn't they?"
     
    Bayard, Jul 1, 2026 at 8:47 PM
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  9. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Very often exactly right, but in the case of the WSR a few years ago it was the railway's own management that were telling us how bad things were.
     
    MellishR, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:24 AM
    #45529
  10. used2be

    used2be New Member

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    I see that A4 Sir Nigel Gresley is running on the WSR
    This Friday Saturday and Sunday.
     
    used2be, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:42 AM
    #45530
  11. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    This report remains interesting. If we ignore the £210,000 for the removal of the 53808 liability, the railway still posted back to back losses of over £200k just a couple of years ago.

    While there is no doubt the railway has made progress with some improvements such as rail replacement it does leave you wondering how larger infrastructure projects and indeed maintenance of structures are (a) achievable and (b) sustainable in the medium to long term, especially when various appeals have been rolled out which publicly at least seem to have had little measurable success.

    https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/uploads/wsr_plc_financials_2024.pdf
     
    Pete Thornhill, Jul 3, 2026 at 10:16 AM
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  12. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

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    But were they not running an appeal for money at the same time? It seems that appealing for money to support the running a heritage railway is a delicate business: things must not be seen to be going too well, as donations will drop off on the grounds that they are no longer needed, but they cannot be seen to be going too badly either, as donations will drop off as supporters become disheartened.
     
    Bayard, Jul 3, 2026 at 10:18 AM
    #45532
  13. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    They were, but it was very vague as to what the money was for, much like the current appeal so it’s hard to make much of a judgement based on the lack of transparent information in this regard.
     
    Pete Thornhill, Jul 3, 2026 at 10:34 AM
    #45533
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  14. Michael Rowe

    Michael Rowe New Member

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    IMG_1471.png
    Please find attached attached above a note I wrote in 2024 on this subject
    of locos permitted to run on the WSR. Regrettably I am afraid there has, as
    with other Heritage Railways been no financial miracle

    Michael Rowe
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2026 at 11:24 AM
    Michael Rowe, Jul 3, 2026 at 10:47 AM
    #45534
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  15. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    Yes, we Chemicals are indeed the chameleons of the profession ;)
     
    Sheff, Jul 3, 2026 at 12:13 PM
    #45535
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