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Avon Valley Railway Updates and Videos

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Corbs, May 15, 2013.

  1. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    This is the choice you have to make in the modern world.
    Divert some of you volunteer or paid staff to a publicity drive.
    Talk the place up, talk about anything as long as AVR is seen in print in the magazine's accompanied by pictures.
    Local radio interviews explaining how wonderful the line is, how important it is to volunteer.
    See if you can get a regular spot in the local rag outlining what was achieved last week and what you hope to achieve in the following week.
    People love to see their name and efforts publicised.
    Make the place sexy, create the allure, even if it is an illusion.
    If you (And I mean all of us) do not make the effort to attract members, why should they?
     
  2. ruddingtonrsh56

    ruddingtonrsh56 Member

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    I did not know that there were genuine plans to extend into Bath, I'd always thought it was just a 'wouldn't it be nice' idea.
    I know what you mean about the need for volunteers to extend! As a volunteer at the GCRN, we're much depleted in terms of volunteers as many go to our better known, longer established local neighbour the other side of the Midland Main Line...
     
  3. theonlyadsrulz

    theonlyadsrulz Member

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    It's a shame we have lost people along the way to the bigger railways, especially if that is the reasoning. In terms of our volunteer/membership ratio, we have around 700-800 members, of which around 200 are working members in one shape or form. Not quite as high as we would like, but we value everyone who has already given up their time to volunteer at the railway, and we are trying to encourage anyone who is a member to give up a little time, not just canvasing for new ones!


    If you ask any of the Trustees at the moment the situation of the railway, they will probably say that we're in a state of change. With three new Trustees (including myself) elected last year all under the age of 30, we're trying to breathe some new life into areas that may have been a little stagnant in recent years! The Trust committed to the Bath extension within 10 years nearly two years ago, and progress is being made on things I've already mentioned so we can hopefully make that aim a reality.

    Cheers

    Adam
    Trustee at AVR Heritage Trust
     
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  4. 6024KEI

    6024KEI Member

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    I live pretty close, drive past every day for work - could get there by car in 15 minutes, by bike in 30 at a push. Sorry to say though that it really doesn't appeal. Adam talks of stagnation - I remember pitching up at Bitton and having a Sunday afternoon walk along the line when I was going out with my now wife (we've been married 18 years!). Was curious about what was going on, ended up signing up for membership as much as anything else to keep up to date. But the reality is that whilst some worthwhile commercial projects have been completed (the new café etc) and the extension to Avon Riverside, the rolling stock side is probably worse now than then. At that point the RSH had just been finished and launched into traffic, the Avonside was being talked about as the next project etc. Now, the Avonside is still in bits, the RSH is out of service, Littleton no 5 (mentioned earlier) has been standing rusting for 20 years - nothing has emerged from the works as home completed since that time as far as I can see on the steam side, and the line seems to survive on the basis of running whatever is available for contract hire just to keep the trains running and the money coming in.

    Obviously generating cash is important, but there hasn't seemed to be a consistent theme to the restoration. Its a LMS line with no LMS rolling stock bar a couple of wagons which don't seem to be a priority for restoration. Other than "anything we can play trains with", there doesn't seem to be anything coherent about what is happening. People often want to see a vision of what they are putting their time into. For some, re-opening the line to run a mixed bag of anything goes to Bath is enough - others probably want something more historically consistent - maybe with the added bonuses of the local connections to the Avonside and Sentinel.

    As someone that would probably prefer to work on carriage restoration, there's nothing apart from Mk1's on the line. Hence why if I had time (at the moment this is all moot as family demands don't allow active involvement anywhere) I'd probably either look to Didcot or maybe see whether the guys restoring the Cambrian carriage at Swindon want a hand as I have a bit of a thing for Cambrian history.
     
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  5. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    Maybe it is a ‘Bristol problem’? I say this slightly tongue in cheek but the same things are said about Bristol’s sports teams - why with such a huge catchment area are they so rubbish. Maybe it suffers from not being the gwr and not being the s&d.

    My memories of it from a very long time ago was that it seemed a bit caught in between, there were some scrapyard condition locos, things like a 9f (I maybe mistaken on what was there) but a short trip.
     
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  6. Corbs

    Corbs Well-Known Member

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    Didn't Bristol City recently beat Man Utd and give Man City a run for its money? ;)

    There was a big clear out a few years ago of the larger locos which were in ex-Barry condition.
     
  7. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    I know slightly off topic but a few years ago it was commonly stated that Bournemouth would never 'make it' football wise as the area was too well heeled and would not tolerate a working man's sport.
    Obviously standards must have dropped in the area
     
  8. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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    I have to declare an interest as this was where I first cut my teeth in railway preservation.

    There are a number of reasons why the line hasn't taken off in the way some others have from lack of local authority buy in at the start; nibys resulting in long legal battles and costly legal costs; the railway not running from anywhere to anywhere in particular.

    However from what I read in the notes of the AGM the previous management were less than top draw and had a poor uderstanding of what was required to make the railway into what it hoped to be.

    I still pay my subs but as per another thread on here there is no internet option to renew and having sent my money regularly to the avonside fund I never received any of the promised updates from them nor did anyone remind me that my contributions had ceased.

    As i say I wish the new Trustees well but they have a lot of changes to make.
     
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  9. MAPLE CHRIS

    MAPLE CHRIS Member

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    Have also made financial contributions to the avonside but as the poster above states no updates have been made available does not really encourage you to send more to this fund.

    What Bitton could do with is a restoration shed so that overhauls could be done under cover. the remains of a shed from radstock have been lying unused in the undergrowth north of the station for years now.
     
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  10. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    Well Harry Redknapp lives there.

    As a long suffering gashead I look forward in the near future to the gas beating Real Madrid 5-0 to win the champions league. And the world will learn to sing ‘good night irene’.

    Back to the avr - I wonder if it just lacks a single thing to develop a critical mass. There are certainly a lot of people for whom the projects they get behind are extensions, for some it is major restorations of important locos or rolling stock. I am trying to find the right words for it but it is almost as if it lacks a focal point - either a major short, medium or long term goal.
     
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  11. theonlyadsrulz

    theonlyadsrulz Member

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    I will be trying to get down a lot of points that everyone has raised here and bring them up at the next trustee meeting, if not earlier. It's good to hear what people have to say, good or bad, so we know where to improve and what needs to be focused on!

    A couple of points I will remark on are firstly the Avonside overhaul/restoration facilities. The Avonside is currently being overhauled under cover in the goods shed, where a brand new saddle tank has been made, which I believe will be ready for a test fitting in the not too distant future. The main piece of the puzzle that needs to be worked on then will be the boiler! There are plans for improved restoration facilities at Bitton, I won't go into too much detail about what we are aiming for with it but it will certainly be a vast improvement on what we currently have!

    Secondly, focal points of fundraising. We are in the process of working through the projects that we want to raise money for, whether it be loco overhauls or the extension to Bath, and the best ways to implement campaigns for each of them.

    Also on the point of not being able to renew memberships online. This is a something that has been raised at a previous meeting, and is something that we would like to implement in the not too distant future.

    I'm hoping that within the next year or so it will be a different story with regards to a lot of things people have raised concerns/points about. I became a trustee in order to help improve the situation of the railway, and I hope that I will do that!

    Cheers

    Adam
    Trustee at AVR Heritage Trust
     
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  12. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    I will say that I do like the attempt to acknowledge bristol’s Industrial heritage. Good news about somerdale. Maybe there is a way to forge more links with m shed and the harbour railway. If you could pull visitors who go to the city centres this would good. Apologies if I am telling you things you already do.
     
  13. Mike78

    Mike78 New Member

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    I
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2018
  14. theonlyadsrulz

    theonlyadsrulz Member

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    For those unaware, we were able to erect a brand new canopy to replace the old marquee at Bitton during November, which we were able to do thanks to a grant from the Suez Communities Trust.
     

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  15. toplight

    toplight Well-Known Member

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    Some interesting comments on this line. Spent some time working in the area recently so explored some of the old lines there and it has a great history so would like to see it succeed.
    I have never worked for the AVR, but seems lots of comments that people are upset that more locos/rolling stock haven't been restored. Is there much covered workshop space, seems to be not a lot. ? Is this what has held back some of these projects from being progressed, ie people don't want to work outside on them ? or are there other factors ?
     
  16. theonlyadsrulz

    theonlyadsrulz Member

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    Workshop space is at a premium, with the only covered area being in the goods shed (which is where the Avonside is currently being worked on), it doesn't leave much scope for getting work done under cover. Plans are being discussed and thought through for a new facility on site which would increase the amount of covered working area massively, but it is a slow process and the plan is still in its early stages.

    In terms of specific locos, some of the locos on site are not owned by the railway, and therefore we are not able to do anything to them without the owner/s say so. The two main subjects in this case are 'Littleton No 5' and 4F 44123. If the ownership of 'Littleton No 5' were to pass to the AVRHT at some point in the future, then plans can be made with how to move forward with an overhaul, but it is not currently our place to do so. 44123 is currently being worked on, with a new tender being constructed on site in the goods shed extension, but again, the loco is not owned by the railway, so we are not currently responsible for its restoration.

    As for people not wanting to work outside, I can't speak from every person who comes to work on rolling stock, but it would be down to each individual on what conditions they are comfortable working in. I'm sure a lot of people would prefer to work outside on a warm spring/summer day than on a cold and wet winter day! That said I was on site today and there were quite a few people around working on projects, mostly outside!

    I hope that has shed some light on some things!

    Cheers

    Adam
    Trustee at the AVR Heritage Trust
     
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  17. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

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  18. WishIHadAName

    WishIHadAName New Member

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    Why do they need a metro to Bath when there is a regular train service already?
     
  19. Corbs

    Corbs Well-Known Member

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    It's unbelievable the amount of times this kind of thing gets mooted.
     
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  20. simon

    simon Resident of Nat Pres

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    Because it follows a different path. It will never be built but it is a shame that the trackbed wasn't protected as it would have formed a useful route for a tram/light rail system. The underground is just pie in the sky, well pie in the ground really, nonsense.
     

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