Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

Stand by for excrement coming into contact with the air conditioning equipment at the Quainton Railway Society AGM today.

Looks like being a re-run of the WSRA saga...........

 

Unfortunately I shall be unable to attend as I will be late turn at Rolvenden today.

 

Ah the joys of railway preservation politics - makes one glad I took the way out . . . .it would take a bit of a stretch to be a re-run of the WSRA saga though.

 

Suffice it to say at the moment that over the course of the last year three of the Executive Committee members, including the Chairman have resigned due to being continually undermined by another Officer, followed by the Hon. Secretary's resignation yesterday, then something is seriously wrong.

Also throw in the fiasco in not getting last year's meeting's Minutes, Accounts, and Reports not being sent in a minimum of 14 days before the AGM.

It looks like being an 'interesting' meeting.

The Top Table looks like being rather empty...............

 

As long as none of it gets over 1310!!! (That's a N.E.R. Class H that has just gone on loan to them, for those that don't know.)

 

Must be over by now - what was the outcome?

 

17 seriously injured and 25 walking wounded.

 

Having never previously been to a BRC AGM I had no prior experience to compare to and despite being a long standing member had not realised that some parties might wish a WSRA saga on others.

Of course if one wants to play politics with administrative details and whinge about technicalities there were plenty of grounds for dispute. If, however, one wishes to consider long term plans for such centres, threatened as they are by HS2 on the doorstep and the possibility of electrified double track past the platforms (instead of the current low speed freight only line) then it is actually quite heartening to realise that what is often referred to derogatorily as a scrapyard is finally starting to think in a more business like manner. The sad reality for all such centres is that public tastes are moving on, members are ageing fast and hence less able to undertake the enormous amounts of maintenance required to prevent steady deterioration of exhibits (let alone restore new ones) and public expectations steadily rise.

The fact that the executive were late getting a glossy report to members is unfortunate as it contains many home truths about visitor and volunteer requirements. The meeting also disclosed how little finance has been available for new equipment because visitor numbers have continued to decline over several years. Sadly like the proverbial curates egg BRC is very good in parts but dreadful in others a situation which has developed over many years when various groups made acquisitions and were allowed in without proper plans to finance, manage and maintain their assets after the initial enthusiasm to buy them at scrap prices wanes and the true costs of restoration are revealed.

The meeting actually contained many positives for which members should be grateful about ways the visitor experience (I know horrible term to many but without the income the Centre would quickly close) is being improved and plans to break out with a new running line. Some things may be quick and easy others such as establishing credibility with HS2 and Network Rail will be harder particularly if such bodies see a failing Centre where it might be cheaper and easier to push for failure rather than pay out for the Centre's demands.

The meeting was at times fiery and passionate (although I didn't hear anybody suggesting adjournment to the car park to resolve things!) as one would expect where the value of individual's pet projects are questioned but as was pointed out by several people the various teams need either to pull together for the wider good or take their assets (junk) elsewhere. It is perhaps to the Chairman's credit that he didn't actually seek votes on some contentious potential disposals on the basis that the discussions showed the need for better researched decision making particularly as now the Centre has accredited Museum status disposals have to be handled in accordance with museum guidelines and not simply on the basis that many of the public and members present see certain items as being of little use and taking resources which could be better used.

To me it seems a society which for too long has drifted being somewhat shaken by new blood. Drawing parallels with WSRA would be wrong for many reasons although clearly there are some similarities about the need for change. I'm sure many on here and in societies up and down the country wish the world didn't change so fast and that their pet project or idyllic branch line could be pickled and preserved exactly as it was forever. The sad reality is that the real world isn't like that and if the BRC type of railway centre is to have any future they must keep attracting and engaging with new generations whilst improving to meet current rules and regulations rather than those of the 1960's. The new team at BRC seem intent on doing this and inevitably will ruffle feathers on the way.

I suspect others will have a different take on the meeting but please don't let discussions on here degenerate to any sort of personal mud slinging or argument about personalities.

 

A fair and honest report, well done that man.

Chris.

 

With hospital visits and another meeting tomorrow to deal with a lengthy posting just isn't possible this evening, but here are some of the early events. Unfortunately, it would appear that you are not a regular attender - as you admit - so like the other 'armchair' members you are not aware of what is really going on. As far as this event was concerned only an Agenda and a letter were sent out in the 14 days minimum required prior to the meeting as set out in the Rules , arriving here on Tuesday April 5th. A second envelope with arrived on Thursday April 7th with the Minutes of the 2015 AGM. Only yesterday, Friday April 15th, did a glossy printed Report and Accounts arrive in an A4 sized envelope. As a member pointed out, if the Acting Chairman (who has stressed his professional qualifications in accountancy and company secretaryship), having taken the job over from the Hon. Secretary, had got his act together, the contents of all three envelopes could have gone in the A4 sized one at the same postal rate. He stated that this alone had cost getting on for £700 in envelopes ad postage alone. He was wrong - based on 877 members this alone was over £800 wasted. Add in the office staff having to pack three separate envelopes and a quite unnecessary glossy Report and Accounts, the Acting Chairman has, at a rough estimate, frittered away the best part of £3000, which could have been better spent on other things. Only at the meeting today were we given a second, revised Agenda, still inviting us to make comments on the Agenda and Minutes by April 7th! Also available was a revised (but not stated as so being) Report and Financial Statement, with some of the figures in it different to those in the glossy one received on Friday. Based on the Rules the meeting could, and should have been set back two weeks to still be legal. Despite the questionable legality of the situation, the members were asked to vote in favour of the meeting continuing. Does any of this give you cause for concern? Perhaps Robin White of the WSR would like to give an opinion on matters so far.

More later.

 

That depends on whether the administrative issues were a reflection on something deeper, or whether they were only surface deep. What would give me comfort is noticing that the membership were given the choice of whether or not to proceed, without (unless I'm missing something) any questionable vote counting. In that situation, I would give them the benefit of the doubt - along with some very clear advice that they need to get the admin a lot better in future before it leaves them without the credibility they'll need to persuade the membership to implement their ideas.

 

I can't comment other than to give a visitors point of view. I called last year and I was impressed by what I saw. I didn't really see much in the way of "scrap" and many of the displays were very good indeed, especially the Museum building on the down side.

I've always had the impression that Quainton is a selection of groups doing their own thing and there aren't too many people left over to improve and run the site as an attraction, which is a shame as it is vital to those groups being able to continue their (very good) work

 

this sums it up for me- Quainton is *always* worth a visit - Rewley Road would be worth the entrance fee alone afaic. I live just down the road and I think it suffers because Didcot is so close and is a much more coherent story and collection, plus there's Chinnor (my current favourite preserved line), Cholsey, etc all fishing in the same pool.

the slight problem with it is that I feel BRC can come across as very much "one for the enthusiasts" rather than the casual punter - running line's quite short, and many of the groups there are working very hard on doing their own thing. In some ways, although not quite on the same scale, it reminds me more of Tyseley in the old days - visitors are very much welcome, but a lot of it presents as basically a light/light-heavy engineering site with some nice things to look at as well. Not a problem at all for me, for Mr & Mrs Smith and the little Smiths, it might be different.

 

This sums it up. Quainton is a Museum site, it is not, and can never be, a working railway as such. Some of us have been pressing for a suitable building to accommodate the three Multiple Units (steam, Diesel and electric) for over ten years now, with at least two sets of drawings done to my knowledge, the last about two years ago. From what I can make of it, the building has been abandoned and substituted by 3 to 4 miles of railway. It appears that this will involve extending from the present cattle dock with a 5' deep trench (cutting) right across the front of the original station building, going through the empty arch of the existing road over bridge, reinstating two former Metropolitan road over bridges (both long since removed and filled in) to terminate at an electricity sub-station in the middle of nowhere. Quite where the money and effort for this is coming from - against that for a building - is not explained. Personally,I can't see it happening.

Meanwhile the MUs continue to deteriorate against the elements.

The plain fact, however, is that the organising and conducting of the AGM did not conform to either the Society's rules or the Companies Act 2006. Some might be happy with this situation, but if the leading lights can ignore them, why shouldn't the rest of us?

 

You mix two issues - the plans and the governance. I make no comment on the plans, save that they will need to be good to attract the income to pay for them.

I see nothing to suggest Gresley Society or WSRA style manipulation, though plenty to suggest that Quainton could benefit from improving its organisation.

Am I missing something here?

 

With the knowledge that 4 of a total of 9 members of the Executive Committee have resigned in the time since last year's AGM due to being continually undermined by the Hon Treasurer, would you want to stand for election?

 

So basically eight people can't control one. Surely all the eight needed to do was outvote him on everything he proposed.

Bob.