Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Sadly, the fact that something involving the L&BR is a 'no brainer' does not mean that it is any more likely to happen. For example, one might argue that having a stretch of trackbed (BR to WD) in need of fencing, a pile of fence posts all ready, and some volunteers ready to do the work would be a 'no brainer' - but apparently not, as nothing yet had happened....

 

Whilst appreciating the concerns of many, I suspect that, had the OSHI Not been bought by the L&B "Operation" then I'm sure we would have had pages of comments as to the "operations" failure to secure it. If it had been sold to an " intransigent to the rebuilding of the line" it may well have proved even more expensive and time consuming in the long term. Given the few people who actually do the work, both on the ground and behind the scenes, I think we should show a degree more understanding and support.

 

It was mentioned at the AGM I believe as a working weekend project but don't quote me on that , they could be short of volunteers even though it seems approximately 200 are registered with HOPS. Perhaps most of them are waiting for their card too

 

Some of those behind the scenes men or two of those involved with the negotiation of the pub in particular have shown outright contempt of the membership over the years and regard them as cash cows to drive only what they want forwards so is it any wonder they attract such criticism especially with the continued secrecy about how they have arranged things from the start

 

Well, I certainly am still, so I've had to ignore the latest plea to sign up to the Roster. Admittedly at the moment I would probably have to restrict myself to WFH, but at least it would be a start....

 

Perhaps some knowledgeable person could confirm there would be 5% stamp duty on such a transfer. Or 5% on the business premises and 3.67% on the house. Either way approximately £25,000 - £30,000.

 

I would be happy to accept this, @Flying Phil if there had been no offers of help (professional or otherwise) and the process had been as open and inclusive as possible.

Neither are true historically with the Trust in general and LBBC in particular. Compare and contrast with the continued strong support for YVT/EA quietly going about their work in securing the trackbed - David Cameron, Mike Buse and Co will take all the time anyone has to answer questions and whatnot, whereas the Trust seem to have spent their AGM treating all concerned as naughty schoolboys.

 

Im 1 of the ones with a valid HOPs but not currently medically fit to lift , there's plenty of us who aren't capable of doing certain work on certain days

No HOPs card doesn't mean no work , just means you manually enter your details when logging on site.

Im sure those attend the AGM will remember that a full stock take has been taken and a plan has been put into place for a working party soon . We will receive an email soon hopefully for a working party

 

But....as has been pointed out by others, you should have HOPS in order to be covered by the relevant L&BR insurance wherever you work, even at home (eg repairing equipment etc).

 

I guess that the management should also hold HOPS cards, so they are also covered by the Insurance of the Trust

 

Not so sure HOPS is a requirement for insurance, as far as I am aware, being a member is.

HOPS is a one stop admin centre and includes an SMS (Safety Management System) which is required for most heritage railways which are exempt from mainline ORR ROGS. It provides tools to make it easier to keep track of maintenance records, rostering, working parties and all sorts.

It also provides, where able to, an online log on/log off system. It also holds a register of what training and skills people have.

Eg: everyone should have done the Working at Heights course.

Where it's not possible to use HOPS, eg an off grid location or for those who are not computer savvy, (and there are quite a few) properly written records should still be acceptable.

 

I'm sure that @Lineisclear can confirm but I don't think either HOPS or society membership would be an insurance requirement.

 

Can you show me where in the insurance/rule book it states this fact?

 

AFAIK this is more of a SMS-type requirement rather than an operational Rule Book matter. I can't comment on the Trust/CIC's Insurance policy.

What I do know from past experience on other railways is that volunteers had to 'sign in' in order to be covered by insurance. If you take the WSR as an example, it is/was a requirement that any 'volunteer' doing actual 'work' on or for the railway had to have a Staff ID (permanent or temporary), which in recent years has been replaced by the HOPS. IIRC @ikcdab confirmed this in a posting not long ago. I would find it strange if the L&BR did not have the same requirement.

 

Are you sure about that? HOPS is an IT system for managing a set of processes, it isn't the process itself.

Tom

 

So its gone from it is a insurance thing to its a from past experience at other railways .

Obviously you know when you come to woody bay you have to sign on ,using the tablet and it has the manual entery section for those of us who forgot to pick our card up so there's a record of where people are and what's going on .

This is the problem with Nat Pres , opinions are expressed as facts are are false and spread false information

 

It is generally possible, subject to permission, for anyone to volunteer on a railway, whether or not they are members of said railway or registered on that railway's IT systems. Such occurrences are far from uncommon; a typical example would be a when a loco visits, it would often be accompanied by one or more representatives from the owners to give advice and assistance on operating it. Those volunteers would not typically be members of the railway being visited.

Working exchanges of volunteers from one railway visiting another to volunteer (a kind of busman's holiday) are also far from unknown. Members of a local chapter of CAMRA assisting at a beer festival would be another. On the Bluebell we recently hosted a party of Duke of Edinburgh students to overhaul a wagon as part of their volunteering commitment for that award.

In any such situation, "being on HOPS" is not the requirement. It is important for such volunteers that they sign in (which could be manually) which serves firstly to enable hours to be monitored (for example against a fatigue policy) and also the sign-in normally includes some kind of declaration that the signee isn't under the influence of drink, drugs etc. The other important point is that those working that way are correctly inducted into any local site hazards, working processes etc. But there is no absolute requirement that such volunteers are either members of the railway, or registered on the railway's IT systems, though for anyone who wished to volunteer on a regular basis, the former would seem likely and the latter convenient.

Tom

 

Can we also throw into the ring the fact that alot of railways don't even use HOPS and still use good old school paper logs .

 

Interestingly, I can't find anything about Insurance or membership in HOPS. That said, my understanding of HOPS (or HRRS) is only a management tool for record keeping, and it should not be confused with the local rules and operational regulations set out by each railway.

Also, I had a brief look at RM3, and again, I could not see anything jumping out at me requiring insurance or membership. However, 35B mentioned above about the culture at the Railway, it may well be that the Trustee need to sit down with a coffee/Tea/or their preferred poison and read RM3, since I feel that it will help reset the tone of the group's culture.

 

The Railway Management Maturity Model (RM3) is a management tool that that can be used to assess an organisations ability to achieve excellence in controlling health & safety and is used by the ORR. Why the heck you should think it would make any reference to insurance and membership, I can't understand.