Swanage Railway General Discussion

I would hope this is standard practice on many heritage lines, whether they are "up the creek" or not? If it isn't, perhaps it's an idea to be considered.

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That sounds like the worst kind of micro management!

Surely the way to work (unless you really are having to account for every penny) is to give each department a budget and an expection / target to achieve and have managers in place that you can trust to dwliver the agreed work to the agreed budget.

 

But if your finances sre out if control, micro management is probably the only option until you get everyone bought into budget control and then fir certain aspects you can start easing the micromanagement. Not an abnormal process even in large enterprises when things are not going so well. But it does someone to be hot on the finances and react quickly to adjust if neccessary.

 

I would argue it is too severe in "normal times". For example if you have a budget I would not normally expect to have an individual purchase limit against that budget, but as @LC2 said that to be controlled by the departmental manger. However in times of financial strife then extra controls are I think the correct way to go, be you a Heritage Line or a large multinational. It is only the monetary values that will be different. And sometimes those reasons wil be way outside of your control and not show any previous financial mismanagement, think of many companies post the start of the Ukraine Russia war whose budgets became toast, or the airline and travel industry post 9/11.

 

Immediately following Russia invading Ukraine, coal for preserved railways increased in cost by 3.25 times.
Coal cost has stabilised to 3 times what it cost before Russia invaded Ukraine.

 

I agree that perhaps in Swanage's case this may be needed for, hopefully only for a short term, but my comment was aimed as a counterpoint to @M59137 's suggestion that it should be standard practice on "many heritage lines, whether they are "up the creek" or not".

In normal operation, the departmental managers should be in control of the budget, not micro managed from the financial controler / department.

 

See the 4TC brake is up on the lifts again. Very much looking forward to its return to service next year. Tho, what services it can run will be left to be seen. Summer is out as its only 3 car - so it could only run as the 2nd service during the historic pre covid 'green timetable'.

Unless Swanage move to steam only on the main days with diesels running Mondays/Fridays off peak

 

It would make sense to advertise it as an authentic push pull branch line operation on the days when its running, as long of course if the 33/1 is available, harking back to the last days of BR operation, to maximise the revenue that can be obtained, from getting people who otherwise might not want to, travel,

 

The emboldened part of my statement above was, inadvertently, wrong.
In fact your photo shows the crane lifting heavy concrete blocks into place to secure the hand-assembled buildings/scenic backdrop. These blocks were needed to hold down the 'buildings/scenery' in place due to winds causing worries for the franchise holders afraid that their work at Norden [aka 'North Pole'] might end up spread across the Purbeck countryside.

 

Swanage Railway's "Winter Warm Up" event now has a separate thread -
https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/swanage-railway-“winter-warm-up”.1423337/

 

Thread drift apology!
I think I was taken once to a "Santa's Grotto" (possibly or possibly not by that name) in a department store when I was a nipper. There would have been no pretense that it was located at the North Pole. I don't know what I would have thought if I had been taken to the supposed "North Pole". What do kids think now? Do they merely suspend disbelief as we do when reading fiction or watching a film? Do they regard the whole exercise as a "let's pretend" game played with their parents? Do they believe that the train has taken them to a place thousands of miles away by magic?

 

I’m not claiming any expertise in these matters, but my grandkids certainly seem to take this sort of stuff in their stride. They have all been to the Harry Potter studio experience more than once and the older ones to an interactive version of the Railway Children which I think was at the NRM - I wasn’t with them for that so am a bit vague- This year they’ve been to several theme parks with interactive features ranging from pre-school favourite Peppa Pig (at Paultons Park?) to scary stuff aimed at the older kids at the likes of Thorpe Park.
Audley End miniature railways has fantastic shows at Easter and Christmas and probably other times with professional performers.
This sort of thing seems to be exactly what the kids want? They’re always fully booked in our experience.
I hope this helps!

 

The film and book use "poetic licence" to make the north pole out to be like a town where "Santa" lives, rather than the desolate icy cold area it is.
Young children will believe this, as they grow older they will get to know the truth, but will still enjoy the experience and show.

 

Probably all of the above. But if you're going to understand the force it will exert on a child's imagination, you need to see the film, and the imaginary world it creates on the train. That's not just about Santa, or the North Pole, but the whole journey.

 

I guess the reality is that the Christmas treat is a Panto or a Polar Express,so reality is not the prime driver but the percieved entertainment is, maybe drawing a different clientel to the railway.

 

Absolutely - when the kids were younger, a Santa trip was very little to do with railways.

 

Thanks for the replies -- but I don't feel inclined to watch the film myself.

 

I can think of many worse that I've had to endure as a parent!

 

Positive story in the local news media today.

https://www.swanage.news/swanage-railways-polar-express-proves-popular-as-more-tickets-released/