If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. mvpeters

    mvpeters Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2008
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    838
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    There are some simple ideas here: https://recyclenation.com/2015/05/6-natural-ways-to-keep-bees-away/
     
  2. DragonHandler

    DragonHandler Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2016
    Messages:
    1,286
    Likes Received:
    1,590
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    West London
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I've almost had that experience on PA equipped trains on UK heritage railways, it seems that there is a certain type of volunteer who if they see a microphone they just have to keep using it. And station staff can be afflicted by the same disease too.
     
    michaelh, Greenway, TseTT and 3 others like this.
  3. AnthonyTrains2017

    AnthonyTrains2017 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2014
    Messages:
    2,237
    Likes Received:
    918
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Can’t they get rid of PA system at BL and replace with LED screens.
     
  4. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2006
    Messages:
    11,930
    Likes Received:
    10,088
    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I'm pretty much in agreement with you, Tom. However, I did see one advantage when I went for a ride on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. The guard/whoever, kept telling us why we were stopping and doing this, that and everything else. Way OTT but I did note that, towards the end of the journey he mentioned the gift envelopes on the tables and asked people to put their loose change in them. From where I was sat I could see well down the coach and nearly everyone I could see reacted to the request and put money into the envelopes, which had lain empty up to that time.
     
    Sheff and mvpeters like this.
  5. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Messages:
    9,186
    Likes Received:
    7,226
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Thorn in my managers side
    Location:
    72
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Mea Culpa

    I used to do the commentary on Balmoral when sailing down the River Avon many years ago
     
  6. mvpeters

    mvpeters Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2008
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    838
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It seems to me that the WSR is quite appropriately re-creating & interpreting an historical experience.
    There's no point in on-board PA systems, LED displays & so on because one can find those on Network Rail any time.
    So I'd bring back card tickets & curled-up cheese sandwiches to make the journey authentic & memorable.
     
  7. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2005
    Messages:
    5,283
    Likes Received:
    2,650
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired Rolls-Royce engineer
    Location:
    Bath Green Park / Mangotsfield
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Possibly the next suggestion will be to demolish the station buildings at Dunster and replace them with a bus shelter. <BJ>
     
  8. malcolm imps

    malcolm imps New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2016
    Messages:
    175
    Likes Received:
    504
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Hillman Imp Specialist
    Location:
    norton fitzwarren
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    WSR is a Heritage railway not a GWR mess......
     
    Blackdown Boy and free2grice like this.
  9. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2005
    Messages:
    4,323
    Likes Received:
    2,397
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Westcountry
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Go the whole hog, and recruit some suitably grumpy booking clerks - 'whadderyerwant?', to really recreate the good old BR past. Seriously, though,the thing that most puts me off modern train travel is the constant drivel on loudspeakers both on stations and in trains; it makes me want to shout, "shut the f*** up, I'm trying to talk to my friend."
     
  10. Footbridge

    Footbridge Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2013
    Messages:
    499
    Likes Received:
    634
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Darlington
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The last time I was on Minehead station, about a year ago, I did notice plastic waste bins, notices attached with cable ties and lots of Phillips head screws. Sometimes it is impossible to be totally authentic but attention to detail is important else no one cares any more.
     
    jnc likes this.
  11. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2005
    Messages:
    5,283
    Likes Received:
    2,650
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired Rolls-Royce engineer
    Location:
    Bath Green Park / Mangotsfield
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Donations to the WSR rail appeal creep up. News from the WSRA. <BJ>

    Donations to WSR Rail Renewal Appeal exceed £70,000

    The WSRA and WSSRT are pleased to announce that donations to the WSR Rail Renewal Appeal have now exceeded £70,000. Individual donations vary range from £5 to £8000 and the railway is very grateful for all of them. There are also donations from groups and commercial enterprises, demonstrating the important part the West Somerset Railway plays in the life of the local community as well as the wider heritage movement.

    We’d like to especially acknowledge the donations made by friends and family in memory of Michael John Gay. Michael Gay was a steam and railway enthusiast and a long-standing supporter of the West Somerset Railway from its very early days. He retired to Loxton, near Weston-super-Mare, after a lifetime in the newspaper industry, finally becoming Managing Director of the then Bristol United Press, publishers of the Western Daily Press and Evening Post. His friends and family have made their donations to the WSR Rail renewal appeal in his memory.

    The figures quoted for the appeal here and elsewhere on this website are donations received to date. Associated Gift Aid forms part of the original gift (unless otherwise specified by the donor) and will be added to the Rail Renewal Fund as and when it is recovered.

    Please follow the link to our online donations page to make your donation https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/railrenewal2019
     
  12. misspentyouth62

    misspentyouth62 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2017
    Messages:
    1,381
    Likes Received:
    1,739
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    34D, now flexible
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Maybe the PA systems could play steam chuffing sound effects to detract from the Hymek on the front? :)
    This could operate in reverse at Diesel galas for those about to comment on this option.
     
  13. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    That's a problem it can't be beyond the wit of man to sort out, e.g. have the blanks in a punched A4 sheet, retained just at the corners so that they can be pressed out. They could be pre-printed on the rear, too.
     
  14. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Messages:
    11,247
    Likes Received:
    17,947
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    Barrister
    Location:
    Stogumber
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Today.

    46D2E751-EF88-4E12-912D-79B2BA688A32.jpeg 42C2EF76-C251-4F24-89E1-FF4154AC4EB3.jpeg 53444ABD-BF0E-4534-9477-92E7CAD9360E.jpeg
    8CFE81D3-E6B4-4460-90D8-D3F8B6E44F3B.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2019
  15. Maunsell907

    Maunsell907 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2013
    Messages:
    881
    Likes Received:
    1,965
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Although there is as of yet AFAIK no published current business/strategic plan issued by the PLC it has been often
    stated by PLC board members that increased volunteer activity ( ie less paid staff ) will be a prerequisite to a
    return to viable operability.

    Two recent postings on this forum have addressed this subject ie No. 21217 from Mel Hillman and No.21318
    from Frank Courtney. ( These have clearly attracted attention with 17 & 24 likes respectively )

    Particularly aposite: Mel asked "How many new volunteers have been recruited by the WSRA since
    it took over volunteer recruitment earlier this year ?"

    Frank inter alia wrote "They ( volunteers ) will however require ( and expect ) a rather warmer welcome
    than has been in evidence over the last year or two "

    I am not aware that either of the two WSRA Trustees who regularly contribute to this Forum have commented.

    In defence of the WSRA my understanding is that over 90% of WSR volunteers are employed by the PLC.
    Also less than 50% of current volunteers are WSRA members. Under such circumstances I fail to see how
    the WSRA can authoritively recruit volunteers for the PLC.

    I do not know whether the PLC was glad to hand responsibility for volunteer recruitment to the WSRA or
    the WSRA was keen to take on the role. Either way it was a mistake.

    The WSRA should concentrate on growing its Membership ( as an aside new members often
    subsequently become volunteers, but that is a bonus) and fund raising. The PLC should
    operate the Railway which includes recruiting and managing( both sympathetically and
    empathetically ) staff, whether volunteers or paid.

    At the risk of being a "I told you so" this was spelt out in the WSRA Business Plan which was
    prepared after consultation with the then PLC Board in 2016 . Not everything that happened
    previously was wrong :)

    Michael Rowe
     
  16. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2009
    Messages:
    1,681
    Likes Received:
    2,438
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Somewhere in the UK
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Laser printers that support card of Edmonson thickness are few and far between, because fundamentally the mechanisms tend to require flexible material. As for having a partially-cut sheet, I'm sceptical, after seeing the results when people have tried to put an already-partially-used sheet of labels through a laser printer.

    Inkjet printers can cope a bit better, but tend to be too slow to work very well in a busy booking office
     
    mvpeters likes this.
  17. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2006
    Messages:
    11,930
    Likes Received:
    10,088
    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Them and us is obviously still alive in deepest Somerset. :(
     
    baldbazza, Bean-counter, jnc and 6 others like this.
  18. mvpeters

    mvpeters Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2008
    Messages:
    716
    Likes Received:
    838
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Edmondson tickets

    Since the WSR have largely transitioned away from the use of card tickets, this may be an academic post.
    But may I suggest this:
    Those interested could get together & arrange a demo at Dunster, you could see what's involved in the production of Edmondson tickets.
    Maybe the Autumn Steam Gala would be a good weekend for this.
    Then, if someone has the time, energy & inclination, assemble a register of all the Edmondson printers in the country. I get the sense that there are at least a dozen or more.
    Then find the sources for resources that go with them; card stock, font supplies, ink etc..
    Then do the same for the date-stamp machines - there must be hundreds of these - presumably 10 or more on the WSR alone.
    & assemble the results into a central database that could be accessed by Edmondson enthusiasts everywhere.
    Maybe this exists somewhere, but I & others have yet to find it!

    I'll start digging around, but I'm too far away to be any real use.
     
  19. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Messages:
    11,247
    Likes Received:
    17,947
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    Barrister
    Location:
    Stogumber
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Not amongst those of us working to move the Railway forward.

    Don’t expect long moaney post from us on social media. Or responses to such.

    Robin
     
    malcolm imps, 1472 and Steve like this.
  20. Ron Sidewater

    Ron Sidewater New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2014
    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    383
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Dog Walker
    Location:
    Edge of Exmoor
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I sell tickets at Blue Anchor, and, just speaking for myself, I'm glad to see the back of Edmonson tickets. Even though I'm old enough to have learnt (and was actually quite good at) mental arithmetic, selling multiple tickets and also the end-of-day accounting process is so much easier now. If you come to BA and want an Edmonson ticket I'll give you a free platform ticket or even an infant's free ticket.
     

Share This Page