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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    Best not to talk nonsense, then.
     
  2. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    We will get to that.
     
  3. D7076

    D7076 Well-Known Member

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    What rubbish .
    Replacement of bridge costs £400k and month of line closure .Do you replace in February when line has 5 days of half term traffic or the month of December and cancel all santa trains which net you 25% of annual income ?
    I know which any well run line would choose .
     
  4. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Straw man? Or deliberately misunderstanding? Of course it matters whether you replace a bridge when the line is closed anyway or when you would otherwise be operating, but it makes minimal difference to the need for a large amount of money.
     
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  5. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    On the contrary, as the time taken to deal with Seaward Way has illustrated, when you do this work makes a significant difference to the company as a whole. And if that is when the line is busy, that means the cost goes up significantly because the cost of the job is not just the direct cost, but also the income foregone. I'd say @D7076 has it about right when considering what should happen and when.
     
  6. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

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    "Rail replacement service". One of the most depressing ways you can put three words together in the English language.
     
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  7. Paulthehitch

    Paulthehitch Well-Known Member

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    Can actually be quicker than the trains they replace.
     
  8. andrewtoplis

    andrewtoplis Well-Known Member

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    In the context of paying to go on a heritage railway though....it's pretty sub optimal!
     
  9. Paulthehitch

    Paulthehitch Well-Known Member

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    Depends whether it is a leisure entertainment on offer or an aspiration to provide a public transport service. The sad truth is thar after the introduction of the heavy duty pneumatic tyre between the wars, yer av'rage branch line tended to be on life support.
     
  10. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    The irony of which, in this specific context, is not lost on many.
     
  11. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Yes of course, if infrastructure work prevents or restricts operation of trains for a prolonged period that loses more money. But the post that I was responding to cited replacement of a bridge occupying one month, either in or out of season. Even if that had to be done during the normal operating season, the loss of income from one month's operation would be a fraction of the direct cost of replacing the bridge. The WSR lost a whole season's income, and because of the level crossing, which I would expect to be a bit cheaper than a bridge.
     
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  12. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    :Chillout:
     
  13. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    How did they lose a whole season's operations? They provided a service to Minehead last year and didn't run in 2020 but neither did some other railways, including the commercially operated Vale of Rhediol, which is similar to the WSR in having a seaside location.

    The past is the past and let's move on, 11 days until trains roll in and out of MD with passengers on board.
     
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  14. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    You've missed the point. Yes you would do it in a closed season and not in the summer or on the pre-Christmas run up, but the cost of replacing the bridge doesn't change whenever you do it, that needed fundraising. That was the point I was making.
     
  15. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    :Yawn:

    People go on like they scrapped 53808, burnt down Washford and ran a bus from Crowcombe to Minehead, jeeze, chill out guys.

    Crossing is replaced (which was a SCC project) and trains are back to normal again.
     
  16. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    Such railway has changed the ownership structure of the carriages, and now a daily rate is paid everytime each carriage is used to pay for future repairs, plus plans to build a carriage shed with pieces of the jigsaw ongoing to get that to happen.

    That's future proofin'!

    Anyway, back to the lovely WSR...
     
  17. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    Ah Brains SA, nice stuff. Dark is nice too. Rev James are good ales. Not had some in a while. ;)
     
  18. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

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    The other factor to consider, is how much do you want to spend doing the work?
    Spend a lot and get the "Bridge or whatever" replaced in a weekend or spend less and take longer.

    Which would cause the least damage to the Bank Account in the long run?

    As an illustration take look at the Bluebell track renewal works.
    The plant in use will cost a lot but they get the job done with the least disturbance to the normal service.
     
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  19. ross

    ross Well-Known Member

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    Good, Quick, Cheap- choose any two
     
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  20. Cuckoo Line

    Cuckoo Line Member

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    You need the plant whatever way you do it and if you need to hire it probably cheaper to say hire for 2 -3 weeks than ad hoc days. But importantly see how other railways e.g. NYMR, Bluebell etc do a lot of preparatory work to minimise the time the railway is shut down. Also remember some of those lines do high income experiences during the off season.
     

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