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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    on that basis why is the SVR opening on August 1st with a package covering the full line ?

    KESR, Bluebell *, Mid Hants, GWSR , all premier league planning full length reopening

    all have been proactively planning during the enforced closure .

    and the WSR ......





    * Sheffield park to Kingscote (which was once full line)
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  2. malcolm imps

    malcolm imps New Member

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    Well, from what we in the volunteer PW gang gather from our information we gleaned from others who know more ? there is at least 4 weeks of works to be finished off at MD -DR or started elsewhere to be done by whom ?..... & works signed off by ? as main PW men involved have moved on.....
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2020
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  3. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    .................and the line that the WSR might wish to emulate. as has been suggested here , i.e. Paignton to Dartmouth, started today.
     
  4. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    which begs the question not just for a summer opening which looks impossible as it will have passed even if the work started tomorrow but how does the WSR actually plan to get itself sorted out and when ?
     
  5. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    A line that seems to have a management team with the skills to navigate a course through troubled waters and actually manage a railway
     
  6. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    That's quite a revelation if true! So has this work not restarted since the imposition of lockdown?
     
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  7. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Not necessarily a great comparison though, as managing volunteers is a totally different ball game compared with paid staff. But in terms of concluding it's viable to run trains, yes, a stark contrast.
     
  8. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    They are.

    They've also all announced funding appeals, bringing the total number of WSR based appeals to 149. One more and they get a set of steak knives.

    :)

    Keith
     
  9. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    Let's use your numbers and ask why the work has not been done. How has every other line bar a few, managed ?
     
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  10. Wriggley

    Wriggley New Member

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    Perhaps there is a need for a new company to be formed for maintaining and renewing the track. Maybe it could be called Red Route Rail Renewals SW Ltd. "No job too big or small. Fine words guaranteed. Payment of bills, less so."
     
  11. 242A1

    242A1 Well-Known Member

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    Anyone in particular in mind?
     
  12. 242A1

    242A1 Well-Known Member

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    I am wondering if it ever will.
     
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  13. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    This situation is pathetic.
     
  14. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    The Paignton to Kingswear/Dartmouth line has all open stock, in my experience. So, the excuse offered for the WSR that they don't have enough compartment stock, to comply with social distancing rules, doesn't wash. Now, it's that the track out of MD needs work. Can they run from BL then, perhaps to Williton? Do they want to?
     
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  15. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

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    That was half my point, really, but I wasn't coherent enough when writing my post to make that clear!

    The Pontypool & Blaenafon (or "Blaenafon's Heritage Railway" as they seem to be rebranding themselves) are only a couple of miles long; even allowing for the fact they have a branch line, it doesn't take very long to do a round trip. A small loco with a couple of carriages can do a number of round trips, carry a full day's complement of passengers, and (I am I admit making informed guesses here) cover costs, even allowing for cleaning between trips.

    On the premier league lines, that's not possible. So, to take the SVR as an example, they're clearly going for the full day out experience. The price is pitched about right for the amount of space you get, compared with their regular pricing (it'll be more expensive for some parties but cheaper for others), and you get several hours on the train plus plenty of time to look round The Engine House and either Bridgnorth or Bewdley. I'm sure though that if the SVR had said "well, we'll just do Kidderminster to Bewdley shuttles with two coaches", then if you looked at the business case, you'd find that it didn't make sense for a railway with the SVR's fixed costs.

    From what I can tell, the WSR appears to be a long line which is unable to reopen with a "long line" service. That spells problems.

    Incidentally another SVR comparison: at the start of lockdown, the SVR was midway through major engineering work which involved a full relay of a substantial length. The work went on hold and staff were furloughed, and from memory at that point there was still a big gap in the line, but the management planned ahead and brought staff back in time to complete the work in time for test runs to start.
     
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  16. Gunz412

    Gunz412 New Member Loco Owner

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    Bluebell is only operating between Kingscote & Sheffield Park.
     
  17. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Indeed, there is a concern about managing social distancing at East Grinstead which has a narrow platform - there is more space at Kingscote. But to put it is a WSR context, it is similar in distance to Minehad - Williton; and in terms of "proportion of whole line" would be like Minehead - Crowcombe.

    From an operational point of view, that length allows three round trips in a day while using only one crew (and one loco) diagram per day, with time to clean the carriages between trips. Stock will be non-corridor compartment carriages.

    There are also some additional dining trains being trialled - how they work we'll see, but if you don't try, you won't know. They will be starting and finishing at Horsted Keynes, which means the different groups of passengers are kept separated to manage distancing - those doing the whole line starting and finishing at Sheffield Park; those dining starting and finishing at Horsted Keynes.

    Tom
     
  18. Paulthehitch

    Paulthehitch Well-Known Member

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    The absolute heart of the situation as it affects the W.S.R. and other places which have given up on 2020
     
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  19. pgbffest

    pgbffest New Member

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    Why? 5 to 6 weeks work at lockdown would have taken them up to the opening (original) date. If the Company only had minimal income at that point e.g. any contract work, then it would have made sense to Furlough the staff. The donations that have come in (providing all materials etc had been sourced) *may* have covered the works to the end, but the PW men have moved on. So, you need the skills to finish the job and they aren't there. It isn't pathetic, it is an unfortunate chain of events that appeared at the wrong moment.
     
  20. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    Maybe, but all the other railways have had to deal with the challenge of COVID-19. As mentioned above the SVR was severed until quite recently but they didn’t allow themselves to get into such a position the WSR have. That is why people are disappointed by this revelation.
     

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