WSR Mixed Traction Weekend 10-12 June 2016

Wasn't aware that the WSR got a commission on your travel costs.

 

i am sorry but if you take the current advertised line up and then bring up how much Galas take to put on the two just dont make all the locos bar one is there today and the full cost of GB providing the shed are probably underwritten then this cost very little to put on but then again as a truly impartial observer whos interest lies in diesels then this would not be on my calendar as something to visit.

Again please note that i want this Gala to be successful but i cannot see why you would bother if you only had limited funds/time then you would go somewhere else, i.e. the Swanage which yet again has a superb line up so if you could only do one of the two which would you honestly pick
The Bluebell this weekend has a shed going and is it 739, no they are sending one everyone needs because thats the people that will turn up on the day and spend their money, ive had the sheds thats going TWICE and i didnt do hardly anything last year and neither am i what you would call a shed basher but i do see them as part of the Gala as a whole
And then theres the lack of 1015, really 1015 AGAIN! ive had it to Minehead on tours at least three times and given that 1010 does hardly anything at all why take away from it, what im saying is given that 1010 will be working this weekend so if you like 52's you will be going anyway would the addition of the mainline 52 make you want to go more?? no i suspect probably not, instead why not even try to bring something different in say the 27 of the GCR as far as i know a 26/27 has never visited the line so surley that would be more of a draw? well it definatley would to those that arnt obsessed by hydraulics's and yes people like that do exist
Please Please note that im not having a go for the sake of it im just pointing out the obvious shortcomings in this Gala as i see it, i live less than 5 min drive from the line and im not sure ill bother but this weekend in going to the Bluebell and im going to the Swanage and probably the Lancs and i suspect im not alone in the Meh attitude in the regards to this weekend, it could and should be better

 

the local shops in the area do.

 

Don't Like the line up then don't go. Plenty of us will support the railway.

 

Have posted a variation of this over on WNXX but going to add it here as well as this is probably the more proactive debate for this gala:

I think the things that leave me a bit unsettled about this gala are the rover price given the lack of visitors and the theme. I'm planning to go on the Friday regardless - it's local, I love the line, I love Hydraulics and Cromptons, I'll miss the Warship down here, so really the line-up is fine for me.

But charging the same premium rover price as for the (excellent) steam gala with its array of visitors for what's basically a home fleet event will sting a bit.

And as a general rule I don't object to themes at galas and I find renaming stations a bit of harmless fun (it's bizarre how furious some people seem to get about it). But this theme announcement feels a bit... perhaps deceptive is a bit too strong... but not quite right. Calling it 'Diesels on the Somerset and Dorset' and then making the line-up the home fleet and a 66 doesn't really fit.

It's fair enough that this is 'S&D year' for the WSR, with the anniversary and a full complement of surviving 7Fs all year that makes a lot of sense. But if you're calling it an S&D themed diesel event then either go for it and have some fun with a speculative 'what would've been working the S&D in the 1970s/80s?' ponder - and to my mind it would probably have been similar to what you'd have found on the Bristol-Portsmouth and/or Waterloo-Exeter routes at the time. So add a visitor or two that fits that, have a bit of fun in the programme with what the workings might've been and give it a proper 'what if?' go.

Or if you're not in a position to do a proper visitor line-up then just go all out with it being a chance to celebrate the home fleet and the Warship's farewell, and don't be shy about giving them centre stage, don't contrive a theme for it.

This comes across - and I really, really hate criticising from the outside without a full understanding of the nuances of what each individual organising team might've faced - like a case of the diesel gala being a bit of an afterthought this year, and the theme announcement being a misguided attempt to give it some impression of gloss. Giving it a theme implies some effort will have gone into getting something additional and appropriate to that theme. A GBRf 66 is not that.

The mistake is more in the marketing approach than what's actually going to be running, I'd say. I don't think this is a case of diesel enthusiasts being fickle. There are plenty of times when that IS the problem, no doubt about that. This time people are sore because they feel a bit misled or potentially ripped off (comparatively when other events' prices/line-ups are considered), I'd say.

Anyway, if the ex-Dartmoor blue DEMU is still at Williton I really, really hope that can have a play. 1) surely Thumpers would've ended up on the S&D had it stayed open so it even fits the spurious theme! 2) Thumper + the climbs up to Crowcombe and Washford = mint.

 

Well thats the thing isnt it, just how many people will turn up? i suspect not a lot, i travelled on the Friday, Sat and Sun last year because there was variety there is precious little of that this year, why pay the extra gala fares when you can have the same for normal prices without the crowds on any of the running dates in the summer, the reason im saying these things is because i really am not alone in these opinions and for the future of the Gala i hope they learn from the lackluster half harted look of this

 

Uh-huh so your getting your knickers in a twist cause people don't agree with your wsr can do nothing wrong attitude.

 

Having a different opinion isn't whinging,
When they do-good they get praise when they serve up this **** they criticised,

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way , just lucky for some they've put £50 in the railway to go lineside and not stand in fields or on stations freeloading like many people do.

 

Just answer the question. Are you in contact with the DELG so that you know for a fact that they have not spoken to GBRf. <BJ>

 

Ah, so they pay for the gala to go ahed do they? Sorry but freeloading on a heritage railway is not made any better just because you use the local shops.

 

At the end of the day, I'm not going because of the disappointment and lack of 'wow' factor. I've made different plans because its a mystery if anything is going to WSR gala. If all of a sudden, they announce a couple of visiting locos going, I still wont go because it is late in the day, and that's their loss and my gain (not spending money). I can still get a good run on the diesel locos in summer, especially as the trains are quieter and the weather may be on my side. If I had to make accommodation nearby, I don't want to book a couple of weeks before because it might be full up or really expensive. Looking at the page on their website, they do put a long list of hotels and B&Bs on where to stay but hardly any information on relevant details. I could understand accommodation near either Minehead or Bishops Lydeard but not anywhere else unless your a tourist because an enthusiast can miss a couple of miles.

 

Decided to miss this one. Gala prices for a event with a shed visiting isn't worth it.

 

Has the theme changed, no diesels on the S&D to diesels of the d&epg

 

For many I suspect this is becoming a must attend gala. The home fleet and D832 getting three days to themselves. Seems OK to me. The steam and 66 shouldn't be too hard to avoid.

It would be nice though to have, as is usually the case many months before, the basic draft timetable showing which trains are not diesel hauled (steam, DMU). Can be quite useful for those booking travel tickets and accommodation.

 

A Must Attend?!? , but only if you like Hydraulics cause theres nowt else

 

I think you'll find the 33, 47, and 66 are not hydraulics!

 

Or really interesting

 

I've just been having a look about on the other forums and comments in relation to this Gala and the general opinion seams to be that people either will be there because they like the hydralics witch I do completely understand because the WSR does have the best mixed fleet of them in the country, but and this is a big but everyone else and that is a very sizeable group just see this as something that is to be avoided I know the shredder and the brush are on the roster but in my experience the people who like them are much more likely to trip out for a running day in the summer and save some money

I really don't mean to run the people who are organising this down but if they really think this is an appealing line up then it shows how blinkered they have become and I would hate to see this event cancelled next year after this one flops
It just looks like the Gala budget was spent on the chuffer Gala and that I understand as it was so many years etc but they wouldn't do that for the more modern traction and to the person that said the modern Galas don't attract the same ammount of people as the steam I would say just on number of engines it's easy to see why and of course they don't have to put up with a diesil diagram at their events do they

 

I've changed my mind, planning on being there on the Friday. Full line runs on the hone fleet. Surely the lack of visitors means the price should be normal fare not gala fares.

 

Spot on captain, but they don't read any of the forums nothing gets passed on, they are sat there fingers in ears screaming I can't hear you,