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Swanage Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Rumpole, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. Vulcan Works

    Vulcan Works Member

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    Good video, concise and to the point, it will hopefully appeal to non-enthusiasts.
     
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  2. Will Foster

    Will Foster New Member

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    Fantastic video - very professional and a very clear message.
     
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  3. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

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    The presenter is much better than Tim Dunn!
     
  4. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Sadly, like the earlier one first time round, spoilt by music.
     
  5. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Nope. Good music choice. It adds rather than detracts and provides the right backdrop to the message.
     
  6. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    It is very professional.
     
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  7. biggles200

    biggles200 Member

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    Heritage Railways like Swanage Railway should know when they can consider taking passengers again when the cruise liners in Weymouth Bay and the channel are gone. In the meantime some volunteers should be able to return in supervised and very small teams (2 people) to carry out maintenance of rolling stock and buildings.
     
  8. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Well the south news at lunchtime said Carnival have announced no cruises until October, so maybe a long wait.
     
  9. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I'm not sure how transferrable decisions in one sector of the economy are to another. Every business will have different starting points for the difference in cost between running or not running, how quickly they can go from one to another, how much sunk cost has to be invested - at risk - up front etc. For example, I heard yesterday that a theatre company (the RSC I think) had decided they would not run any plays for the rest of the year. Which felt very cautious, but if you imagine having to do three or four months of expensive rehearsals, set design and so on before starting, all of which would be at risk if there was a second wave of infections, the caution is understandable. Whereas other businesses may have completely different basis for their business model, and therefore come to different decisions.

    For cruise companies, there is obviously a degree of haemorrhaging money form the capital cost of unused ships. On the other hand, once the ship goes to sea, the costs ramp up considerably for staff, fuel etc, which are largely independent of whether the boat is carrying anyone or not. Add in what I suspect is a marked reluctance of the core clientele to enter that kind of environment, and I could easily imagine that the risk / reward for the cruise ship owner points towards caution.

    Tom
     
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  10. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

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    Likewise with Celebrity Cruises. Their first sailing from the UK is on 30th October from Southampton to the Med. <BJ>
     
  11. biggles200

    biggles200 Member

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    My comparison between Cruise liners and Heritage Railways was not to do with the way businesses are run, it was purely based on Public confidence. Both businesses required customers. Both can say when they would like to restart, but it will be the customer confidence that determines a successful restart.
     
  12. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    But....public confidence clearly varies considerably activity to activity. There is a massive difference between a cruise liner environment and the heritage railway environment.

    Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk
     
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  13. mdewell

    mdewell Well-Known Member Friend

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    Yes, but a customer at a heritage railway can always change their mind at the last moment with no financial loss, where as a passenger on a cruise ship would have paid a lot of money in advance. I suggest the degree of confidence required in these 2 scenarios is vastly different.
     
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  14. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    But the reverse also applies - a cruise company will know what demand it has well before setting sail, whereas a heritage railway will have little meaningful information about the actual level of demand.
     
  15. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    A better comparison is perhaps the channel ferries where risk assessments have been done and freight can be carried and lorry drivers have exception from quarantine. Brittany ferries say they want to run a public service from the middle of June and you can book online, with the provisional warning that bookings are dependant on the UK and French Governments lifting restrictions on public transport and quarantine, which they have not currently done (although there is confusing talk of "air bridges").

    On a separate issue there has been little movement of trains at Swanage other than the diesel shutter loco, but the station railcam is not working (but OK at Corfe), any idea from anyone at Swanage why?.

    Also with the latest longer length videos being planned might be better to cut back the "dramatic" background music? It can emphasis the urgency to raise funds, but to have it throughout the longer video could be tiresome.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2020
  16. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Cruise liners, even with their external decks for the few who venture outside of their floating hotel, are hardly the same as a heritage line. And you are stuck on the thing for days at an end. Plus, you are also often docking in other countries. Say no more!

    A line like the Swanage has plenty going for it. Even if it reduces back to a managed and ticketed shuttle between Swanage and Corfe then it should be possible to offer something that the public will be happy with.
     
  17. biggles200

    biggles200 Member

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    So if the Cruise Lines are talking about possible returns to service about October, are we expecting Heritage Railway passengers to be queuing up well before then?
     
  18. Paul Grant

    Paul Grant Well-Known Member

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    Well if the Czech and the Greeks aren't allowing British public in, then there is no way France will. Especially since France isn't remotely over COVID-19.
     
  19. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Can't wait to see the first 'Santas' with 2mtr long arms and thighs. That'll keep child psychiatrists in clover for years! :Meh:
     
  20. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Camera is working now. Probably recovering from the shock of some rain this morning for the first time in weeks!
     

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