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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Fair comment.
     
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  2. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    But shouldn't there be some sort of plan in place so if you do have people leave you have a successor to take over and carry on with outstanding/ what's planned for the future work rather than let things grind to a halt?
     
  3. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    It would be hard to recruit people if majority of your staff are on furlough.
     
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  4. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    There is of course a point that we end up going in an endless circular argument

    A good friend of mine sent me this last night which I will leave you to digest

    "I'm trying to remain neutral with my thoughts below. I've many friends who are involved with the WSR, all of them great people who bust a gut for the place, just as the many of us do for various other railways and related projects. It is obvious talking them that this thread upsets many, maybe it is now time to sit back and think about what is actually being achieved here because to me it is little more than a waste of bandwidth with no useful results in any direction. It would seem to me that the options are to either: Actually do something if you are so unhappy about the situation, by this I mean something other than posting on here, form a group, make placards and posters, protest, block the road to Minehead or the station entrance if you must, whatever, just actually do something other than typing. These days of social media and discussion forums breed inactivity because it is easier to sit at home and stir the pot online than act so it is quite safe to say the above won't happen...! Or get behind the railway, donate, offer to help etc. Or simply give in, stop typing and whatever happens will happen. I'm sure moderators would be delighted with that.....! Any of the above would be infinitely more productive than endless circles on here and may get some slightly more useful results. "

    the point is well made that all involved need to make a decision

    Let things unfold
    Support the current structure
    Force the issue by making a stand
     
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  5. malcolm imps

    malcolm imps New Member

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    :):););)
     
  6. malcolm imps

    malcolm imps New Member

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    Yes, you would normally, but different times at present unfortunately :(.......
     
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  7. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Fair point, just my thoughts though.
     
  8. Paulthehitch

    Paulthehitch Well-Known Member

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    Well, itwould be ideal if the L&B were rather longer and the WSR considerably shorter.
     
  9. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    my observation is that there doesn't appear to have been any handover or succession plan in place . yes people leave , but there are such things as notice periods and a proactive management will ensure that the business is able to cover the responsibilities
     
  10. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    How can a handover be done if somebody is on furlough? It's not possible.
    Handovers take many weeks to write. I have done one before for an office job that I was in post for less than 2 years!
     
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  11. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    It's really not, very nice on a warm summers day.
    Don't knock it until you've tried it is the best advice I can give you.
     
  12. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    As a point of information, the present operating length of the L&B is a mile, not half a mile.

     
  13. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    Apologies, only been there the once.
     
  14. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    at risk of engaging in an expanded argument it is very poor management that you cannot cover an individual when they leave . it shouldn't be left to their leaving irrespective of furlough to know the what and the how . doing that leaves you at significant risk
     
  15. Lplus

    Lplus Well-Known Member

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    A most interesting post. The short answer might be to simply tell them not to read the thread if it makes them upset, but that wastes a good opportunity to ask why they feel upset.

    Are they all for the direction the Plc board is taking? and if so can they provide a clearer and more factual and logical explanation for the board's activities than has so far been received?

    Are they simply hoping "it'll be alright on the night" in the knowlege that the WSR is almost certain to become the personal feifdom of a few people - if it survives at all.

    Are they equally frustrated by the frequent and bizarre activities of the Plc board and are just as annoyed as those who post on this thread?

    Clearly these people do read the thread, so perhaps they can provide further enlightenment; the attempts so far seen to defend the behaviour of the Plc board have been short on facts and long on emotion, to the extent that some have been almost incoherent, and it would be great to see a logical argument for the behaviour so far observed.
     
  16. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    trouble is for many volunteers this is their hobby , the escape from working life . I suspect many are willing to keep their heads down , crack on with what they can and ignore the noise , not willing to be involved in the far bigger argument . We see that in the two WSR groups where any dissent is removed , where the WSR world is largely a haven of tranquility, and people trot out the party line . We see that in volunteers kneeling in the four feet weeding a twenty two mile line to do what they see as their bit to support a railway that is a home for them . In an odd way people will accept a fiefdom if they can keep coming in and playing their little part
     
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  17. Hugh Perrett

    Hugh Perrett New Member

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  18. Hugh Perrett

    Hugh Perrett New Member

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    All the track at NF was laid by the volunteer gang using donated materials at zero cost to the PLC.
     
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  19. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I am sure you are technically correct; however, there is still the consideration of both diversion of management resources to focus on problems / projects; and diversion of volunteers from otherwise working elsewhere - neither of which are an unlimited supply.

    If the NFR Triangle was a diversion (and I have no specific evidence either way), it wouldn't be the only instance of a significant project diverting attention from elsewhere, even though specifically no cost was incurred. I can think of at least one railway that opened an extension that, while demonstrably it didn't absorb any of the normal revenue budget for infrastructure repairs, did cause those to be set back in time, with the result that there has had to be a significant push in the last six or seven years to catch back up.

    Tom
     
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  20. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    Do the WSR not have a major headache potentially especially with climate change and sea level rises . cliffs near watchet are already a problem . the low lying section to minehead must be considered at risk
     

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