West Somerset Railway General Discussion

I'm lost - There seems to be two different accounting practices in use at the WSR.

Style A seems to be all doom and gloom eg... 'Look at the accounts, the railway will fail if we don't get £1 million a year donations'
Style B seems to be used to say:- 'Look at how good we are - because of this huge profit...'

I just wish they'd make their minds up. And I'm not so sure that the accountants tie in with jjp's other businesses and having a seat on the board is such a good idea either. (Just my opinion, so don't bother getting all aeriated or upset that I dare to question the status quo)

 

Should we now be seeing a reduction in the total to reflect the recent doubling ( at least) of energy costs?

 

There is also Style C: It wasn't my fault , its all those cuckoos along the line, who wouldn't give me my train set
Joking apart, who do these various people answer to, or act on behalf of? Is it The West Somerset Railway, or the JJP group of companies , Even if they are acting with the best of intentions, Who , so ever pays the piper, chooses the tune.

 

As currently structured the answer is that, as is normal, the PLC is run exclusively by its Directors with limited opportunity for PLC shareholders to influence its direction by tabling resolutions at a General Meeting. The PLC Directors' duty is to act in the best interests of the company including specific duties to its employees. One of the challenges for the WSR is that, unless they are shareholders, volunteers have no influence on PLC decisions except indirectly through the two support charities as PLC shareholders.

 

The WSR’s greatest weakness, I’d say.

 

Hand on heart, I was never a witness to any such difficulties. The volunteers worked alongside paid staff who very often were there on a non paid day i.e. volunteering too. The 100% volunteers came from a very diverse background, some were employed elsewhere on a minimum wage and others were highly successful professionals. Everyone is equal when you're all covered in muck and the tea is being poured at break time.

The real tragedy is that one or two individuals have almost destroyed what we once had, blaming everyone but themselves. The current state is rather like Schrodinger's railway, seemingly at risk and in need of every last donation, or doing very well. It all depends on which story is needed for the audience at the time.

I hope this is not the final few weeks in the bunker.

 

The problem with this reply is that in reality, the Volunteers have no say, nor do Shareholders in decisions made by an inside circle of directors and the GM, The support organisations are of no influence to the board, or GM, Because one will through, either misplaced loyalty to the board, or open hostility, as recently shown, to the other , will block any attempts to hold the board to account, in reality, i would say total power is in the hands of a couple of people, the GM, and selected directors who he knows will do his bidding.

 

Perhaps it's not so much a problem with the reply as with the reality of company management and direction. The normal provision in company Articles of Association is that "The Company shall be managed by its Directors". As far as I can recall that is reflected in the WSR PLC Articles. Companies are not managed by their shareholders although if enough of them (usually 5% by value) can get together they can bring a resolution to a General Meeting including one to dismiss directors. However they cannot change the Articles without a 75% voting majority nor can they force the Directors to do anything that would be in breach of applicable law.
What's odd about the WSR (and I have long believed the cause of much of the internal tension) is that volunteers are members of the support charities not of the body that owns and operates the railway.

 

So, the only way to concentrate the minds of 'the select few' is for the bulk of volunteers to grasp the nettle and withdraw their labour, preferably for a gala weekend.

 

Any institution has legal responsibilities to both its paid and unpaid staff.

 

What would that achieve apart from damaging the railway's finances and risking loss of all volunteers ability to continue to enjoy their hobby? The railway would still be owned and operated by the PLC run by its directors. Big Al's observation was spot on.

 

It would get the message across, loud and clear, that nobody has to kowtow to a bully. Go down fighting ...

 

Yes but not around what direction the business takes. One that in the line we are talking about it seems many members and volunteers did not.

 

Companies may not be managed by their shareholders, but they are owned by them and the directors are elected by them to manage the company on their behalf, for their best interests, not for the best interests of the company except insofar as "the company" means "the shareholders", even though most large organisations do end up being managed for the benefit of their senior management.
I would agree that it is a major defect that the volunteers are not part of the body that owns and operates the railway, but I would point out that I would be very surprised if many of them, if not the majority are not also shareholders and therefore, nominally, part owners of the company, where they are equally powerless to affect the direction of the business. As you pointed out a long time ago, limited companies don't do democracy.

 

Any proposals by the volunteers to re-examine the structure, have a weekend to debate various options for change and then vote on how to move forward is likely to end in a kangaroo court disciplinary "process". This will continue for as long as there are volunteers who would rather look the other way. Until that changes, nothing else will change.

Also, the WSR must be one of the easiest companies anywhere in which to buy shares. Go to the 'support us' page of the official website and press the buy shares button. Hey presto, you're now a shareholder.

 

I'm far from convinced that ordinary limited companies are ideal for heritage railways. Their structure and management really suit a situation where shareholder benefit can be measured as an increase in share value and/or dividends. Neither are usually the basis on which supporters of a railway buy shares ( which are more like donations with benefits attached, such as travel concessions). Their interest tends to be more in the way that the company and its railway is managed but their ability to influence that is very limited. The situation is better if the company is an incorporated charity as its charitable purposes will often align with the interests of the charity's members.

 

The advent of gift aid in the last 20 years has meant that the traditional purchase of shares for capital is no longer the best way to raise funds.

 

That’s also true of the Ffestiniog - however they seem to manage this much better.