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Spa Valley Railway - Latest News

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by matt41312, Jan 15, 2014.

  1. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    This is not ‘hate’, this is shear boiling frustration. I did not mean just on how well informed we are on how the railway is doing on a financial matters, it is the difference of number of and how much information we get from updates in general from Swanage compared to Spa and other railways.

    I have already pointed back on the Swanage thread I could not believe that latest Swanage Railway News seemed to be ‘worse’ then the last, when I was already fed up with the content of pervious editions. It just seemed to be filling space with pictures. The two pages of A4 that came with it seemed more informative then the main bloody magazine.

    A week after I received this, the smaller, cheaper Spa Valley Semaphore arrived, as I am a member of the TWERPS as well. It was vastly different with details of the steam running fleet, overhauls, the Carriage and Wagon, ‘estates’ work, an update from the dining department. They even managed to squeeze in an article of the continuing saga of how the owner of ‘Sister Dora’ brought and restored that engine to use. It even had an update from SLL which the last SRN did not.

    And its not just the magazine there is a difference, the ‘official’ Spa FB page is often updated with news, as is the 75F page which details on going work. Recently we were told how ‘Lady Ingrid’ is undergoing final piping up for example. Often on the ‘unofficial’ page we see work that done on the P/W as well. At Swanage rarely there is nothing, the only thing I can think off was the FB page at Swanage concerning the M7 being rewheeled, which didn’t actually point out she been rewheeled. Otherwise there is just Swanning Around which is OK I guess and Mr Dave Ensor’s updates on Manston.

    When I made that comment you referred to, it was at astonishment that the SVR manager was apologising for a ‘lack of updates’ when that railway is probably most clear with its members and supporters then anyone else I know.

    I not very confident that Swanage are going to ever complete certain projects which they just kept putting off waiting for times when they ‘had more money’, and now it looks like things are even worse than when said projects were first put it off. The excitement that Swanage were going have the last surviving N class running has turned to major disappointment after years of waiting for nothing. I just waiting for confirmation that the carriage shed project, something which I donated to think ‘at last something positive will be done’ and been a thing for at least a decade, has been put off indefinitely.

    Admittedly one of my non-railway enthusiast friends has told me moaning like this and other things I making me bit like a d#k so I am going try post more positive things in the future.
     
  2. Jonnie

    Jonnie Member

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    Bringing it back to the Spa Valley Railway again, if you wanted to hear about the morning in the day of a life behind the scenes last night/today as been spent:
    • Sending out a where we are report in terms of our costs and seeking feedback via Microsoft Forms from the volunteers on some different Green timetable options.
    • Looking at a new wine supplier for 2023 and making the most of what we sell
    • Zoom call discussing our partnership with Virgin Experience Days due to cost price increases and wanting to sell more products via them in 2023
    • Signing off on some character day appearances when we can't run to Eridge on a few weekends next year
    • Planning more dining train dates in early 2023 to clear a backlog from 2022
    • Paid invoices that have arrived since last week
    • Spent an age on the phone to NatWest
    • Sorting out our electricity supply contract to reduce the amount being spent
    • Invoiced for outstanding vouchers that needed claiming
    This is just the last few hours, it isn't meant as an 'oh look at what I've done' it is to try and show that whilst trains are running today I've had (and don't intend to have) anything to do with it because so much else goes on when it comes to running a railway.
     
  3. 007

    007 Member

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    Your friends are right. Lighten up at bit. Railways are suffering immensely at the moment. Stop looking back, look forward. At the end of the day, these things will happen, but you simply have to accept that economics have, at the moment at least spoiled the fun! Im not sure if you get the emails, but the current SR chairman emails the membership on an almost weekly basis. Anyway, back to SVR.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2022
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  4. Woof Mk2

    Woof Mk2 Member

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    A true supporter of any railway would not go on social media and "slag" off said railway.
    If you have any grips go to the railway and voice your concerns etc etc
     
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  5. Paul Grant

    Paul Grant Well-Known Member

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    Always a bad sign when someone claims to love something and then spends the time slagging it off and abusing it. Feels a bit Trevor and Little Mo.
     
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  6. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    What emails?


    Edit: oh forget it
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2022
  7. Jonnie

    Jonnie Member

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    Pulling this thread back to the Spa Valley again (can we try and keep it to Spa and the things I mentioned/we discuss?) we've had a very busy half term so far, trains in the capable hands of Douglas, the Class 31 and 73. The Class 33 returned to service this evening as I understand after some repair works.

    Cream Teas, Afternoon Teas over the last couple of days have meant the afternoon trains have been well patronised and a good flow of passengers for on train catering too. Last night we had a meeting to discuss Polar Express which starts in just over 2-weeks time and tonight after a turn on the engine it was spent having a meeting about civil engineering and plans for work during the closed season. Never stops this heritage railway fun!
     
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  8. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    Thinking of the Spa Railway and its relatively short length, at least there is not a great deal of time travelling to bring in the boredom factor. But the point made by @Jonnie about on-train expectations is an interesting one.

    We know what the various 'train of lights' experiences do at Christmas but there is no reason theoretically why an onboard commentary cannot become part of the offering. Think of train rides around theme parks with the journey punctuated by observations about what can be seen.

    Maybe one day each carriage will have screens at each end with video clips of parts of the line and associated commentary. And somewhere in the train will be someone in front of the technology whose job it is to trigger the appropriate clip at the point that the train reaches somewhere worth noting. In other words the printed information given to passengers about the line brought to life during the journey itself. The offer could vary according to season and all be pre-recorded.

    No doubt there will be those who would view such an intervention as an irritation. (We all know what the onboard comments can be like on our national network trains such as the exhortation to mind the gap between the train and the platform edge.)

    But with a little imagination and good use of what technology can now provide, there are possibilities.....
     
  9. Cuckoo Line

    Cuckoo Line Member

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    And with modern technology should be possible to make it all automatically happen by triggering commentary depending on position of train.
     
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  10. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Just what I was thinking. However, whether such a commentary would be a Good Thing or not is sure to depend on who you ask. Ideally it would be optional, perhaps by having it switched on in some coaches and off in others, but that all gets very complicated and likely to annoy as many as it pleases.
     
  11. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Sports events may provide an answer .... they offer a receiver and earpiece which relays commentary to spectators in the ground. Don't know who makes 'em, but they're in widespread use.
     
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  12. John Williams

    John Williams New Member

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    These devices have been around for quite a while and can be convenient. The downside is that it's a lot of kit to be maintained, cleaned/charged up and dole'd out to the punters. A better approach would be to have mobile phone apps. This puts most of the burden onto such customers as want it and limits the input needed from the host railway. I think something similar has been done for guided walks - but would have to search around a bit. Phone charging sockets in catering areas might be worth considering though not at the expense of nice fixtures and fittings on the rolling stock.
     
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  13. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Sounds most promising. The sports earpieces (sold outright AFAIK) have been around a while, so something a bit more up to date wouldn't go amiss.

    There may be some mileage in approaching other lines with a view to (a) spreading the cost and (b) a spot of standardisation.
     
  14. Cuckoo Line

    Cuckoo Line Member

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    I believe some attractions including museums etc already use a system tied in with a download able app and also use scanning qr codes
     
  15. Bikermike

    Bikermike Well-Known Member

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    And dear lord, they annoy the heck out of me.
    1) you get a herd of audio-sheep
    2) curators take this as an opportunity to get rid of captions
    3) it appears to be a rule that any such audio must have "interpretative" materials (ie made up audio by jobbing actors with over-egged accents/dialects etc) to make us "think" about how things were.
    The entrance to Blists Hill is everything that is wrong with such things...
     
  16. Cuckoo Line

    Cuckoo Line Member

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    Yes some do and it can be annoying, but maybe today's young like it. But some do it better staying more factual with perhaps good video and make it additional to the captions.
     
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  17. Paul Grant

    Paul Grant Well-Known Member

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    Get a famous, chummy voice to do it and promote that. If Willie Rushton wasn't dead he might have been ideal.
     
  18. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    John Peel had a good narrative voice too
     
  19. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    The Milestones Museum in Basingstoke had these audio handsets which when you got a certain part of the display you typed the number in and Roy Bremma would describe what was in front of you. And there be addition numbers which you could type to get extra information from either an personal account of something or one of the museum workers on working on the machine.

    Might not work on a heritage railway though as in a museum.you can walk round at your own pace where as the train is on the move at that's own pace...
     
  20. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    The GCR used to have handsets for interpretation at points of interest - it's a while since I saw them (and 2 years since I was at the GCR), but they never seemed to get much use.
     
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