West Somerset Railway General Discussion

At one stage it was a BoT requirement

Did that last year on the MHR, Middle Son & I travelled back from Alton in the rain on the veranda of a Queen Mary.

Very nice it was too

 

Main line railway companies liked sets with brakes at both ends because the guard could be at the rear giving the right of way to the driver with all the passenger accommodation in his view when doing so.

This would be equally true for a 9-coach ‘Cornish Riviera’ set departing Paddington or Penzance or a ‘B-set’ on the St Ives branch line.

The WSR is constrained by the short platforms at Doniford Halt, Watchet, Williton Down and (less frequently) Bishops Lydeard Down. This makes it sensible to have the brake in the middle so that it is always on the platform to load and unload buggies, wheelchairs and the like.

When I had anything to do with set planning on the WSR, they were built around a core of brake+buffet and then TSO’s or SK’s either side of that.

WSR gradients are ‘up and down’ along the line but the K&WVR, for example, has, I understand, a rather more ‘single-minded’ gradient profile …

http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshir...Paul Holroyd/KWVR/kwvr 2/gradient profile.jpg

… and so the brakes there, I believe, are marshalled on the ‘lower’ end of the set. So general principles give way to local considerations.

I have been interested to read comments about the current WSR coaching stock. My understanding is that not all coaches are equally ‘well’ and some nominally in traffic are (quite understandably and properly) are confined to ‘occasional’ use.

 

There is a programme of rolling stock overhauls. Here is the current one:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1gtz8wKgYxaVgTTT/

 

There’s that scene in the 1969 Battle of Britain film where the propaganda figures of planes shot down as reported by the Air Ministry had been challenged - as in fact they were by US journalists - and Dowding is asked to comment.

He says that he isn’t really bothered about propaganda because if the AM figures are wrong and the Germans are right, ‘Hitler will be in Whitehall in a week’, or words to that effect.

I trust the metaphor is obvious to the propagandists here.

Time will tell. Tally ho!

 

Not a very good choice of subject considering the recent the recent death of a RAF pilot in a Battle of Britain aircraft.

 

Not for the first time in matters WSR, I find Mark 9.39 relevant - “Who is not against us is for us”.

The constant pressure to be on the “right” side is wearing, when views may be more mixed.


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If anyone is at a loose end Thursday 6th - Saturday 8th, the WSR Summer Diesel Festival is in operation.

11 locomotives in use, including 5 visiting locos and a HST. Should be a good event!

Also a 'mixed traffic' Sunday with the HST and other diesel locos in use.

Full details on the website: https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/view/summer-diesel-festival

Also more info on the WSR Gala Planning Team Facebook page (for those that do...!)

 

Meanwhile, other Spitfires are still flying. Why not call the owners up and tell them it's in bad taste ?

 

For someone who states they have no relationship with the WSR , and its current management, Greenway seems to be very pro the WSR management, who in his eyes can do no wrong, its either that, or he has a reason to, dislike Robin, who seems to have had no issues with any of the other preserved railways she has been involved with, being the Swanage, and KESR, I find myself asking, is Greenway hiding something, who was that former member of the WSRA who got kicked off the board, and blames Robin for it??

 

Not helpful, and I recall @Greenway challenging all sides in WSR debates before now.

 

True to form Martin is very wide of the mark in what he posts. I hide nothing and know little about the WSR board members, past and present. As someone who had the honour to serve with former BofB people in the RAF and that is the reason I found the post by Ms. White to be an ill choice.

 

As someone who has been a guest of the BBMF at Coningsby and "let loose" in the hangar, I can assure you that each and every member of the flight will wish to see Spitfires in the air.

Was that you refuelling my aircraft ?

 

This thread's become a dreary read once again...

 

I found the best thing to do was to 'block' the starter of this thread (gwr4090) and lo! the whole thread magically disappeared...

 

But you're reading it now....

 

I dropped in, as I sometimes do, to this thread and I see very little has changed.
It does seem there are still two camps, those who turn out and work hard on the WSR or support it via donation or taking a train ride and those who seek to jump on every utterance from the WSR and pick it to pieces or ascribe meaning that was not actually stated. "Turning the corner" means...? (a) we're rich and all our problems are solved or (b) we're on top of what needs to be done and we have a plan. I am truly sorry there is no "...and with a single bound Jack was free!" that's not how it works. Plenty of vacancies in all areas for those who wish to work collaboratively to keep improving the railway.
Just one small example, MK1's should all be life expired now, they are way beyond their design life. So naturally, just like steam engines they need heavy overhaul, the figure of £100k per vehicle is not too far from correct and there is a plan. Reach out directly if you want to help.
I'll drop in again in 6 to 12 months.

 

My feelings entirely. Not least because, if these assertions are correct, there are lessons to learn across the movement and it would be a shame to confine them to west Somerset.

 

Only 'cos I unblocked it after the last load of tedium dissipated... plus of course, if you don't sign in it remains on show

 

It was me who used the phrase you quote so I better expand on it. Since I ceased being chairman in August 2018, I have had no insights into the finance of the PLC and that was not what I was referring to. What I meant was that when I travel on the line, the railway looks now in the best shape I have ever seen it.
By this, I mean:
1. The stations all look great and well-cared for. Well painted and clean. We now have a board member whose daytime job is living history and he has taken a massive step in the heritage aspects of the stations. Evidenced by the recent improvements at all of the stations, but I single out CE, SR and BA. There also seems to be an increase in the number of volunteers on the station staff. I have no numbers around that, only what I see when I travel. And those that I do see are always uniformed in some way.
2. We now seem to have a decent stud of in-service locomotives. The resident engines being supplemented by long term visitors. And in the background, we have engines under overhaul or waiting overhaul to keep things ticking over. The recent acquisition of 80064 speaks volumes for the trust the owning groups now have in us. Volunteers at Minehead have built a brand new tender for a locomotive. The shed at Williton is professionally managed with a programme of ongong work. Things have changed.
3. The rolling stock is looking the best it's been for a long time. There is an ongoing plan of overhauls, partly helped by the WSRA.
4. We have a keen and enthusiastic wagon group that is regularly returning wagons to traffic and boosting the heritage goods train.
5. The trains do seem to be filled with decent numbers of passengers - certainly on the days I travel.
6. The WSRA, WSRHT and the plc are working much closer together than before. As I am a trustee of the WSRHT I have an insight here. Both organisations are contributing to the upkeep of the line and we have integrated plans.
7. As a trustee, I see that the museum at BL is now much better than ever before. We have an enthusiastic curator who is engaging widely with the local community and an education officer who is working closely with local schools. There are frequent learning and education visits. Not only at BL, but WT has built a good relationship with Bridgwater college and has a gang of disadvantaged young people who work at the station weekly.
8. Recent galas have been great, helped by the good weather, but also with a decent turnout of visiting engines, an imaginative timetable and a well-organised team. We seem to have overcome the timetabling problems we might have seen in the past.
9. Young people - its great that the core operational team is full of younger people. The gala organising teams are also managed by younger people (maybe at my age most people are younger...) and this has paid dividends.
10. Washford - I have not hidden my views that I feel it was a great pity that the SDRT left. However, things have now been turned around, we have a new station team and the shed and yard are now in the care of the WSRHT. We have a very enthusiastic carriage restoraton team that is setting up new machinery, processes and procedures and this will become a jewel of the railway before long.
11. Journal - well I am the journal editor and so I am biased - but the journal is a team effort with a core of dedicated editorial staff. And it shows and I think its one of the best heritage railway journals around. If you become a member of the WSRA, you have access to the on-line archive back to 2016.

So when I said "in the best shape it’s ever been", those are examples of what I meant. I am not party to the PLC financial arrangements, but I do see a very close scrutiny on expenditure, support from the trust and association, increased passenger numbers and increased revenue from special events. The railway just looks great and when i travel on it, it feels in great shape too.
I am sure that now I will get a barrage of brickbats calling me an apologist or having had a brain implant or similar, but I can only speak as I find. I am out on the railway frequently, and this is what I see day to day.
I am equally sure I will get responses such as "what about this or what about that". Well, of course not everything in the garden is rosy. Indeed a few months ago an issue totally pi**ed me off - but this was a bump in the road, we got over it and things have moved on. There is still plenty of stuff to be done and it is happening.
How has all this been accomplished? Of course, its the people. As I said in an earlier post, the management team understand business but are also railway enthusiasts as well. We have engaged with the community, inspired the people and built dedicated bands of volunteers at the stations.
I will be out on the railway again over the weekend in my editor role, so might see you around.
Ian Coleby