Meon Valley Railway Restoration

And their Facebook page is proving hard to find.

 

Indeed, as much as it would have been lovely for this line to become preserved, its time has gone, it has been preserved in another way, now go and do something useful at the MHR or another railway!

 

Ditto Twitter...

https://twitter.com/MeonValleyRly

Tom

 

poof, gone, another preservation attempt gone at the facebook stage, I doubt anyone is surprised...

perhaps another group will form later this month

 

Surprised, NOT!!

I hate to say it, but this is what happens when you don't listen to the consensus of opinion, given by people with a vast level of experience (both good and bad) within the movement........................ social media has its place, BUT not at the embryonic stage of a proposed scheme.................................. by all means dip your toe in the water regarding viability, such as a forum like this, and take in the advice/constructive criticism both good and bad and LISTEN to what is being said and adopt/adjust the "grand plan" accordingly, that way you have more people perhaps willing to invest time/labour/finance to see the project rise from the ground..... to use the the likes of face ache and twitter is NOT a good idea, considering they are full of the "look at me" brigade, and will give you a false sense of direction, where as on here, its full of people who care passionately about preservation, hence the forum title.............................................. new build L1/J39 anyone.................................................................................... ducks and runs for cover!

 

Hehe, I await the day when facebook youtube and twitter buy each other out and combine to make youtw*tface...

Re the new build, sounds good to me, shall we start a facebook page...

 

Why do you think various "social media" links are being closed down...................................................... to threaten the mods/admin with legal action if they don't close a personal account is madness in the context of what they are in the process of doing........................ so what if this is a public forum, it just goes to show they cannot stand by the courage of their convictions, nor listen to the advice freely given by people. with collective experience within the movement, who have pointed out the error of their ways...................................... thick skinned they ain't, more like a bunch of prancing wotsits...........................................

 

Err, NO!!!

That was a rather tongue in cheek comment.......................................... I realise you're fairly new to the forum, BUT if you care to ferret out the threads, OR the mods on here care to furnish you with the appropriate link, then we have already been there, seen it, done it!! Hence the various comments that have been hinting at..............................................................

As regards the social media........................................... isn't that what they're called already?.................................................................................................................

 

I'm not sure if you are jenga joking or not....

 

Anyway, Google cache lives on - I was looking forward to the siding laid with 3rd rail to recharge the batteries on the electric units they proposed to use...

http://tinyurl.com/mjboxny

Actually, on a serious note, that page is quite interesting in how they have tried to tick off every possible objection but have ended up with a project with no focus. So it's a heritage line, but with solar panels on the roofs of stations and LED lighting. Any plants removed during clearance would be transplanted where possible. Chopped down trees would be logged to create habitats for mini-beats, and replacement trees would be planted at the project's own cost. The trackbed would be shared with the horse riders, with gaps in the fences for wildlife, or tunnels underneath the formation - "we're still working on large animals like deer". Running would be restricted during school holidays "we would not run so horse riders and young horse riders can enjoy the route with no disturbance." But despite this somewhat limited running, they would still aim to be a "heritage commuter service" to reduce traffic on local roads.

Good job it is "probably one of the easiest lines to restore, with most of the embankments still in reasonable conditions, though some bridges do need some repairs or need replacing." I wonder if they discussed just how easy bridge restoration is with the GWSR or GCR ...

At what point does the Meon Valley Railway become the M**n V*****y R*****y, like the L***n and D*******e or S********h?

Tom

 

Wikipedia gives an interesting overview particularly with reference to re-opening

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meon_Valley_Railway

 

..."as long as that feedback says 'What a great idea'.. or else the toys get it!"

'We' are not, no.

Although I would suggest that this thread has probably run its course, as the last four or five pages have effectively been a repetition of the same two or three viewpoints, over and over...

 

It's sad to see someone's dreams dashed but this had the potential to become everyone's nightmare. I'd not seen the thread on the South Downs forum - that only confirmed how badly thought out the whole thing was. No trains during school holidays, for example; and the peak season for heritage railways is... Not even a mention anywhere of the need to get a Transport & Works Act Order.

I don't know why he suddenly decided to stop. Perhaps he finally took on board the points made here or perhaps Hampshire CC rumbled what was going on. After all, it seems that he emailed them asking if he could clear round the site of the well and then, before they'd replied, he'd emailed asking if they could clear West Meon station, and then if they could have a 60th anniversary do on the cleared station site. Then, before he'd got permission for anything, pieces were appearing in the papers asking people to come along and help. I could see the Council thinking that this was getting out of hand and telling him that reviving the railway wasn't on their agenda and to desist.

It's strange, but perhaps symptomatic, that he has wiped everything as if it never existed. Why not just put a note on the home page of his website to say that they are reviewing the situation and are taking a fresh look at their proposals, but in the meantime all plans are on hold?

It is a pity - the guy obviously has imagination and drive. If only he'd direct it towards something sensible.

 

Whats makes me wonder is why did the person decide on a line so close to an already established preserved railway? was it in the hope of using the MHR to operate the line, or to weaken the attraction of the Watercress line? one does indeed wonder,

 

Wouldn't his energies have been far better directed towards developing or extending one of the existing lines? There's more than enough (I might even say too many) to choose from. They range for the seriously professional thro' to some real clackpot and tatters outfits. Surely one of them might suit. Or; was it a case of a desire to create his own little empire? One wonders!