MellishR's Recent Activity
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MellishR liked Jamessquared's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Leaving aside the technical details, my hunch is you might end up in the situation where on days when there is demand for such a service, there is no capacity; and on days where there is capacity, there is no demand! Tom
May 22, 2026 at 3:15 PM -
MellishR liked acorb's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Quite possibly, but we have seen mainline TOC units run to Bishops Lydeard, Swanage and Okehampton - these things aren't impossible. Do we have any SVR drivers who also drive for WMT? As I said, I think a regular service is highly unlikely due to...
May 22, 2026 at 3:07 PM -
MellishR liked acorb's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Quite a lot to unpick here, but I think you are well and truly running away with what is being proposed. Nowhere is it being suggested that Kidderminster to Bewdley is adopted as part of the national network! What is being proposed is that...
May 22, 2026 at 3:06 PM -
MellishR liked Kirk Oswald's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
The point you m The point about not responding on social media is reasonable, except when significant staff numbers are specifically employed in PR roles. Employing 17 salaried non-comunicators isn't a sensible use of funds. The WSR has lost...
May 22, 2026 at 12:04 PM -
MellishR liked ghost's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
So whenever the quantity of paid staff on the NYMR is raised, your first line of defence is to talk about the cost of volunteers and how difficult they are to manage. Never the positives of volunteers. Who said anything about Nat-pres? As Pete...
May 22, 2026 at 12:03 PM -
MellishR liked Pete Thornhill's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Facts about what? John, with respect, If we are talking about that awards ceremony, it’s all there in black and white on their website. I’m not continuing this conversation here other than to say if those assumptions aren’t correct then why...
May 22, 2026 at 12:02 PM -
MellishR liked Lineisclear's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Self evidently true. However volunteering is in decline across all sectors. Compliance with regulations that were never imagined when many heritage lines got going ,along with the need to demonstrate assured competence, have increased the...
May 22, 2026 at 11:59 AM -
MellishR liked 35B's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I completely agree. But (and this is only slightly related to the WSR), the success of such appeals will depend heavily upon the credibility of the organisation’s leadership. Trust in the ability of that leadership to a) use the funds well and b)...
May 22, 2026 at 11:58 AM -
MellishR liked flying scotsman123's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Absolutely, which is why I'd be trying quite hard to figure out how to negotiate the "laberynth of charity law" as Michael puts it (I've never found it that hard personally). Not only for the extra gift aid, but also the increased security to...
May 22, 2026 at 11:58 AM -
MellishR liked Barrie Childs's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I believe that financially supporting WSR plc-owned locomotive and carriage restoration meets WSRA's charitable aims BUT given that WSRA is in the locomotive and carriage owning business, with very significant restoration expense required now and...
May 22, 2026 at 11:55 AM -
MellishR liked 62440's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I may be wrong but wasn’t the S&D Trust basically a tenant of the WSR but NOT a supporting organisation? If that was the case, I agree it’s not a good exemplar. Happy to be corrected.
May 22, 2026 at 11:55 AM -
MellishR liked Jamessquared's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
I can't help thinking you are seeing problems where none need exist. For example - the railway knows it needs to overhaul a loco, and has the capability to do so in its own workshop, but no budget. Support charity raises money from an appeal and...
May 22, 2026 at 11:51 AM -
MellishR liked 35B's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Agains, there are two separate issues here which should not be conflated. One is about the underlying structure. If you're talking about general funding support, then I agree that this potential exists and is a reason to try to rationalise the...
May 22, 2026 at 11:47 AM -
MellishR liked 35B's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Two separate questions. Gift Aid on fares is a structural question which raises questions about WSR organisational structure. It's not directly relevant to an appeal this year. More broadly, I note that the CC are concerned about charities...
May 22, 2026 at 11:46 AM -
MellishR liked Jamessquared's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
It's a big amount of money without much story or focus. Essentially "give us lots of money to do various things". In four bullet points they have basically listed everything a railway does: locos, carriages, infrastructure, historic artefacts,...
May 22, 2026 at 11:44 AM
