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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Colin Allcars

    Colin Allcars Member

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    Likewise. 3 nights b and b, meals, drinks, transport, and a couple of boxes of Miles Tea at the supermarket in Minehead add up to over £200. I want to support the WSR so I will also spend some money on the WSR. Depending on the weather, this will be on tickets and food. I happen to like pasties and local ales but would also like a proper meal so will head for the QB for lunch when travelling. If linesiding, I will head to CH or S for hot pasties, cake etc. That will add up to around £100. This gala lark is not cheap!
     
  2. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Indeed I did Paul ..... I saw the price too!
     
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  3. Anne C-B

    Anne C-B Member

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    That's clearly not true. Nearly all accommodation far and wide is fully booked for the galas but I suspect the spend during the day in Minehead might down on normal as most will want to stay on the railway for the day although there will be many more passengers of course.. However the fish and chip van just outside does very nicely as those cleaning afterwards will probably testify. You just need to look at the busiest trains on other days to see that passengers are spending their time (and therefore their money) in Minehead. Whatever Minehead might lose from decent catering at Bishops Lydeard they'll gain from the additional passengers drawn by this improvement.

    Furthermore when we visit on a non-gala day I see WSR travellers I recognise in the pubs, cafes, and shops in Minehead. I admit that we're unlikely to go any further than a quick dash to the fish and chip van on a gala day though.

    I don't think the railway should be any more swayed by the Minehead Rail Link people than they are by the 6+1 although care needs to be taken when dealing with either of them or their fall out.
     
  4. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    Noticeable that none of the ''WSR defenders' has commented upon this forthright but, it seems to me, quite accurate view
     
  5. paulhitch

    paulhitch Guest

    London prices of course. I have had much less experience of places recommended by Michelin in the U.K. than in France where the value for money in such establishments is sometimes remarkable.

    Paul H

    (P.S. Thread drift is getting remarkable as well!)
     
  6. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    NatPres is a discussion forum, and this is a thread about the WSR. Therefore, comments related to the WSR are not off topic, whether from volunteer, shareholder - or just passer by.

    However, I also consider my objective against my audience. As an outsider, my influence is limited, and raising points here is generally just noise - especially where they have been discussed and responded to previously (as was the case with catering at Bishops Lydeard). I post here in a spirit of discussion, and have no illusions about my posts having impact outside these virtual walls. Where threads do have impact - those about the X6+1, or photography, for example - they demonstrate the ability of insiders to use public communications to get around limitations imposed by the organisation, and mobilise pressure. That approach doesn't meet with universal approval, and may contribute to the "West Somerset Effect" referred to earlier. I don't detect those levels of influence in your postings, meaning that I do share others' questions about whether your posts here are the most effective way to achieve the goal you seek.
     
  7. As we seem to be discussing "wants", a Changing Place toilet at the WSR would encourage my family (and possibly as many as 200000 other people in our situation) to visit more often. Indeed, a Changing Place toilet at any UK heritage railway or museum would encourage more visits. But hey, not a single UK heritage railway or museum has one. Quite a few have a cafe - and good facilities for wheelchairs - but no Changing Place toilet. Makes visiting very very difficult when there's no suitable loo...

    Steve
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 20, 2018
  8. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    A couple of points on catering, and economic contribution.

    Firstly, the rather odd contention seems to be going round that somehow money spent on the railway is less of a contribution to the local economy than if it is spent off the railway. I don't see on what evidence that is based. Indeed, you could probably argue that, pound for pound, a railway-based cafe stocking items made with a good range of local produce would be making more of a contribution to the local economy than, say, a hotel in a large national chain that would inevitably be exporting much of its income up to a remote head office.

    Secondly, it's hard to directly compare catering on Railway X with Railway Y, as other factors vary. Not the least I suspect is the relative isolation, and therefore the degree to which any cafe may be a "captive market". As an example, if I visit the IoWSR I almost invariably plan a visit to the cafe at some point; and if I visit Swanage I almost invariably don't, beyond perhaps a coffee and bun. Put simply, if you want to eat at Havenstreet you pretty well have to eat on the railway; if you want to eat at Swanage, there are probably half a dozen different options within 200 yards of the station, so a full meal is a much harder niche for them to fill.

    As so often, in an effort to improve, it is probably better to ignore comparisons with other railways, and just look at other tourist attractions. A look at the "offer" (value for money, activities, catering etc) from local National Trust properties is probably a better indicator/aspiration than a comparison with other railways which will exist in different parts of the country, be different lengths and so on.

    Tom
     
  9. DragonHandler

    DragonHandler Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't regard £53 for a ticket that gives unlimited travel for four days on a 20 mile railway with the opportunity to ride behind 8 different steam locomotives as as a premium fare, it works out at only £13.25 per day which in my book is excellent value.

    And yes, for me, when I go to any heritage railway, be it a gala or an ordinary day, the only important thing for me is the trains. I go there because of the trains anything else is a bonus.
     
  10. huochemi

    huochemi Part of the furniture

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    In general terms, the reason is that the railway uses volunteers, so less of the spend goes into wages of local people. Of course if you are referring to a specific catering operation, if the staff are paid, then that does not apply to that operation.
     
  11. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Part of the furniture

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    No moaners please!
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    I don't know anyone connected with the WSR that thinks it is perfect or anything like it. This seems to be something outsiders have dreamed up and repeated largely because of the antics of the Ex6+1.Your assertion about some people thinking anything the WSR does is always correct or set in stone is frankly risible. What needs IMHO to be rebutted is a number of posts that are very wide of the mark or are not reasonably practical. I certainly don't want to humiliate anyone but please don't mistake brevity or directness as anything other than plain speaking. Sadly a number of those not connected with the railway often make comments that are simply wrong and I see no reason that those should not be corrected. Certainly there are people on the WSR and on here that have very strong views but what binds them together is their wish to do the very best for the railway. Just because we disgree does not mean we cannot work together though, ineviably, there are exceptions. The Ex6 +1 were a classic example that refused to work with anyone. Ultimately that was their downfall.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  12. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Sssh! .... So far, they haven't noticed. ;)

    Best let everyone get back to getting aireated about ...... remind me .... what was it today? I blame the water!

    IMHO, the WSR is a superb line (show me a line anywhere which couldn't be improved one way or t'other) and long may it remain so.
     
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  13. 1472

    1472 Well-Known Member

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    Food is though available not much more than 100 yds from BL station. As a café at BL WSR is not about to provided anytime soon it might be worth pointing out that the Farm Shop on the access road before the car park does a rather nice line in breakfast baguettes - filling of your choice - with a little notice. Orders for those are by no means unknown from those prepping locos at BL MPD.

    OK its not you sit down all day breakfast but at times we rather like it!

    See here http://thefruitandflowerbasket.com/about/
     
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  14. AnthonyTrains2017

    AnthonyTrains2017 Well-Known Member

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    Hot breakfast? If so, one will visit there before gala
     
  15. tracker

    tracker Member

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    Anne C-B I agree with you regarding catering. To get to BL from here in Essex by car is at least 4hrs 30 leaving at 04:00 and travelling on the M25/M3/A303 where unless I always miss them, there are NO hot breakfasts. On arrival at BL I see someone in the cafe stocking the cold drinks fridge whilst there is a queue waiting for cups of tea and cold sandwiches or buns. I arrive at MH near noon, to find only pasties. I cross the road to the cafe opposite with the mini golf in order to have a plate of hot food.
    The WSR is my favourite railway, but this year I'm giving the WSRSSG a miss... The SVR is a similar distance away, and although it is only open on Saturday and Sunday this week, at least on arrival I can eat breakfast, take a trip and have lunch at Highley and a few pints of real ale in several places without leaving the railway. I think that constructive criticism is sometimes taken badly and constantly sniped at.
    My usual accommodation near Taunton cottoned on to the fact that there is the WSR gala.... and almost doubled their prices for the week.... I'm not a mug. I am the customer... treat me as you will, but I decide where I spend my money.
    This year it is not in Somerset.

    Robin L
     
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  16. tracker

    tracker Member

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    I also spend significant sums during a gala... usually circa £500 in the 4 days on food, drink, accommodation, local shops, railway tickets and spend etc....
    To suggest that "tourists" visiting a railway do not spend in the local economy is absurd....
    Robin L.
     
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  17. tracker

    tracker Member

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    IF, after 40 years the PLC cannot see without being told... I give up. Go and visit some other railways and see what is on offer.
    Robin L.
     
  18. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

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    You don't have to go very far upthread to see examples of what I am saying. Anne C-B, for example, says that the WSR's food offering is not able to meet her needs unlike many other railways, and is immediately shouted down as if it is her that is doing something wrong, and told it is impossible and a daft idea for the WSR to do what other railways do. Similarly - I am not going to trawl back through all almost 12 000 posts on this thread for examples - any time anybody points out that the WSR has a complex structure and maybe could learn from other railways with simpler corporate structures, they are quickly told that the WSR had a problem a few years ago that was sorted out by a change of trustees, and that now there is no longer any need to consider changes which would be impossible anyway.

    I didn't mean to say that anybody on this thread normally tries to humiliate anyone personally - apart from the former trustees of the WSRA of course. It seems to be the standard course of action for some to try to humiliate the organisation, though.

    One thing that would maybe help with all this, potentially, is a tougher social media policy, such as is commonly used by corporate employers and by some other railways.

    I seem to recall that about 3 months ago it emerged that the WSR had tried to introduce such a thing, but one volunteer - who by my reading felt they would be heading for a disciplinary if they continued their previous social media behaviour under such a policy - persuaded someone else who wasn't subject to it to leak it on this site. The latter person did later admit (in another post on this thread) the identity of the volunteer who had asked them to leak it, incidentally. This then gave the volunteer carte blanche to post on here and on Facebook drawing parallels between the WSR and repressive Communist regimes; they did so repeatedly until the WSR withdrew the changes to the policy.

    Now, if you had to summarise the above in one sentence, I would suggest that "publically humiliate the railway until they changed their course of action" is a fair description of how people acted in the events described.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2018
  19. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Methinks you miss the point on purpose. In the context of a tourist attraction, "contributing to the local economy" is a shorthand for "providing paying customers to other businesses" - or, more charitably put, sharing the gains rather than monopolising them.

    In the context of an existing status quo, for the railway to change it's model so that it draws more of the available custom, and less is shared, will be contentious unless this is done by growing the size of the total cake - the mercantilist fallacy, however, is widespread and will frequently mean that losses in one place will be blamed on gains elsewhere. I sympathise with the management who have to balance customer demand with limited capital and the need to maintain community support.
     
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  20. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    Regarding facilities ... the WSR needs to offer the catering that appeals to the greatest number of people over the greatest period of the year. The specific needs of people visiting galas may or may not be served by this approach, but the needs of the railway will be.

    As to the demands of external organisations, the WSR doesnt owe anyone else a living. Good relations with the town are clearly advantageous, but the activities of a noisy group of business owners doesn't necessarily mean that overall relations are not good. What the WSR needs to be most careful about is that it doesnt let their "spin" become what the townsfolk think about the railway. Promoting the positive benefits of the railway to the town, and inviting community engagement (in whatever form that might be, like free trips for a local disabled school or something) should be used (and I am sure is used) to counter the business groups somewhat negative picture of the railway. I am sure that the WSR contributes significantly to the local economy and that this could easily be shown.
     

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