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West Somerset Railway - Removal of the PLC Chairman and related matters

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by rodders154, Aug 14, 2018.

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  1. patriarch

    patriarch New Member

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    No reason she couldn't do well. Not so sure about the finance director, though !
     
  2. thequantocks

    thequantocks Member

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    The members speak, now listen.
     
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  3. Jeff Price

    Jeff Price Member

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    Hello Larry

    What have you in mind, the majority of WSRA are distant and uninformed.

    The WSR has some 1100 or so card carrying volunteers.

    I was surprised when in the WSRA freehold wars that a straw poll of WSR railway volunteers produced about a 40% membership of the WSRA.

    I would not be surprised if that is now around 25% of WSR volunteers are WSRA members.

    SO what do you think should happen??

    I am very disappointed with the lack of joined up, cooperative forward planning, the success stories seem to be the result of the determination of individuals working for the WSR bringing external grants (the BESST apprentices and novel events (40's weekend)

    The Wagon project, small but has output.

    We have yet to here the outcome of the HP funding application.

    So Larry, over to you.

    Jeff Price
     
  4. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    So what you are saying is the WSRA is becoming increasingly irrelevant to the future of the Railway then Jeff?
     
  5. Jeff Price

    Jeff Price Member

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    Richard
    You may be drawing conclusions from my post that you wish to believe yourself.

    I do not think that the WSRA is irrelevant to the future of the WSR, far from it.

    The WSRA could well have prevented the WSR being "refocused"

    So the potential of the WSRA and the WSSRT trust is to top up WSR by funding the nice to have or the heritage extra on top of basic renewals (the extra for Bull Head Rail when the PLC can only justify relay with Flat bottom) - the overhaul of either one of the WSRA locomotives or an appeal to member to complete 4160 once the WSRA shares have been recovered - gift aid on donations -money for nothing, just fill the form in.
    Both of the WSR charities, the DEPG plus S and D trust can all bring sometime extra to the party.

    Why there is no joined up, collaborative approach is unforgivable.

    Heads have been turned by hollow visions that now seem to be dead in the water.

    Those who were involved need to slip away and let everyone else get on with rebuilding the WSR with a collaborative future.

    SO in short, Richard I am certain that WSRA has a very important part to play in the future of the WSR, it just needs to be allowed to

    Jeff Price
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2018
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  6. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    I hope that it will be otherwise but it does appear that Members are voting with their feet and as you point out that only 25% of the volunteer workforce are now members perhaps the WSRA needs to examine itself and its role on the WSR?

    I suggest that unless it is making a significant contribution to the Railway it is very sadly becoming an irrelevance and having been a member since April 1974 I hope it will the regain the original role for which it was intended and I desperately hope it will do this and soon
     
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  7. Bean-counter

    Bean-counter Part of the furniture

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    Again, we appear to have a school of thought that for whom 'making a major contribution to the Railway' = 'giving lots of cash to WSRplc'. This could well be the end result of effective WSRA activity, but to write off the organisation for failing to do so at the present juncture appears somewhat premature.

    The PDG has been mentioned and appears to be an excellent forum but I would suggest that, as it includes 'external' bodies, the WSRplc and WSRA, along with the WSSRT and other groups, should be working closely together in addition to and more frequently than the meetings of this wider body, and hence, at the PDG, be able to present united plans to external bodies. In some ways, this appeared to have been working well, at least at a Chairman level, until recent events, and indeed it has been made clear that at least some supporters of at least some of these events considered that to be a problem. As we are assured this is not due to personal animosity directed at any individuals, then one can only conclude, despite assurances to the contrary, that it was in some way the closeness of working that was seen as a problem........

    Steven
     
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  8. Jeff Price

    Jeff Price Member

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    It works on other railway, we live in hope that the same will happen on the WSR

    Jeff
     
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  9. huochemi

    huochemi Part of the furniture

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    I doubt the WSR will be able to fund track renewal, even fb, out of normal revenue, which is not due to unusually poor management, but a reflection of the reality of the economics of running a preserved railway. The fundraising bodies in a railway family are not a nice to have for funding the odd heritage touch, for many their funding has become fundamental to business as usual expenditure e.g. SVR, Bluebell, Talyllyn. Perhaps that is part of the disconnect with the plc?
     
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  10. Jeff Price

    Jeff Price Member

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    Thus the WSRA, WSSRT, DEPG plus S&D trust are vital to the future of the WSR and anyone who thinks otherwise is at best misguided.

    Jeff
     
  11. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Part of the furniture

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    No moaners please!
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    How? In this case the board of trustees have dealt with the matter exactly as they should. Under the old regime they ignored all the rules. No comparison whatsoever.
     
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  12. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    How easily we forget...….

    The WSRA finances took two years to resolve and burned out two accountants. The mess that the 6+1 left behind was almost impossible to work through but thanks to the hard work of a group of people, the WSRA is stable and is now funding staff and resources that contribute directly to the railway. The muck throwing (by one individual in the main) is a particularly shameful diversion tactic. The WSRA may not be able to come to the rescue today but when you consider that the 6+1 blew £180k (or thereabouts) on restoring a Mk1 coach, don't be surprised if the current board are more focussed on walking well before they can run.

    (I suspect that the coach was just used as a cost centre to book all sorts of nonsense against).
     
  13. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

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    Which support organisation is deemed to be the official support group of volunteers to the WSR?

    What is the situation with regard to insurance?

    I believe that in many cases the Railway insurance covers staff and working volunteers, but volunteers need to be members of the main support organisation.
    Other groups may not be covered.

    In my own case, I am a member of the NYMR Trust as a working volunteer but I am also a working member of York Area Group which mainly supports the PW on the NYMR.
    However To work on the NYMR I need to be a member of the NYMR trust.
    Membership of any other support group does not cover me for insurance purposes, no matter how much you work you do.
     
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  14. There isn't one. We are all one big family. It has never been a requirement for volunteers or staff to belong to a "support organisation".

    All people working on the WSR itself are required to hold a Staff ID card issued by the Plc who then provide the cover.

    The Plc runs the railway.

    Steve
     
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  15. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    "One big family"?! You'll be getting a phone call from Jeremy Kyle soon.
     
  16. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    Snifter has posted to the effect that two accountants spent two years sorting out the WSRA accounts and 'burned out two accountants'.

    I understand that it did nothing of the sort, although it may perhaps have been asking too much of volunteers (the WSRA could
    not at the time afford paid help). In practice Mary Randle (assisted by Susie Bulloch) and the late Nigel Adams worked from April and had everything 'ship shape' for the AGM held in October 2016. The WSRA and the Railway owes them a great debt. Nigel who was a co-opted Trustee, (at the February 2016 EGM ) decided not to stand for election at the October AGM as the time spent on the WSRA meant he had been unable to carry out 'firing turns' during the 2016 season. He subsequently was taken ill with cancer and sadly died earlier this year.

    It would be nice if the WSRA would publicly acknowledge this significant piece of work on this forum as it would appear that it has gone unnoticed, certainly on here.
     
  17. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    Mr Triumph sir,

    I completely agree with you that we all owe those involved a huge debt of gratitude. I thought that was clear from my post but perhaps you missed it. The point I was making was that to fully unravel the records and account for every last penny was a monumental task. Whether it was completed in its' entirety within 12, 24 months or whatever is a tad academic however if my figure is incorrect then I apologise and will discuss it with a senior WSRA officer when I next see him. He mentioned to me when I bumped into him a few days back.
     
  18. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    Mr Snifter Sir, I think you will find that the Financial State of the WSRA was Unravelled as you say at the time I said but the Action to put matters in perspective and to take action may well have taken up the residual time.

    We just need to know where the WSRA intends to go from here?
     
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  19. Jeff Price

    Jeff Price Member

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    Richard and Rodney

    I think you can assume that the WSRA is waiting to assist the WSR and the WSRplc once the WSRplc have set course.

    There are some people think that is would all be so much better if all that has gone before was just swept (WSRA- WSSRT etc) and replaced with a new WSR charity then everything would be wonderful on the WSR.

    I would not see this as practical solution myself.

    All that has to happen is the WSR charities and the WSRplc get together, come up with an agreed plan that external funding bodies will buy into with all party acceptance of good governance practice and off we go............

    Now Richard and Rodney, what do the WSRplc intend to do??

    Jeff
     
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  20. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    Jeff you know who I am but who is Rodney?

    and I have absolutely no idea what the plc are going to do anymore than you do!
     
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