West Somerset Railway General Discussion

We've been down this path before.
There would be far less speculation if the real facts were presented openly in the first place.

 

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What has the PLC done now?

 

For clarity : this comment of John's does not relate to my remark above.
Another member had a posting there that has disappeared. I can guess why but, if the mods find it necessary to remove a posting, they should indicate the removal so as to avoid confusion.
Mike

 

Are you sure you're looking at the right thread? WSR related posts tend to pop up according to thread drift, just about anywhere ..... including t'other WSR-specific thread!

 

Yes, and I could name the poster. Their comments are no longer showing under their postings record. As I said I can quite understand why they have been deleted. It was those comments that John was challenging.

 

There have been past Galas when I have arrived at the WSR late morning on the Saturday and departed early afternoon on the Sunday, so actual travelling time on the line was confined basically to two half-days. Some form of 24-hour rover would have been far more attractive to me than having to buy 2 x 1-day, but not being able to get the full benefit. Maybe the admin overheads for such an option were not considered worthwhile?

 

Fair 'nuff ..... and that's the extent of my involvement here. I don't want to catch it too!

 

Maybe though as enthusiasts we have to accept that railways are horrendously expensive to run? If a gala is one of the opportunities a railway has to generate a surplus that will fund infrastructure renewals in the cold dark days of winter when there is little other income, should we begrudge the odd few pounds of ticket price? When all is said and done, tickets are still cheap if you compare with other “days out” you might have if you had different interests - how much do people spend for two hours at a football match, or an afternoon of shopping for clothes they will probably only wear once? And even at a gala, I suspect for many visitors, what they pay on travel and food will outweigh the cost of a ticket, particularly if it also includes an overnight stay.

Without wishing to single out you, or any other specific posters, I often think there is a complete lack of awareness amongst a section of the enthusiast community about just how much it costs to run a railway.

Tom

 

Completely agree, this gala in particular locomotive hire fees and transport fees are more than previous years with the 9F coming all the way from Yorkshire and with 76084 all the way from Norfolk.
Bear in mind how far geographically the WSR is out the way of for example the SVR, it will usually cost us more to transport locos. Thats one of the reasons the ticket price has been increased for this year.
The brand new gala timetable we are trying this year gives more mileage opportunity than ever before, and more goods trains than before, so still great value for money in my opinion. Even more so if you can attend all four days, 4 day rovers are the same price as a 3 day.

 

The prices have stopped me looking to ride, as for the family will cost over £100 for one day. Err no chance... It's not as if there is a big celebrity loco visiting. GCR tried charging £32 in 2019, and this year saw sense and reduced it to below the £30 mark (£28 was it?). Think WSR will be forced into a similar review.

 

Ironically, but as a member of the erstwhile "Powderham Signal Box Group" it is not unknown for me to spend most of a Gala day hidden away inside the Gauge Museum and never seeing any trains, let alone the goods - which always seem to have run before I arrive or leave after I've left :-( Must get out more......

 

Never conflate silence on social media with inaction.

Robin

 

Some would argue that the first appearance of 92134 in the South West in over 50 years (maybe ever?) is better than a celebrity engine. Each to their own of course

Sorry to hear it wouldn't be viable to visit, not sure if we offer a family day rover for galas, doesn't appear to be one on the website. Will enquire about this

 

Being at Bishops Lydeard you'll see it a fair bit if all goes to plan!...

 

Chris, aren't there many trains passing powderham then?
Ian

 

Certainly looking forward to the new timetable.

 

In my dreams

 

£35 is rather cheaper than the cost of driving from Somerset to Pickering and back.