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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. weltrol

    weltrol Part of the furniture Friend

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    Don't mention the 'Dorset' word....:Nailbiting:
     
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  2. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    A tail of two seaside branch lines, both have rebuilt from very shaky starts, One has a very supportive whole railway ethos, and doesn't waste its time on stupid internal fights, if they do have fallings out, its hardly ever reported outside its own circle. The other, just appears to be unable to learn from past mistakes. or put in place measures to address those fallings out. i watched both videos, and the Swanage one is more about the Positive, aspects the railway brings, the West Somerset, seems to be more about, give us your money, Strange it shows people having a good time away from the railway, that could be misconstrued to read as you don't need the railway to have a fun day out, as if its just a way to get from A to B.
     
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  3. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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  4. D7076

    D7076 Well-Known Member

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    I’ve seen more positivity in tribute videos and images at funerals than the WSR version.The Swanage one of the two would get my money .
     
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  5. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    To me the message was one of " If the railway dies, It will be your fault, Not mine"
     
  6. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    But more importantly IMHO - it relates the railway to the Isle of Purbeck to give the impression that saving the railway means helping the community - a factor which the WSR appeal omits entirely despite showing scenes from the community.
     
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  7. MikeParkin65

    MikeParkin65 Member Friend

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    There isn’t much between the two to be honest - the WSR video isn’t particularly bad. We are all making choices about which railways to support financially at the moment (because I am working on the assumption £10 to one railway is more use than £1 each to ten) so it just depends on where your allegiance lies.

    This thread has done more to give the WSR a negative image in my eyes than the video appeal will ever do.
     
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  8. Roland Bushell

    Roland Bushell New Member

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    I am not going to add anything to what has already been said, except to wonder if I have missed something. Its an appeals video. Without any instructions as to how anyone can respond. OK, its not difficult to work out. But rule one when making an appeal is to make it as easy as possible for people to give up their cash. The last 7 seconds of the video is just a black frame. Surely that`s where an address, phone number, website or other info could appear.
     
  9. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    What utter rubbish, the WSR gives its self a negative image. We don't decide the policy of the WSR. They do.
     
  10. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    I didn’t get that, and I’m conscious of having to think carefully about how I react because of my views of how the plc is being managed.

    It didn’t do it for me, but I’d class it as a near miss - though not one that would ever get me to reach into my pocket.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  11. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

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    I have to agree. I found JJP's voiceover, if it was he, rather sympathetic. The styles are very different, the WSR's is very much "this is what might happen" whereas the SR's is more "this is what we might lose", although the mention in the SR's video of how much the railway brings to the community is a point the WSR could have taken on board, but perhaps the WSR very much sees its donations coming from the enthusiast fraternity rather then the people of West Somerset.
     
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  12. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

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    I must say I find it deeply ironic when people post on this forum to say that people should not post on this forum and when posters say they only read the posts which have something to say as if they can tell whether a post has something to say without reading it, at least the beginning, anyway.
     
  13. D1002

    D1002 Resident of Nat Pres

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    I follow this thread in the hope of finding information about West Somerset Railway Operations. But all that I see is a relatively small number of posters making the same points over and over and over again:(.
     
  14. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    We seem to have spent the last couple of days largely discussing the validity of discussion, adding even more pages to the count, it's all getting a bit meta...
     
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  15. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    It is all too easy to allow judgment to be influenced by emotion and both videos should be watched with an objective mind

    both have been compiled at a time of lockdown , one, the railway represented by the chairman, the other , the volunteers . The need for support is not something that can be made light of and both try to convey the message with a degree of gravitas. The material was clearly what could be captured or was available .

    As many enthusiasts are tribal I suspect the railways will attract donations from their fanbase. Will both galvanise the public , again those with happy holiday memories will probably donate as a trip to the preserved railway is the holiday staple

    As a broader observation the movement is talking itself down at the moment , and whilst the prognosis is challenging there is a risk the movement convinces itself a long term shutdown (by that I mean 2020 and 2021 seasons wiped out) is the solution . A thread on facebook from one General Manager was championing that every avenue to reopen should be explored . Harz returned to operation this week , Bundesliga is back so if a major European country can do this, there is no reason why the great minds of the heritage movement cannot do the same
     
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  16. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    Talk of staying shut in 2021 is talk of accepting that the line ( whichever line) will close for ever. I doubt very much that any railway could survive what would be for some a little over 2 years without running trains.

    Yes it will be difficult to reopen and it may not be very rewarding this year, but I think it is essential. The focus has to be on doing so whilst planning for a situation where it will not generate much of a surplus.

    Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk
     
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  17. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    So, I suppose the question is...........

    1. How can we get trains moving? and
    2. How can we get the public in to enjoy them - and pay us some money, and
    3. Get them to pay for it
     
  18. richards

    richards Part of the furniture

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    1. You can't until the government allow it or it is commercially viable.
    2. See question 1
    3. Will they pay for something *else* instead?
     
  19. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    It is very clear that different lines have taken different approaches as to how to communicate and what elements of the line to emphasise in their appeals.

    The Ffestiniog has gone for videos and a very clear statement that it’s two priorities are people and then survival. The FR seems to be aimed at its wider supporter community. Perhaps because it can and because it has a ‘brand’ name.

    They’ve released several videos from an appeal to ‘what can supporters do when in lockdown’ to a thank you.







    NNR has a thank you video as well, which is more low key and much more from the volunteers.



    I suspect that both approaches won’t be to everyone’s taste.

    MHR has a very clear, costed and explained, ‘why we need your money’. Rather than a ‘we need 4 million just to survive’ which is sensible given people may say ‘why do you need so much, you just run trains’ without knowing the costs of doing so. https://preservation.watercressline...ure-and-how-you-can-help-us-continue-our-work

    While the SVR has ‘adopt an engine’ drawing on wildlife charities ‘adopt a tiger’ and the NYMR has an auction going.

    https://www.svr.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?a=926

    Clearly, different lines are developing different and novel approaches to try to get people to donate.

    Some emphasise their history, others push their place in the community, some volunteers.

    I think when it comes to tone etc, it is important to know your audience. I assume that the WSR knows who it is appealing to and believes that that message delivered in that form will be what will get people donating.

    What I would say is this, the SVR is very effective for example, it is not ‘my line’ but I have fond memories of Gordon and a family connection with the LMR, so even though Gordon hasn’t run for years, I am very likely to be an ‘adopter’ of Gordon, when I probably wouldn’t have given to the SVR otherwise. (Not because I have anything against the SVR but there are so many appeals). Excellent fund raising strategy from the people at the SVR.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2020
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  20. dhpaul

    dhpaul Member

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    Isn't a major factor in getting the public to enjoy any social facility, and the WSR falls into this category just as restaurants, cinemas etc etc, the fact that the experience needs to be enjoyable?
    Getting the public back on the WSR needs initially a lack of fear about going out to do anything, and the income available to spend on doing anything. Assuming that we can get over these two basics, and it seems that these in themselves are going to be major constraints for 2020 definitely and I suspect 2021 also, then we come to whether the public is prepared to spend on a particular activity.
    When we spend on what is a discretionary activity, we subconsciously weigh up what we get out of it and what its cost is, and assess whether we want to do it. Is it a pleasurable experience overall?
    So many pleasurable activities at present are just not there at present because of social distancing. Looking at what appears to be happening to make the "big railway" move forward, I can't see that that would make me want that experience. I struggle to see how WSR or any heritage railway could provide an experience tainted by social distancing requirements that is in any way acceptable to customers, and thats ignoring the financial viability of it.
    I think that until social distancing is consigned to the dustbin of history, any social activity that depends on people being in close proximity is doomed.
     
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