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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    Masochism?

    Sadly the WSR more often than not resembles Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes

     
  2. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    The cafe could operate an outdoor grill for teas, coffees and bacon rolls. There must be a lot of stock nearing the end of shelf life so doing nothing is the very worst option.
     
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  3. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    Don't tell me, tell Rail Advent. :D
     
  4. pgbffest

    pgbffest New Member

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    Ctrl C + Ctrl V as per usual?
     
  5. baldbof

    baldbof Well-Known Member Friend

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    ..Drifting a bit<< Could be worse, you could have been a Sunderland fan. :Hilarious::Hilarious:
     
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  6. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    I’m not sure I’d use the piano as an analogy - it’s ultimately about a single person and their effort and ability. Staying musical, I’d suggest the analogy might better be that of an orchestra, where the conductor needs to get the right sounds out of the different sections. And it’s noticeable that while there are plenty of stories about conductors who’ve acted like tyrants, the great ones have also developed reputations for creating teams that have delivered a great sound over time - a trait that suggests a lot more than shouting in the rehearsal room.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  7. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    All teams be they in business sport or music reflect their leader.

    You don't have to like him (or her) necessarily but you must respect him or otherwise you do not collectively achieve anything!
     
  8. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    But respect is a 2 way thing, by showing none or little to those who work with you then the outcome is not going to be a happy one.
     
  9. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    the key word is Leader , someone who can make the sum of the parts greater than the individual components . In the preservation world I don't think Showmen make good leaders , the ones forever in front of the camera, stealing the limelight . I can think of another who probably saw his reputation lessened as a result . I'd also err towards businessmen don't make good leaders in the preservation world either . Cold hearted business logic has no place in a world of heritage , volunteers , where sometimes decisions have to be made with the heart and not the head
     
  10. MattA

    MattA Member

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    In railway history, "Leader" can also refer to something that was intended on being a revolution for steam traction, but turned out to be an expensive failure that didn't endear itself to anyone who worked on it... :rolleyes:
     
  11. Bikermike

    Bikermike Well-Known Member

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    Well, yes, indeed... there is always something worse...
     
  12. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    Of course it is - you do not have to like one another but you Must Respect One Another

    Disrespect is very destructive and to both parties!
     
  13. D1039

    D1039 Guest

    Man City were once in the third tier. A season ticket holder stood up, shouted abuse at his team, threw away his ticket, and stormed out. It was returned by a fellow ticket holder with a note: "if I have to watch this rubbish, so do you".

    How you apply this to the topic thread I've no idea.

    Patrick
     
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  14. Triumph 2500S

    Triumph 2500S Well-Known Member

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    Exactly true unfortunately but a good leader can be a very quiet unassuming person but one with knowledge and an ability to lead and motivate the team.

    Remember the led are VOLUNTEERS and as I did personally a couple of years ago with the Home Library Service here in Swindon I reminded the unfortunate Council Employee who Controlled us that I was not going to be treated that way and as I had a choice I walked. It was something that gave me tremendous pleasure and something to do personally to help the elderly and infirm but as soon as it became unpleasant, and I was not being paid I might add, I resigned never to return sadly.

    Anybody who Uses Volunteers must Accept that they have a CHOICE and they don't have to do it, and so they must be treated with Respect and Courtesy.

    It is not just their Labour that is Lost as well they often Contribute Financially as well!
     
  15. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

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    What i find interesting is that often in life, those who make the biggest show of demanding respect, often show the least amount of respect for those whose views differ. I mentioned earlier that no one likes being criticised, but very few of us consider criticism to be a personal affront and evidence of a lack of respect. And yet, for some, saying 'I think you are wrong in this point' is seen as disrespectful and an unacceptable challenge to authority. I really do struggle to wrap my head around that mindset and approach to dealing with people.

    Things got lot worse before they got better?
     
  16. smithersmark600

    smithersmark600 New Member

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    I have only joined this forum after reading pages and pages of absolute drivel and complete character assassination of the WSR. I have long been involved with the WSR and always found it to be a great place to volunteer. Friendly folk with one aim in mind and that is to run our great railway for the benefit of the people who come for the heritage that we provide. What I have been reading on here has made my eyes bleed! There is one person purporting to be supporting the WSR who blatently is two faced and to my mind has no place in it at all. Then there are others of you who are so quick to open your mouths to condemn everything we try and do to support the railway. , and whats more you dont really care. Do you have any idea just how hard the volunteers are working to get this railway back online right now? No I dont suppose you do. As long as you can come on here spouting your bile at the railway and laugh about it then you are happy. I just hope you can live with yourselves. Oh and by the way the board are working all the hours God sends as well in order to make decisions which will carry the railway forward. The board is not just one man. Some of you may not like the Chairman, thats your problem, but if it hadnt of been for him then you wouldnt even have this thread on here as we would already been closed, so when you come on here trying to discredit him for everything he tries to do just think on that. He may not be your particular cup of tea but he has a long association with the railway and lives and breathes it. The decisions that have been made have been made by the board as a whole and not just by him. Hard decisions yes, and ones which many may not agree with but if they have been made they have been made for the continued welfare of the railway. How dare you all continually keep taking a pop at us and the railway. How hard do you think it is for us, the staff and the board members to still have to say that we re not running, yet everything positive we try to do gets laughed at and joked about on here. There are people out there weeding track, painting, bringing the stations back into order, and yes we put on an event last weekend. Even that you had to have an inquest about because a bus ran out of fuel. Thats all it was, nothing sinister, nothing mechanical, just fuel, thats all. Never mind the volunteers who rocked up, proud to be wearing their uniforms again and welcoming the public into Minehead. We put out all the time for what we love and will continue to do so. Instead of breeding negativity and continually sniping on here why dont you do something positive and come on down and roll your sleeves up and help us! None of us, board, staff or volunteers want the railways' demise, and it hurts deep to be reading all this both on here and on FB pages. I have had my say now and will not comment further.
     
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  17. staffordian

    staffordian Well-Known Member

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    There have been several similar new posters in the recent past, all making the same strawman arguments.

    It gets tiresome after a while to repeat the FACTS for their benefit.

    But for the avoidance of doubt, I think you will find it very difficult to actually point to a post where the poster actually does not have the best future of the WSR and especially the friends and volunteers as their motivation for highlighting the problems.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  18. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

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    The problem they have, I think, is that they are all starting from the viewpoint of assuming everything the WSR Management do must, by definition, be perfect, because the management says it is. And they know it must be so, because the WSR Management have made it very clear that anyone who says otherwise is not a WSR Person, but instead must be cast into the outer darkness.

    I wonder if at the next beer festival a smart volunteer will save some money by just buying in a load of water, knowing the Chairman will be able to turn it into wine beer for them
     
  19. Anne C-B

    Anne C-B Member

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    Are the coaches stranded in the correct places to achieve this? Have the diesels been "summerised" and is it cost effective doing so for a one month season?
     
  20. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

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    There are many people in railway preservation that love their Railway so much that no matter what decisions and actions their Boards make, that may or may not be for the good of the Railway; they will always support the Railway with their labour and other actions.

    Some may see this as “toeing the line”. I don’t agree with that, I’ve met many people at preserved railways who continue to volunteer through the highs and lows of good and bad decisions of their elected/appointed leaders.

    Are they management stooges? No, nothing so simple as a conspiracy! Just love for their Railway.
     
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