If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

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

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2018
    Messages:
    3,498
    Likes Received:
    6,845
    Location:
    Here, there, everywhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    There is this very weird thing on the WSR, you get all obsessed with willy waving and comparing who has done the most, the longest, I am sure Freud would have something to say about insecurity. When I look at the premier league lines I don't see any of that. I guess that those who are secure in themselves don't see the need to prove themselves to anyone.

    I did note that in your volunteering resume you left out volunteering for the WSSRT on carriage restoration. Looking forward to you adding it.
     
  2. jma1009

    jma1009 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
    Messages:
    1,381
    Likes Received:
    1,637
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ynysddu south wales
    In the light of what I was told yesterday evening about the recent WSR PLC AGM, from a 'Zoom' participant, I would like to suggest it is highly advisable that a full report is provided ASAP.

    The WSR PLC has various shareholders who hold more than a nominal shareholding, and who are also very active and are involved.

    The WSR PLC also is answerable to it's stakeholders. And the WSR plc board is subject to a great deal of scrutiny currently and for the last 10 months or so.

    It has also been awarded a great deal of public money recently.

    Surely someone else on here can provide an authoritative account?
     
    Piggy likes this.
  3. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2007
    Messages:
    1,540
    Likes Received:
    692
    What did Bob ask?
     
  4. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    A case of inadvertent nominative determinism, perhaps? But, yes, especially given that the trustees had to circulate a separate email specifically quashing his insinuations. It seems some people never learn.
     
  5. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2005
    Messages:
    9,634
    Likes Received:
    8,302
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Alderan !
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    any clues on the question asked ?
     
  6. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2005
    Messages:
    9,634
    Likes Received:
    8,302
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Alderan !
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    In defence of @1472 he is very active in railway preservation and whilst we may not quite see eye to eye on WSR matters , for volunteering on two railways and being part of loco owning groups I cannot fault his contribution to the movement
     
  7. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2014
    Messages:
    17,609
    Likes Received:
    11,222
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    St Leonards
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    If the trustees had to circulate a separate Email to answer his assertions, it can't have been good,
     
  8. 34015

    34015 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2013
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    103
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    Signalling Engineer
    Location:
    Between 5B & 5C. Sometimes 32C
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Circulate a separate email after being prompted and despite saying they would publish an addendum with the minutes.
     
  9. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Messages:
    9,185
    Likes Received:
    7,226
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Thorn in my managers side
    Location:
    72
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    The curse of the WSR strikes again.......................
     
  10. jma1009

    jma1009 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
    Messages:
    1,381
    Likes Received:
    1,637
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ynysddu south wales
    Well, I've got the full text as published of the WSSRT AGM, and my old adversary Bob Meanley posed a few stupid questions.

    But what happened apparently at the WSR PLC AGM with Steve Williams is of far more significance and ought to be related/reported!
     
  11. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    Messages:
    10,437
    Likes Received:
    17,937
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cheltenham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It was a rather ridiculous assertion that because one of the 10 had some sort of association with Vivarail their bid for power might have ulterior motives such as turning the WSR into a big test track for new trains. If it was anyone but Mr Meanley I'd call it crackpot.

    After the minutes were circulated, with the WSSRT's official reply being more or less "well who knows..." there was a subsequent email with a statement from the candidate confirming how much nonsense it was.

    Apologies for the summing up, I really can't face reading through it all again to check exactities.
     
    Landshrew, MattA, ross and 5 others like this.
  12. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2005
    Messages:
    4,323
    Likes Received:
    2,397
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Westcountry
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    At least there would be some trains running.

    OK, only joking!
     
    MattA, baldbof, Bluenosejohn and 3 others like this.
  13. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Which hat was he wearing at the time, or did he have the entire collection of them on, one on top of the other?
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2020
  14. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2005
    Messages:
    9,634
    Likes Received:
    8,302
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Alderan !
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Many thanks . it was loaded but not as bad as I feared . The other questions were interesting . with hindsight I do wonder if the "10"s strategy and chances rather unravelled as a result of not being as prepared and cohesive as they needed to be
     
  15. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    Messages:
    10,437
    Likes Received:
    17,937
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cheltenham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The campaign was certainly far from perfect. I'd have done it differently. But given the final numbers, I find it hard to tell myself that a change of tactics would have made any difference to the final result.
     
  16. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I don't know. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if the 14, as they were at the beginning, had been the 10, whittled down to 6, say and if they had not put their nominations in at the last moment, (which turned out to be a pointless and damaging precaution), started their campaign before they put their nominations in and if they had limited their platform to allying themselves with the WSRA, not merging, then the result could easily have been different. I would expect that the response from the Trustees would have been no different to what it was and the incumbents' pettiness, spite and snowflakery would have been shown up for what it was.
     
    ross and jnc like this.
  17. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2007
    Messages:
    1,540
    Likes Received:
    692
    I’ve remembered the reason for the ongoing difficulties at WSR.....

     
  18. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    This article, https://www.somersetcountygazette.c...even-years-says-mp-50-000-government-handout/ might be of interest. Back in the day, when SCC was well-disposed towards the WSR and sold them a 99 year lease in return for some worthless shares, they got quite far looking at re-opening Somerton and Langport stations. One of the options looked into for the new service that would have stopped at these towns was to have it terminating at Bishops's Lydeard.
     
    toplink likes this.
  19. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2018
    Messages:
    3,498
    Likes Received:
    6,845
    Location:
    Here, there, everywhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    It was the supporters of the PLC who called into question the volunteering commitment to the WSSRT of those who joined to support the 10 so why not ask the supporters of the PLC who joined to oppose the 10 to answer their own question?

    Only at the WSR is volunteering weaponised as an argument to delegitimise the views and actions of others. 'I volunteer more than you, therefore my views are worth more than your views.' It is self-defeating infantile knuckle dragging macho posturing.

    It ignores that a railway is the sum of its parts. Someone who has volunteered for years on the footplate or workshops is no more or less important to the survival of the line than the person who cleans the toilets (a literal crappy job), works in catering (the sort of thing passengers complain about on trip advisor), or the person who volunteers once a month to tidy up a station garden. The person who is a dab hand at fixing an injector or doing a bogie exam is no more or less important than the person who is a dab hand with a sewing machine at fixing the upholstery. The person who volunteers every week in pway or S&T is no more or less important than the person who set up a direct debit years ago, never visits but always pays their subs on time, or the non-member who visits and puts cash in the till. Each and everyone is vital for the survival of the line and you can't have the line if you don't have them all. At every other line this is recognised as such except the WSR.

    There are many reasons why people can't or don't volunteer - health, work/family, financial, geographical etc, likewise, there are many reasons why people really value volunteering - because it stops social isolation, friendships, networks, physical and emotional well being, because they want to etc. It doesn't make one person more right, better or more important than someone else.

    Only at the WSR would the acting chairman of a group attack the new members of his group - even though they may have the very things his group so desperately needs to turn the wasting carriages into a heritage jewel in the crown. Who wouldn't want to see a rake of restored GWR carriages running on the line? But no, rather than encouraging the new members to stay, they are treated with hostility as interlopers to be made to feel unwelcome and to not stay. Only at the WSR would someone act in such a way as to discourage people from remaining members and contributing to the group. That is just messed up.
     
    Landshrew, Kje7812, Squiffy and 23 others like this.
  20. staffordian

    staffordian Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,501
    Likes Received:
    2,134
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    The Potteries
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    So, there was a rumour, scurrilous or otherwise that a potential trustee might have an idea for bringing additional income to the railway, rather like the GCR and the EVR among many do.

    Surely another example of a potentially good idea (regardless of whether or not there was any truth to it) being weaponised and used against the candidate rather than being embraced as another possible lifeline.

    Cutting off ones nose to spite ones face comes to mind, not for the first time.
     
    Herald, ross and Monkey Magic like this.

Share This Page