Teifi Valley Railway

The UK state is also gripped by this idea that cheaper is better. So not only is it poorly funded but it also doesn't spend money wisely. It doesn't value people who do good work in difficult jobs and look after them, and it can't see past the next crisis. So it ends up in this loop of terminal decline thrashing around trying to stay afloat.

 

I would say all of the UK is, not just the state. It struck me the other day, when someone recommended a pub. Why? ' Gammon and chips for just £7!' (or whatever the price was). Or pubs along the road with banners of 'Eat here for £5' - when have you ever seen a restaurant on the Continent advertising itself on the basis of its price?

 

Have you been to Benidorm? Not sure it really counts as the continent though!

 

Watched 'Bargain Brits'.... seems like a little outpost of the UK.

 

It certainly likes to tell itself it does everything badly, worse than anyone else, and that it is in terminal decline. The truth is that this is simply untrue, and whilst there are a great many things we could and should do better, oftentimes in my opinion this narrative of decline really gets in the way of focusing on what our priorities should be and how we can meet them.

 

Checking up on whether the TVR Society had sent in the annual report of income and expenditure for 2021 ( they haven't), I noticed how many railway societies are registered charities : 995! Amazing range of sizes too, from those with an income over £2million to a few £ thousand. Nearly everyone sends in their reports on time ... why is it so hard for TVR?

 

TVR once again in danger of closure.

 

Well, KCIII couldn't run it any worse than the current shower ...

 

As the chairman of a (since failed) bank once said:
'The prettiest flowers grow on the edge of the abyss'

 

This is one railway I have yet to visit, but I am concerned that the management of this railway is lacking the expertise that it requires, I don't like the idea that it could collapse or worst still that all its assists end up in a Government auction which is a possibility.

Is it just pride that they don't ask for help? Come on guys take one for the team and get some much needed professional help in to sort this out please.

 

What weight rail do they use - might be handy for other railways once it's put up for auction...

 

I'm sure people (well, OK, one person) finding every opportunity they can to twist the knife across every social platform they can is definitely the most productive way to reduce that danger...

My dad was on the track gang and then occasional driver in the early days, a bit later on (after I'd come along and spoilt his fun) I have many good memories of days out on the Teifi, including a gala with "Palmerston" visiting and (testing my memory here) a "Wren" (Peter Pan?). I really do hope they can get it back to something close to what it used to be; if they could capture half the atmosphere e.g. Launceston manages it could be fantastic. It seems like an enthusiastic group down there now with the right intentions, albeit perhaps not always the best of direction. It's a shame some people can't let the iffy bits of the past be left where they belong and let them do their best to move forwards.

I acknowledge that people have been wronged, unfairly, in the past- for what with hindsight were very valid concerns, and bridges were burned from both ends as a result, but undermining the railway as it sits today won't right those wrongs.

 

Nor will being an apologist for the useless shower seemingly "running" (should that be ruining?) it now. Elizabeth may have upset some, but I believe she was one of the railway's officials back in the glory days that you extol. No-one can say she wasn't absolutely right and has provided adequate warning of what could and might happen. I just hope that the important assets lie outside the doomed company and that something can rise phoenix-like from the ashes.

 

In which case, it's necessary to acknowledge that there's a hell of a difference between a resident Cassandra warning of things not being done and deadlines looming, and that person then relaying the publicly available information that the company WILL be compulsorily wound up unless specific actions are taken.

Regardless of who said or did what and when, the current director(s) of the TVR are solely accountable for this position today, and getting out of this hole depends on their responding to what they must do, not doing what they think they might like to do.

Otherwise, the ghouls will be out, and the efforts you, @Elizabeth Perry and many others have put in will be as naught.

 

Looking at the filing record at Companies House it would appear that First Gazette Notices have been issued on a regular basis. It seems that whoever is responsible for the accounts is using this as a reminder to get them compiled. This hardly gives confidence that the railway can grow into anything like a decent heritage tourist attraction without imploding through incompetence. I wonder how long a company is allowed to get away with this?
You might read the social media posts as "twisting the knife" but if that really is the case (and I don't think it is) then the easy way to stop them is to find some degree of managerial competence before a "whoops I forgot" moment leads to closure!

 

I think this is shooting the messenger.

 

It doesn't help that there have been changes in how / what / when [and by whom] whatever reports & records get filed at Companies House {and even more potential confusion if filings at the Charity Commission are also required } ...

 

The past disagreements are irrelevant in this situation. Unless the current management recognise that running a railway/limited company/charity involves obeying the law regarding paperwork, the railway has no future. As one who joined the Vale of Teifi Narrow Gauge Railway Project in 1978, helped to purchase the tracked and obtained the necessary grants to build the railway, I find it sickening to watch years of work thrown away.

 

I agree I joined about 5 years ago for a year to start with but I never got a single reply or a newsletter or anything so when the 'would I like to continue' letter did arrive I polity decline the offer.

 

Thus far at least experience has shown the opposite. Repeated failures to file accounts on time hasn’t resulted in ORR action, and the Companies House actions have been limited to automatic notices that are withdrawn during the appeals period with rinse and repeat, while the company continues to trade. Unless or until those regulatory positions change, or for example banks or key suppliers refuse their business, the downsides are seeming limited to fairly small financial penalties and minor reputational damage. Negligible numbers of visitors are likely to be deterred from travelling on the day by late filing.