West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Prophets of doom have moved to Yorkshire - keep up !

Bob.

 

Well, there was that recent appeal for badly-needed funds. (Some lines have had to go that route, but not all.)

Noel

 

I seem to recall repeated claims that the WSR needed the odd half million or so every year for a backlog of maintenance, without which it would have to close; no reports of any such moneys being received; and yet the railway apparently still running happily today. One of the criticisms of the management (besides the serious one of treating the S&D Trust and some of the volunteers like muck) was speaking with forked tongue. If all is fine and dandy now, the claims about needing all that cash would seem to have been porkies.

 

Something must have happened there, it was only a few years ago they had to run smaller locos for weight restrictions and now this year has seen 2 weekends with an A4 out. From Manors at 17.5T to A4's at 22T is a bit of a change, given Raveningham Hall went to the SVR as it was too heavy

 

Some of you must be really bored in this hot weather if all you have to do is raise issues from the past. Move on.

 

Yes, something has happened! A few years ago weight restrictions were introduced due to rail wear. Those rails have now been replaced so larger locos can run again.

 

The point is not to rake over past issues in themselves but to enquire by what miracle the railway has (apparently) recovered from the supposedly dire financial situation of a few years ago. Was it never as bad as was claimed (management being economical with the truth)? Is it actually still much worse than it appears (ditto)? Or has there really been a miracle, and if so can the rest of the preservation movement please be told how to do it?

Good to hear, but where did the money come from?

 

My experience is that things are seldom as good or bad as they are made out to be, that both doomsters and cheerleaders have an axe to grind and that Mandy Rice-Davies hit the nail on the head when she said "they would say that, wouldn't they?"

 

Very often exactly right, but in the case of the WSR a few years ago it was the railway's own management that were telling us how bad things were.

 

I see that A4 Sir Nigel Gresley is running on the WSR
This Friday Saturday and Sunday.

 

But were they not running an appeal for money at the same time? It seems that appealing for money to support the running a heritage railway is a delicate business: things must not be seen to be going too well, as donations will drop off on the grounds that they are no longer needed, but they cannot be seen to be going too badly either, as donations will drop off as supporters become disheartened.

 

Please find attached attached above a note I wrote in 2024 on this subject
of locos permitted to run on the WSR. Regrettably I am afraid there has, as
with other Heritage Railways been no financial miracle

Michael Rowe

 

Yes, we Chemicals are indeed the chameleons of the profession