SVR General Discussion

Indeed, we took a full-line service train each way. We like the SVR for that very reason, Highley is a nice part-way destination.
We've had the DMU back a few times, and the small person has fallen asleep most times.

 

Quieter that way (no, I don't have children but my niece and nephews are all under 5)

 

The DMU group have had a report produced detailing the repairs and maintenance work needed on all five units; chief among the work necessary is the overhaul of bogies.

https://www.svr-dmu.org.uk/

They are hopeful of having a two car unit back in operation "in the not so distant future".

https://www.svr-dmu.org.uk/1_5_latest-news.html

 

Yes, I mentioned that several pages back.

 

I'm reminded of the time long past when risk assessment first became a formalised routine. Presented with the designers list of potential risks we were expected to write RAs for a minor road improvement scheme to include consideration of a. a meteorite strike & b. a nuclear attack.

Thankfully a more sensible approach soon became the norm.

(PS my RA for controlling the terrorist threat would include use of the shovel & gauge glass spanner as weapons).

 

As supporters of the railway what we really need to do now is firstly make sure we give the line our maximum support (so buy a ticket even if you're not going to ride but have come up for a full days photography and definitely if you've come for the amazing railway show that is any of the galas) secondly encourage friends and family to visit and thirdly suggest realistic ways of making a visit more likely and for visitors to spend more.

My view is that in recent years too much has been made of the attraction of Highley and not enough of Kidderminster (the station and the museum), Bewdley (the station and the town) and Bridgnorth. For the latter two I wonder if there is any potential for a road shuttle into the centre of the towns?

Highley imho needs a rethink , the exhibition is quite jaded and the whole of the Engine house has an air having seen better times.

 

Its quite a challenge to decide how you market / invest in the varying parts of a multi location visitor attraction? Do you divide the spend equally or do you weight the spend based on the anticipated return on that investment? There are other ways of dividing the spend but inevitably any decision will "upset" some and given some of the comments here about recent decisions it would be a shame if decisions caused further division.

As regards road shuttles. The legislation relating to the operation of bus services is quite onerous and not to be undertaken lightly. I wont go into detail here but suffice it to say in much the same way as the ORR are looking more closely at Heritage Railways, the DVSA and Traffic Commissioners are looking at the operation of vintage buses.

 

It has long amazed me that the successive SVRH Chairmen have not lead from the front and very clearly tasked the membership with .........."Please go out & persuade at least two people to come and buy a ticket to ride on the SVR this year who would not have otherwise done so".

If fully carried out that would yield an additional 20,000 passengers! or the difference between surplus for reinvestment and loss.

Folk have given limp answers, such as how would you measure it, completely missing the main point that the railway has a sales force in its supporters. They just need motivating and reminding of the challenge.

 

Heritage railways are very unusual in traditionally giving retail space and revenue to a wide variety of affiliates with little or no direct benefit to the host organisation. When money is scarce and costs rising this is an approach which inevitably needs to be scrutinised.

 

The railway requires owning groups to contribute to maintenance and overhauls beyond what the railway is prepared to pay for their use (or gives preference to those that do).

There are locos on a 'run and repair' basis (no steaming fee, the railway pays for the overhaul). The 8F group, for example, are raising £250k towards the cost of the next overhaul.

There are locos paid steaming fees. The 813 Group has been open that the recent untoward damage to a casting will cost £20k and they've lost a similar amount in fees. Their sales stand is one of those displaced, at a cost of reduced income

Groups also contribute in other ways (donations to the Fight Back Fund, contract work paid to the railway by the GW(SVR)A, 4150, 82045 etc.)

A quid pro quo is they must raise funds.

 

I take issue with that.
Yes I would expect anybody making personal or organisational gain which does not demonstrably result in adding something to the railway as a result to be charged a commercial rental/facility charge or similar.
However loco, rolling stock groups, station funds and the like which fund raise funds to restore/overhaul their particular item(s) do so in order to enhance their railway in the widest sense and often to bridge the gap between what can be commercially earned and what is actually required in funding.
At the risk of attracting a P Hitch outburst most of our railways have quite a wide support network without which their offering to the public would be much the poorer. Most folk away from the IOW see this as a strength.

 

I asked our Marketing and Comms team whether we had even considered an advert in the Metro newspaper. Current readership of 1.8m. The reply I was given from one was what's the Metro and then quickly followed by how would we quantify whether it has worked or not. As if it was an alien concept to have a small discount applied by entering a promo code as many thousands of business's already do.

It really didn't fill me with confidence that they had the drive to go out and get new customers/ passengers. Our adverts always seem to focus on the local area, not the wider West midlands. There doesn't seem to be any innovative ways to marketing ourselves coming out of the marketing dept except persisting with Facebook/ social media. Yet in recent years social media has seen a decline in usage due to people being so fed up with it all.

 

That doesn’t make sense. The 823 and Stanier Mogul fund both supply motive power for the railway. Providing retail space for supporting groups costs the railway nothing

 

I quite agree. However, a project which is raising money for something that won’t bear fruit for the railway for another 20years might not be helping the here and now if it abstracts money that could be helping pay tomorrow’s coal bill or the relaying a section of worn out track. I get railways are an eco system and that collaborative environment has got us where we are. There are people who would argue that it won’t get us much further. I can understand wanting to look at it and maybe take the best of both approaches somehow.

 

It definitely costs them something. The question is whether that’s a cost worth bearing.

 

Right enough from me for a bit. Time for others to debate. In case anyone hadn’t worked me out, I wasn’t being obnoxious (at least not deliberately). Really all I have been trying to do is provide some observations that in a very small way from my own experience indicate the complexity and delicacy of the balancing act being performed by senior railway managers on heritage lines. It is a very difficult job that is getting harder daily. Most of them work upwards of 60hours a week and are rarely completely off duty. It is one of the toughest jobs anywhere. Please just bear that in mind because those ladies and gentlemen need your support and understanding.

 

Costs, how? The 813 fund has been kicked out into the car park to leave an empty space.