Swanage Railway General Discussion

It would be easier if there was a direct link from Wareham to Swanage...

 

Only one of several: WSR, Peak Rail, Severn Valley, Teifi Valley, L&B.

 

True but in the case of SRC it is probably an accumulation of the frustration felt by many at the failure to deliver projects within the stated and expected timeframe.

Whilst most of the delays have been caused by circumstances beyond the control of the railway, and well reasoned decisions to delay projects have been articulated, nevertheless the "track record" of on time and on budget project delivery is poor. The current levels of inflation being experienced could result in delayed projects costing very considerably more than was originally anticipated and put a very considerable strain on financial management and fund raising.

 

Well obviously there has been a change in financial circumstances in 18 months. Things don't stand in one moment in time do they. Will you be applying 80104?

 

TBH at this stage in the SR History I think they need someone who has no prior knowledge / involvement with SRT SRC so the new incumbent will be able to view everything; the core business, the staff, Project Wareham, the carriage shed project, the T3, The Moguls, the relationship with Southern Locos, the relationship with DC PCRP, the Furzebrook Sidings Project from a totally fresh perspective. Equally those involved with the aforementioned will also have "comfort" that the new CEO has no prejudgement of "their involvement / project" and thus decisions taken are not tainted / influenced by any prior involvement. Only time will tell if the SRT Com SRC Board will allow the new CEO the executive power to take the decisions and thus do the job they have been employed to do. Undoubtedly there will come a time when where ultimate power lays is demonstrated / decided.

IMHO Decisions will have to be taken as to which parts of the business to focus on and which parts sadly will have to be discontinued . The current resources available to SRT SRC suggest that they can not do everything. It is for that reason that the PW question needs answering so that SRC can either plan on Wareham In or Wareham out. Whilst much has been talked about the coal issue and inflation (and its impact on costs and revenues) to me the real challenge is staffing given that recruiting paid staff is becoming very difficult (and more expensive) whilst simultaneously the total volunteer commitment appears to be waning. Do I have some ideas how to try and resolve those issues? Yes I do but given the very insular world of heritage railways I wonder if SRT SRC would be prepared to at least give them a try.

 

Some real news, to counter the views postulated by others at a distance, from my current visit to catch up with friends and family:
- The trains seemed to be running fairly well-loaded - contributing to the real transport needs of Purbeck by transporting a good number of people to Corfe Castle and Swanage without their cars (car parks in both places indicating they were full).
- The DMU was earning a return on its investment by contributing to the park-and-ride service (NB.: DCC's investment was on the basis of the combined contribution to the local transport network - not just Wareham services).
- The relocated Bird's Nest had been doing good trade. Reports obtained gently from those staffing it were that volume of sales seemed to be greater over a shorter day and with a less labour-intensive menu. Anecdotally, there was less 'table-blocking' by those drinking little, eating less, but talking lots than there had been previously...
- Local opinion that I could garner (unscientifically gathered from conversations with quite number of locals with different connections, and none directly 'railway', was that it was a distinct improvement to to have the 'scruffy cafe-coach' no longer in a prime, gateway position at junction of Station, Institute and Kings Roads.
- Also unscientifically, I noticed no significant smoke from engines. Having your main steam-raising depot in a town centre location is never going to be easy, but all the signs were that crews were managing smoke well.
- Having made a trip to Poole on the mainline, there is plenty of spare capacity for more passengers there - and not much sign of a latent market for Swanage traffic (certainly mid-afternoon)

I also remember some of the conversations around the project's initial aims (though from the 1980s onwards) and, whilst a service to Wareham was posited from the beginning of the project, this was always going to be on the basis that it would need to be subsidised by a profitable tourist season service. Without the current operation (which also fulfils a greater transport need than the Wareham service ever will) being successful and profitable, there is no hope of the financials of even a seasonal service to Wareham (as in the pilots) covering it direct/marginal costs. Any greater service to Wareham is dependent on local authority subsidy - and I truly cannot see this being forthcoming, as it would be at the cost of the socially more effective bus services. Having personally put huge amounts of time and energy into the foundations for Wareham services, I hope they do come to fruition - but that will not be at the expense of the existing services.

As an aside, having worked with the title of General Manager (whilst actually fulfilling the role of a CEO), I constantly had to explain what this meant to those I met in meetings. In modern parlance a GM is more often a middle manager (think of hotels as an example, where a hotel's GM will often be operating within the limits, budgets, targets and processes set by 'head office'), rather than a senior manager with significant responsibility. Having a title that would be recognised across the wider railway industry and with other partners is a pragmatic and very sensible move.

 

branch
more than that I am contributing to the UK economy. Just bought an Oxford Rail 0415 class. Did they EVER run on the Swanage Branch. I know they were long time survivors on the Lyme Regis Branch.
Q. How did so many GWR branches survive and the old SR axed?

 

The short answer is when the Western Region took over parts of the Southern Region those in charge decided to close the Southern branches for various reasons but mainly because they used to be part of ‘the enemy’

 

Direct flights;sometimes two a day YYZ to LHR and that is BA. In the season at least two charters daily to Gatwick
I did not apply for the CEOs position; with so much homegrown expertise on here ! (joking)
I wish him/her very good luck in the changing environment staring HR in the face,
to resuscitate the original Star Trek mission statement "To Boldly Go"
and that might include making some of those 500 parking spaces redundant for the good health of everyone.(see Echo story of BCP areas choking on fumes and traffic)
80104 has the 3 priorities assessed.

 

As built they were suburban passenger locos, but in the early twentieth century they migrated west to country sheds. Bradley notes that in 1911, 0416 / 0420 / 0424 / 0425 / 487 and 519 were at Bournemouth and working "Bournemouth, Salisbury, Swanage, Eastleigh & Weymouth passenger & goods" while 481 / 485 were working "Swanage branch & Ringwood services". There was a big cull of the class after the First World War, but in the early grouping period, apparently Bournemouth had 0106 / 0426/9/31/80/83/85 which worked "the Swanage branch, the Brockenhurst services via Wimborne, the Salisbury stoppers and piloted at Central and West stations". Apart from the two at Lyme Regis and 0488 on the East Kent Railway, they had all gone by about 1928.

There are others who can no doubt fill in on Beeching and the like. What I would say à propos the archetypal SR branch line is that it was actually rather rarer than you might think, or at least rarer than modellers tend to think. There were a few examples west of Swanage (Swanage itself, Seaton, Sidmouth, Lyme Regis) which fit the stereotype: single track approach, one main platform, small goods yard, loco shed. But for most of the SR, the termini were fairly major affairs at the end of main lines (most of the South Coast towns: Bognor, Littlehampton, Eastbourne etc). The typical SR branch line generally ran junction to junction, rather than junction to terminus. About the only really archetypal single track small termini I can think of east of Swanage are Hawkhurst, Westerham and the decidedly atypical Dyke branch. I think the apparent lack of survival of SR branch lines is because there were actually very few of them that fit the stereotypical mould.

Tom

 

Out west you forget the Withered Arm. I’d add at least Bodmin North and Padstow to your list as conforming to SR type.


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Indeed, Bodmin North fits. The other Withered Arm termini, although mostly single track, were to an extent single track mainlines, rather than branch lines - at least they were operated as such. Not many GWR backwaters had named express trains hauled by the top link passenger locos direct from London, a feature of Padstow ...

Tom

 

Why was the coach scruffy? Lack of TLC and maintenance?
An imaginative paint job might have helped (Say SDJR Prussian Blue?)
Making locals redundant is not part of a Community Railway is it?
Funnily that was the byword on National Public Radio(USA) this morning. Community spirit. Does the SR still have that and relate to the community in which it operates?
Another task for the new CEO

 

I picked Padstow because it did conform to the pattern you described, despite the unusual inclusion within its service pattern - I’d absolutely describe the North Cornwall as a branch, despite its length. After all, plenty of branch termini had through services on top of their core services.


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Community enterprises tend to deliver better benefits to their communities when solvent. Community spirit only goes so far in making good deficits.


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Thank you 358. Are there any images of the locomotives that worked from Bournemouth. In my early "spotting" days I do remember the M7 push and pulls going out of Poole(red suburban coaches) and over the"old road" to Brockenhurst. To my regret never travelled on that line although i do recall it stretching to the east as one went north to Salisbury. Was West Moors the junction? I just read that more luxury flats are planned for West Quay Rd. A far cry from when the B4s trundled down to the Quay, a wonderful sight on a damp day to see the glow of the firebox as one carefully bicycled across the tram lines,all the while breathing the wonderful aromas of BDH!

 

Get shod of some of those Tory privateers who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The Rail Unions might bring the Tories down yet!

 

The coach was repainted and given TLC and maintenance.
Unfortunately its location (top of Station Road) meant it was fully exposed to the weather including the paint stripping effect of the microscopic sand particles in the wind.
A bright glossy paint finish was turned into dull flat matt paint within 18 months.

 

My impression was that people's views on the Bird's Nest were less to do with paint job, but to do with the various accoutrements that the coach was equipped with to make it fit for purpose as a static cafe (i.e. water supply/drainage pipes, extractor vents, external verandah). None of these were so visible when the main view of the coach was from the opposite side, and from under a canopy.

Better that than not having a railway at all...
Because of those painful measures (similar to those undertaken by many businesses and organisations in the course of the last two years), there is now a business that is contributing to the economy of the local community, and is in a position to grow and move forward at an appropriate pace in the future.

Again, my sample was not scientific (and I was not out to question people specifically about the railway in my biannual 'catch-up' with friends and family) but, because of the range of people I know, includes people from a range of businesses and organisations across the town - and the railway does crop up quite frequently in conversation! My gut instinct is that many people across the town are grateful for the presence of the railway, and recognise the contribution it makes to the economy of the town.

 

Sorry @007. I was not intending to have a go at Swanage Railway here. I was referring to a general trend among heritage railways and not yours in particular. On the NYMR our General Manager has mysteriously morphed into a CEO overnight and it is happening on other railways too. As a heritage railway family we still train signalmen rather than signallers, operate out of railway stations rather than train stations so lets be run by General Managers and not by pompous sounding CEOs. A heritage railway is not after all a multinational organisation.

Peter