West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Come to WSR and get both

Steve

 

Returning to the Wagon Issue................what is the procedure to move the PW Dept from Dunster Yard and put in place a Wagon Dept?
Writing to the PlC by an individual would be futile. Any guidance out there?

 

A commendably honest observation. It's easy to forget that even if a locomotive is burning a near smokeless fuel like Ffos-y-fran it will still chuck out a load of dust, I understand a second sweep out at midday is highly desirable if this can be done. A cordless vacuum cleaner is a handy bit of kit to keep carpets in first class looking, well, first class.

Authentic 1950's grime and grot is unlikely to be welcome by someone in her light coloured summer dress.

PH

 

Looks like I wont be visiting anytime soon then.

 

Has anyone received their lineside pass renewal letters yet?

 

Depends what you call soon. There is some congestion at peak times but nothing too serious. I spoke to Somerset Highways today. On schedule to be finished before end of May.

 

June 9th then?

 

It really is no big deal as far as most people are concerned. Just allow a little extra time at present. The changes will be a huge improvement.

 

I am completely with you on this, what a wonderful concept for Dunster goods yard. However, even I believe that the P.Way department must take precedence over historic wagon restoration and any move must be to their and the WSR advantage.

What is the current long term intention for the use of Washford?

 

I have no idea what the official view is but the S&D folk have done a great job of enhancing and maintaining the site. Personally I would like to see them remain as they are, IMHO. a great asset to the WSR. Their restored trucks look good and those pending restoration look better cared for than those at Dunster. The shunting displays during galas by the immaculately turned out Kilmersdon are a pleasure to behold.

 

Ha Ha

 

.....look better cared for than those at Dunster? North Korea couldn't have done a better job.

 

The compartment nice and clean, no complaints there, you could see out the windows they were clean. Just the seats and carpets were in need of a bit of TLC. Not having a pop at Nigel and the Carriage and Wagon team but compared to GW compo we were in earlier that day...

 

Why not include your suggestion as part of the Southern Gateway Consultation. Plenty of folks have used the opportunity to make alternative suggestions about the development of the whole line rather than one station. There is a special e- mail address on the WSRA site for comments. You would not be the only person to make a comment about Dunster.

 

I agree with you, just writing a letter to the PLC as a ‘can you re-instate Dunster Goods Yard please’ is going to be futile and rightly so. The PLC will have a long list of priorities to deal with not least of which is keeping a very long railway running every day. Therefore any project like this will have to be driven by people/volunteers. It’s all about finding/supplying solutions not just presenting another problem/job for the PLC to complete.

I don’t know what the procedure is or if there is one for such a thing as I’ve only been around the railway for a couple of years so no doubt others here will have a much better idea than me but I would suggest that the starting point is for somebody well placed to start asking some specific questions.

We all have a view on here, me included and think that for example the PW Team could be relocated elsewhere on the line (a couple of options may exist), the WSR has the cranes and wagons to move it, there are volunteers out there to help and a new site can be organised to improve what the PW already have, etc. etc. But that’s a lot of ‘thinking’ on my part without any facts to back it up. So to start with a number of questions have to be asked such as: What do the PW Dept think?, what problems does it present to them?, how will it interfere with the PLC’s operations?, does in fit within a longer PLC’s strategic view?, what’s the cost/benefit ratio? Would the WSRA like to be involved if it’s a part of their remit? etc, etc. etc.

Plus of course should it fit within the larger Southern Gateway Project (I included it within my reply) and should it be picked up by that project team?

Now I’m sure most/all of the issues could be overcome but again that’s just an assumption on my part but once some of the stakeholders involved had given their views a fuller feasibility study could be undertaken to scope the costs, volunteer resource, timescales and most of all appetite from the people across the WSR to complete the task. It’s most likely going to need volunteers in addition to the current levels as I do believe this project would involve more time & people than money & cost which is a positive as it should be a low cost/high impact improvement for the WSR.

I for one would be the first person to put my hand in the air and say I would like to see it done, would physically help, would like to see if it’s feasible and if there is an appetite from all parties concerned. But it will take many more people to commit themselves if it’s ever to actually happen as the first question is: How much does everybody really want to see Dunster reach its full potential’?

 

It would seem to me that there is a strong case for developing Williton as a base for PW & possibly other things given that its half was along the line so presumably offers much better access to the whole line than Dunster?

 

Thank you Andy.
Two hands up so far...........
I understand NF is subject to vandalism? Isn't plant left there for the ballast contract? What level of vandalism is present at NF?

 

Our submission goes along the line that we accept there has to be development at Bishops Lydeard, as undesirable as that is from a historic point of view. We think that Robin's suggestion is much better than the company's option. We think that there should be no further overbearing development along the railway apart from Minehead which is already ruined by the cafe and other modern developments. We also suggested that ways should be found to put the unsightly rolling stock out of view. Perhaps a row of cosmetically restored wagons could be placed at Dunster station to hide the yard?

We think the project should be renamed the "West Somerset Railway southern Gateway Project" which is more descriptive. The lower case 's' is deliberate.

 

Three.

 

I would work on the principal of "COUTTS" i.e. carry on until told to stop ! That would be after talking to the groups with a local interest e.g. the P-Way team and the Plc. I am sure that if the intention is to restore Dunster to what it was then the Plc would be extremely supportive.

Mmmmmh, that's why COUTTS works so well in such cases. Nothing really costs in when it comes to preservation.