What does the future hold for preserved railways?

[woodenhead]

2 hours ago, Rivercider said:

Funnily the subject of rationalising or relocating the shops in our town centre is something I have mentioned to Mrs Rivercider a few times.

Weston (no doubt like many other town centres) has many empty retail units. In Weston they are scattered across the town centre. Some streets have fared well with most units still open and trading. Other streets on the fringes of the town centre now have more closed units (or have been converted back to residential) than those that remain trading, and this must surely be detrimental to the surviving shops to be surrounded by closed or derelict premises.

To my mind it would make sense if the streets fringing the town centre were to revert to residential use, while all the trading shops and cafes gathered together in the centre of town for a more compact shopping centre. Of course there are many reasons why that would not take place,

 

cheers  

I come down to Weston on occasion when work beckons me, I used to liken it to a nicer version of Blackpool with all the restaurants along the front, but recently when I get beyond the front I see that there are parts like the Northern Blackpool that have seen better days.

[H2O]

On 28/02/2023 at 19:46, Northmoor said:

I think it was a tongue-in-cheek suggestion (surely?) that some body such as HRA would actually plan which of its members' lines should close.  Nobody has the right or powers to decide that anymore than the Association of independent Retailers could decide which corner shops to close - they don't own them!

 

One thing and one thing only will decide which railways do or don't survive the coming recession: good management.  That is no different to any other time; there have always been preserved railways that have been less successful than you would expect based on their location, etc.  Short of an Act of God weather incident - and I can't think of a preserved railway closed by one - everything else is to a greater or lesser extent in the control of the railway's managers.  There is always a challenge attracting enough volunteers with the right skills to railways; attracting managers with the right business skills, sufficient enthusiasm for railway preservation and willingness to do the job for what will be a modest salary, is probably one of the hardest searches of all.

 

You are absolutely right about the mobility or otherwise of volunteers.  In the case of rolling stock, a team of volunteers moves with "their" locomotive.  They may do lots of other volunteering on railway A as well as working on their own project, but if the loco moves to railway B, many may be lost to A altogether.

Perhaps it was a reference to Beaching II in 'identifying lines for future development'?  Maybe Serpell could be put into action with no preserved railways beyond Plymouth and Aberdeen.

 

For the avoidance of doubt the above _is_ tongue in cheek.

Edited March 3, 2023 by H2O
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