arran

https://www.westcoasttoday.co.uk/news/jacobite-petition-builds-up-a-head-of-steam-as-business-owner-warns-of-devasting-effect-of-suspension

16 minutes ago, ruggedpeak said:

Because I read the letter.

Them All ?  it was more than One MP wasn't it , i didn't think they would have but locals have been less than please also 

2 hours ago, ruggedpeak said:

So one assumes that this is WCR's endgame, trying to force ORR into granting an exemption by moving stock and getting MP's to write letters etc. Presumably the next step is get get one of the various rent-a-mobs to lie down on the track or something equally stupid. The MP's letter is a great piece of Comical Ali work - why shoot yourself in the foot when you can do both feet and your head at the same time.

 

Particular genius in spelling out that WCR has had an exemption for 18 years........clearly won't occur to anyone that that is a very long time to be exempt from safety regs and begs the question why could they not fit CDL over that period. Defnitely no one will think of that🤣

 

The latest letter has shifted the focus away from just the Jacobite (a limited number of coaches) to their entire operation. Have they woken up to the fact that overplaying their hand on the Jacobite and not just getting on with that CDL task has forced them to go "all in" as they have realised the entire business is at risk? Back to the JR potentially being a strategic error. A Judge backed the ORR on their position on the Jacboite CDL, which sets precedent for wider activity. They didn't appeal the JR decision, hardly surprising given the number of grounds they succeeded on....

 

The question still remains, if the Jacobite was taking in £1m a year profit, and with limited investment as part of a proper plan that cash cow could continue (and why would NR not renew the contract if safety was up to standard etc?) why on earth would you put that at risk to fight the safety regulator and spend a lot of money on lawyers and management time trying to avoid the inevitable? Particularly when anyone with any basic business strategy could see getting it wrong could affect the wider business given their dependence on old rolling stock that does not meet modern safety standards?

 

Fundamentally it does appear WCR have bet the farm on having exemptions in perpetuity.

 

 

so how do you know WCR got Mps to stick up for them ? i should imagine that came from local Business going apoplectic as  the whole sorry mess   

9 hours ago, ruggedpeak said:

Interesting business strategy. Lost the JR to the ORR with a clear decision that the ORR is correct. The Jacobite contract expires this year they can't run the service at all at present. Genius.

 

And now a petition has started to try and get a safety regulator to change its position on a serious safety issue that has already been examined by a High Court Judge. The petition is pretty weak effort. Worrying but not surprising in the social media age that people think safety regulations should be determined by a petition signed by amateurs. 🤣 WCRC could try and boost their credibility by publicly disowning the petition as an inappropriate way to respond to the High Court decision, but I'm guessing that won't happen. 

 

I also hear that Boeing are watching to see if this petiton works in case they can get one to overrturn the FAA restrictions on 737s.....🤪

 

 

I don't think anyone's going to get Sucked out a MK1 by Explosive Depressurisation .!!!

59 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

No trains have been cancelled by WCRC due to a lack of CDL and a movement is in RTT for the Jacobite stock. Lots of hints of MK1s being fitted with CDL at Carnforth so let’s not panic and jump to conclusions 

It did have a negative effect last year when it all kicked off.

I hope this year works a treat for all involved this season 

3 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Stop making excuses - rules is rules!

 

Lines have to be drawn somewhere. There is substantial profit to be had from the Jacobite operation so if WCR don't want to lose out on lots of revenue they will find a way..... Its not as if their entire coach fleet consists of Mk1s after all.....

I'm just pointing out that its affecting others .

I know they have played it as far as they can and should have had a program of works,  and there's one set up already, has its got door locks ? 

and while everyone digs in their heals the local economy suffers 

HI All

To answer the question Saturdays the busiest day  followed by Monday i would say .

As for England's Sunday shopping laws you need to come out the dark ages .

Regards Arran

2 minutes ago, 26power said:

It’s only £3 if you are a visitor to the Science Centre.  Otherwise it’s £8.50 for up to 9 hours.  Full details for others here: https://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/visit/parking  Although not sure I should increase awareness of it; I might end up not being able to get a space!

 

Fair enough But still cheaper but not by much.  you get screwed on parking these days .

5 hours ago, Portpatrick said:

Good Grief.  I won't be going there!

as i said before but you didnt see it , Its £3.00 all day at the science center and its about the same distance 

7 minutes ago, YT-1300 said:

Parking at the Hydro for Model Rail Scotland is £11 after the first hour!!!

Or £3.00 at the science center for a day  and walk no further .

Regards Arran

On 07/03/2024 at 22:19, Chris M said:

There is no plot. There are also no surprises.

Warley club decided organising the NEC show was too much for them after 30 successful years. It was no surprise that Warners decided to take over the mantle of organising a national show. Part of the Warley club resolution was to search for a suitable location for a new smaller show.  The only surprise was that a suitable location was found so quickly.

 

 

Hmm so was the new exhibition location on the cards before calling it a day at the nec ?

Regards Arran 

20 hours ago, John of York61 said:

Exhibitors, demonstrators, traders and societies.....don't forget this year, the clocks go FORWARD on the night of Saturday 30th!! You will lose an hour's sleep. Here's a gratuitous picture of JS and Floor Manager Colin Taylor checking the downstairs bar.

One Hrs less sleep at the Pudsey Hilton "Oh well" 

I will have to  remind Mr Petty of this on the day 

Regards Arran

29 minutes ago, Camperdown said:

As I was queuing for a ticket, one of the stewards pointed to the crowds and said it was just like Morris dancing.  He explained that Morris dancing used to be dying, but more recent meets have been thriving, with large numbers of women and young people moving into the hobby.

 

Not sure the analogy really works, but given the amazing RTR models that are now available, and some of the large layouts described here, I do feel that the hobby is thriving.

 

The FT piece that somebody linked is, I think, slightly different.  Toy makers (Hornby, Lego, Airfix, etc) have pivoted in recent years from selling to children to selling to adults.  South Korea led the way, some years ago.  Western countries have followed.

Along with Law Junction we also took the lego to Modelrail "really stretching the club members" for the first time and was busy on the Friday and mobbed the Saturday and Sunday .

It really captures the younger side of those attending imagination , i think one of the reasons its popular even with adults are its not purely a railway but a kids imagination . we also got invites for it down south!!!  

The trader side of me wished we had some Lego railways for sale as we could have sold a dozen for sure .

Regards Arran

4 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

No-one has been playing games, please stop stirring Arran.

Hold on a bit !!!!  so said person says the quality of the yet to be agreed attendees at the show will be better quality than GETS and is a member of that club ?  

What form of words would you use then ? but its not being open is it .

1 minute ago, Chris M said:

? Sorry I don’t understand this. If it’s referring to me I have mentioned that I am a member of Warley club many times over a many years in various threads. 

Not You. But who you called out for being a club member talking up their new exhibition 

30 minutes ago, Chris M said:

As a long term member of Warley club and therefore likely to be biased in favour of Warley I have to say that I always thought the layouts at GETS were good quality. I rate GETS as a very good show.

 

I'm told that, in order to avoid any overcrowding, there will be a limit to the number of tickets available each day for Warley at Statfold. No doubt more details will emerge later on this.

Playing games and now found out !!!!

I think people should declare and interest  in subjects like this 

Regards Arran

30 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Well I've consistently regarded the Warley teams choices for models at exhibitions over KeyModelWorld and I trust they will be applying the usual rigor they have in the past.  Nothing wrong with Key Model World's exhibitions but I prefer the types of models chosen by Warley.

 

Of course you are factually correct that you cannot make the final choice until you have two lists of exhibits, but I can be sure one will be a crush .  Also no need to make a definitive decision which to attend until Autumn really.

https://www.statfold.com/events

I wonder what else is on in October to Force the dates selected ?

18 hours ago, mike morley said:

I've been to GETS three times and have always walked (I can see the football stadium from the end of the road) but the desire for quality means this year I'll be going to Warley @ Statfold.

Has the layout list been announced ?  as well as traders attending !!! 

Just wondering how that the assumption of better quality can be made at this point 

Regards Arran

Well if Moderail Scotland's anything to go by the Hobby's on the UP

Regards Arran

HI All

Whats Legit to claim for  club shows .

Van hire If required

Fuel only EG what goes in the tank

They provide the hotel / B&B unless otherwise agreed , with Breakfast.

Meals through out the day are a luxury and if they offer them Fine but if not dont moan , Get a Tesco meal deal .

My club offers Free Tea and Coffee with Home baking at a nominal fee to cover costs But you do have to take into account is some places wont allow that  because of in-house catering.

A for Commercial shows !!!!

Fuel and some wear and tare on the car  of van if owned .

The rest is the same 

Regards Arran

1 hour ago, PaulRhB said:

Yep, I acknowledged that in the first reply, I fear though some won’t think of it and may innocently get rather burnt. 

My concern is that this could put those on a tight budget off exhibiting and that’s bad for all of us.
 

One show may not be a problem but as others would inevitably follow to offload the risk then it gets very expensive to exhibit booking up months ahead. I’ve only got five shows this year and only two that would need a hotel and that would be over £500 sat in others accounts until September. 
 

 

 

Its the chance we take as Exhibition Managers as well ,  Personally i book rooms although they get a choice of sorts .

It may be the way forward in some way but this years Warly some were at Tamworth nearly 20 miles away " a cost in its self "   

7 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

It may be a painful discovery to the few that get burnt not getting a few hundred quid refunded if they have to pull out through illness or bereavement. 

Lets go back to what I said .

Dont accept the invite then But plenty others will on those terms 

Whether its death or an asteroid strike we take our chances

56 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

We have already discussed the effort and incidental costs involved in exhibiting a layout. Paying for van hire and fuel up front is usually a cost only over the weekend as expenses are normally paid on Sunday. If show organisers want to put exhibitors to the further hassle of booking their own accommodation, which may involve paying weeks/months in advance to get rates that fit in with what they will be reimbursed, then some will undoubtedly pull out. Clubs should also know which hotels are best suited to exhibitors needs from their local knowledge and also be able to negotiate better rates through group bookings.

 

Further, if the organiser's attitude was "take it or leave it" as you suggest, then some exhibitors would probably prefer not to deal with that organisation. 

That's why i said Take it or leave it !!!! you dont have to exhibit .

They will change it if to many dont want to do that deal  .

12 hours ago, 5944 said:

I can certainly see the advantages in being able to book your own accommodation, but likewise I wouldn't be keen on the personal financial outlay. Smaller clubs can book up a few rooms in a local hotel or B&B, but trying to arrange several hundred rooms for one of the big shows must be a nightmare for the organisers. 

 

My club took one of our layouts to a certain exhibition on top of a hill in North London a few years ago. It took me less time to get back home in Bedfordshire, via a 10 minute walk to the station, two trains, then another 15 minute walk, than it did for the other operators to get to their hotel in North East London! Road works, road closures, traffic jams and football traffic meant it took them about 90 minutes to get to the hotel 8 miles away. I was indoors in 75 minutes, 45 miles away.

 

There's plenty of other accommodation locally, but whether it's available in the quantity required for a reasonable price for the organiser is another matter. It'll also be easier for them to block book one or two hotels than try and book a few rooms in several hotels.

Paying up front for a room is no different to paying for the van or the fuel . 
 

if that’s the deal that’s offered then take it or leave it . 
I can understand not wanting to be bothered with booking all the rooms and trying to keep the small amount of prima donnas happy .  
 

Regards  Arran