Sunday, 17 February 2013

Welcome to the Blog which is designed to tell more about whats happening on the GWR Heritage Railway.

I'm Malcolm Temple, the Chairman and Finance Director but it is intended that from time to time all other Directors will contribute and also the Operations Manager and the Development Manager who leads on fund raising and image development. If you read this and the various Department Blogs (see links) you'll know as much as is possible about whats going happening on the Railway and where ever we can,  why its happening.

We toyed with what to call this Blog I said if it were about the Chairman's role, it should be called damned if I do;damned if I dont. Everyone else wanted the same  and so Board Room Blog is the compromise!

So whats new? Well on 9th February I attended the annual dinner of the Heritage Railway Association at the Union Jack Club near Waterloo Station. I was there to receive our latest award which is best summarised as being for "grim determination" - the Peter Manisty special award for contribution to railway heritage. Turns out to be a splendid 18 inch diameter plaque in solid brass. We are planning initially to put it in the Waiting Room at Todd but shortly plan a GWSR museum (after 30 years one is needed) where it will have a place of honour.

It was a pleasant occassion and I made some good networking contacts. Only down aspect was that on the way home my train was aborted (a strange term) at Oxford due to late engineering works. That led to 45 minutes on a rain invaded platform clutching the award and my suitcase before a taxi was supplied to take me to Moreton in Marsh. Last word for my fan club - I paid all costs including the dinner myself.
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12 comments:

  1. Bill19 February 2013 at 10:29

    Congratulations on the new Blog.

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  2. Anonymous19 February 2013 at 11:27

    Re 'damned if I do damned if I don't'

    Cheer up your not on the board of a certain other nearby railway. Just check out the 67, yes sixty seven, web pages on the National Preservation Forum site about their share offer!

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  3. Martin19 February 2013 at 12:44

    Although tempted to say about time too! ... in reality this blog is a splendid way of keeping in touch with what's going on. I'm so pleased that the example set by 'Broadway Billie' has been taken up by so many depatrments, C&W, Steam Loco and the excellent PW Flikr pictures (which speak several thousand words - truly impressive). Maybe the Diesel guys and OTC will join in?

    P.S. Will we be able to become 'followers' soon?

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    Replies
    1. Ian B19 February 2013 at 19:09

      Some of the diesel scene is regular updated online, especially the DMUs :) Click on my name to view the DMU group site :)

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    2. Martin20 February 2013 at 14:24

      Ian, as a shareholder in CDRL I look regularly at the DMU website. It's not exactly a blog though... and in any case I was thinking more of the diesel loco groups than the DMUs which are well represented on the internet!

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    3. Unknown21 February 2013 at 22:07

      I will see if I can find someone in the diesel dept to start a blog in the same style as other departments. There is quite a bit of Facebook activity about the diesel loco's but I know that not everyone uses that. We can incorporate the DMU's into that too. I would like to see an OTC blog too as they do great work on the GWR. An S&T blog would also be interesting, that's another essential department.

      Delete
  4. GWR Board Room Blog19 February 2013 at 16:13

    I've added the ability to follow by email now.

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  5. John R19 February 2013 at 20:47

    A great idea, Malcolm, and if it's half as good as the Broadway Blog, it will be very helpful in engaging interest (and hopefully more) in the railway.

    As a possible future topic, it would be interesting to hear more about the plans for the northward extension in due course. The sleeper appeal leaflet may encourage people to contribute, but I'm sure it would help the response if people know what the next steps are, and how big the mountain is to climb.

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  6. Anonymous20 February 2013 at 20:42

    Those of us with long memories will recall that the Plc Board used to be as secretive as the Star Chamber, so this increased openess is great. It might even help to see the "Rumour Mill" demolished!

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    1. Unknown21 February 2013 at 22:16

      I welcome increased openness. I would also like to see all comments and posts made under real names and not anonymous identities. Please take the time to create a proper profile. Thanks.

      Delete
  7. Ken21 February 2013 at 20:48

    Viewing the main Website, the section for Carriage & Wagon shows a link which carries the proviso "There is also a blog run by members of the C&W department which can be found here. Please note that this is not an official GWR site and views expressed on it are not those of the railway."

    Are we soon to find a similar caveat in relation to the Board Room Blog?

    To be fair, the 'link' I have quoted is by following Enthusiasts > Departments > Carriage & Wagon.

    Following the 'link' Support Us > Volunteering > Carriage & Wagon leads to a report by Dave Clark which concludes, "For a day-to-day view of our activities, please go to the Carriage and Wagon Department blog at http://cwatgwsr.blogspot.com/"

    Some work needs to be done on the main GWSR site, methinks.

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    Replies
    1. Chairman22 February 2013 at 18:13

      This is a strange question. I am Chairman and Financial Director of the Plc, the other contributors are Directors. Why wouldnt what we post be the views of the Board or facts

      Delete

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