Bridges to Broadway Contract Award

GREAT NEWS BUT WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!


The Board have authorised the award of the contract for all five bridge to George Law. We are still short of the target funds but we are almost at the £400k mark and funds are still coming in. We did not want to wait any longer as the contractor will need summer weather to efficiently carry out foundation works. Also the award of the contract for all five bridges allows him the optimum flexibility in his work and hence the lowest cost to us. If you have been holding back to see how the fund raising progresses, now is the time to dip your hand in your pocket and make a share purchase as we do still need those funds to cover the work.


The contractor hopes to finish the job in around 6 months -depending on weather and available road outages - so we need your early support to top up the funds - do so soon while the tax benefits are available - they expire in September!


We want to express our thanks to John Balderstone for producing a very comprehensive tender specification which has allowed tenders for this highest value GWSR contract ever to be viewed with confidence and minor issues easily resolved. He has already obtained permissions for some of the road closures so work will start very quickly.


Alan Bielby

Wartime event

Many thanks to everyone who trudged through the mud this weekend to make this event such a success. Numbers of visitors were down but frankly with the appalling weather this was to be expected. Lots of positive comments from people - we are clearly setting a high standard for this kind of event.
Colin Fewell

Easter visitor numbers

Good Friday 588, Easter Saturday 676, Easter Sunday 560, Easter Monday Easter Eggspress 687. This makes a total of 2511 which compares with 2375 in 2013 and 2236 in 2009.
Colin Fewell

Easter weekend on the trains

I haven't got the final number of visitors yet but it looks as though we stand a chance of exceeding last year's record number. The Easter Eggspress went well today and thanks are due to all who took part.
Colin Fewell

Bridge 10 - Stanton Road, Stanton - Repairs to deck and other areas

To see the report on bridge 10 click here.

GWSR plc Board resignation

Andrew Goodman, one of our longest standing supporters and Board members, has decided that his pressure of work is such that he can no longer devote as much time to the railway as he would like so has reluctantly resigned from the Board. He was very much involved in bringing the A4s from North America last year and now will be taking them back as well as undertaking other overseas activities. These require him to be away for at least three months again this year. It is no exaggeration to say that without Andrew’s great support the railway would not have developed to the extent that we all currently enjoy and we are sorry that he will not be able to spend so much time here. We wish him well in his new ventures.

Alan Bielby

March

A good start to the year’s train services. Looking at the figures we have so far seen over 2000 visitors as against 1692 in 2013 (a 25% increase). And remember, last year we ran the DMU service over the February half term which accounted for 533 out of the 1692.  Compared with 2009 however we are slightly down.

And group bookings are also up by approximately the same percentage.

 As we all know, the weather plays an enormous part in all of this - particularly at this time of year so this isn’t a reliable guide as to how things will pan out for the rest of the year. But it looks encouraging!

Colin Fewell

Bridges to Broadway Share Appeal

As we approach the half-way point in the Bridges to Broadway Share Appeal it is great to be able to report that the figure standing at £384,000 just another £116,000 to go.

The Railway has received six tenders for the bridge repairs which it will be assessing in the next few weeks. It is hoped that the contract can be let in early May so as to take advantage of the summer weather (assuming that we get some!) to start work – particularly the necessary foundation repairs. If we can raise the money in good time then we can allow the contractor the maximum flexibility in his operations. This will ensure the maximum efficiency in view of the different types of work required on the various bridges and the need to negotiate road closures.  So If you have been thinking of buying some shares to support this work but have not got round to it yet, now is the time to make your move and support this major step towards reaching Broadway. If you need a copy of the share brochure or have any questions, do contact Maxine Hawkins on 01242 621905 and she will be happy to assist.

EIS3 Forms

The first two tranches of EIS3 forms have been sent out to shareholders, so all who purchased share before 31^st December 2013 and ticked the relevant box, should have received their EIS3 forms. Those who have purchased shares between 1^st January and 28^th February should receive their EIS3 form in the next two weeks; those who have purchased shares since the end of February will receive their EIS3 form in due course. If you have ant questions regarding EIS please call Maxine Hawkins.