A lot of trains have passed under the bridge since the 2010 AGM. At that time, your Council felt very much ‘on the back foot’ having recently received the resignation of the General Manager and recognising that there was a lot of work to do to put the railway back on its feet. Much has been done in the last twelve months to address the issues that were identified then, however time of course does not stand still and while we have made progress in some areas, new issues continue to arise many of which, such as the global economic slowdown, we can do little about yet pull us backwards. Truly a case of two steps forward and one back. Hopefully however, it is that way and not the other way around.

Our primary task in this last year was to improve communication, as the key to improvement everywhere else. Initiatives on the plus side include a new staff website, regular staff meetings and newsletters for all working on the railway, while for members there has been a member’s forum and work behind the scenes to update and refresh the Trust website. We hope this will launch soon, to provide members of the Trust and members of the public interested in supporting our work with a clearer and more informative picture of what we do and how to help – whether that be practically or financially.  My thanks go to everyone who has been involved with bringing these improvements forward.

On the negative side, we recognise that we still have much to do to improve inter and intra-departmental communication. There are no easy fixes for such issues and any fixes that can be found require constant maintenance and work if they are to endure and continue.  I look for the continued commitment of everyone on an on-going basis to the principle of good communication – this issue belongs to us all, not just to ‘management’.  

The post-GM management challenge over this last year has been borne in large part by the Executive Management Team comprising Andrew Moore, Mike Whitwam and myself. Such an arrangement is not perfect, nor perhaps can it last forever, but the Board of the Company and the Council were keen to avoid rushing into making a new GM appointment given the need for reflection and, equally importantly, the desire to avoid another salary given the massing of economic storm clouds.  The EMT, like the rest of the Board and Council, is of course an all-volunteer production.

The economic storm clouds visible last year have, as we all know continued to gather and get darker. Despite concern about pressure on family leisure budgets, the Company decided in the face of ever-rising costs that it had to increase fares. These duly went up in April and it is just as well they did, for while we have seen a slight reduction in passenger numbers, our income from fares has remained constant and perhaps slightly up on last year. Nevertheless, it is already very clear that rising costs in 2011 mean that profit for the year will be down on 2010 and moves to tighten the corporate belt are already under way. Andrew has referred to this in his finance report already today

Another area that has seen significant work, although invisible to most members, is that of Project Management. It is a fact that some large projects on the SR have not been managed as carefully or as closely as they should have, with the result that we did not have adequate visibility of risks and as a result we have spent more than we budgeted. Key on this list are the Harmans Cross down shelter, where heavy duty ground works for a wooden building were required by Purbeck District Council and the refurbishment of the Birds Nest buffet, which was found to be in a far worse condition than was first thought. These two projects have made a big dent in our cash-flow with the result that the Company has less in reserve to see it through the winter. While the Trust’s finances remain healthy such that the Company hopes, with some of the afore-mentioned belt-tightening, to be able to get through the winter without resort to an external overdraft, it is going to be tight.

In turn Project Management discussions has led us to accept that more work is required in the area of strategic planning. Yes we do have a Strategic Plan, you will recall it was updated last year but is that enough. We think not and in coming months this area will be being revisited. We will no doubt widely seek views on this not only for our obvious and perhaps immediate needs across the railway and departments but also on our longer-term strategy planning needs.

On the plus side, the second major PWay exercise at Herston at the start of the year was completed on time and on budget, so a big well done to all concerned. Permanent Way/Infrastructure remains a major consumer of money and despite everything I have said above, will continue to do so.  This winter we have no alternative but to undertake major works to the formation within Swanage station to correct the poor (or rather lack of) drainage that has led to significant distortion of the track. Many members will remember seeing the picture of a rowing boat in platform 2 on one occasion – such problems may be a thing of the past since the flood-relief works were completed in the 1990’s, but the legacy of mud remains and must be dealt with. This is going to cost us around £100,000.  The consequence of this is that no other new capital development projects are likely to be approved unless there is a critical operational or safety concern, there is a very clear and quick ‘cost-benefit’ or they come with the promise of funds attached.  We must live within our means.

While inevitably the focus of management is largely dealing with problems – or it often seems like that – much of what happens works well day in, day out. Thus while we must not underestimate the scale of the challenges we face and the many imperfections that exist, it is only right that I express my thanks and that of my colleagues on the Council and the Company Board for the excellent work that is done, largely without fuss or drama by all staff, to keep the wheels turning every day. 

Going forward, the Trust Council at its next meeting will appoint a new Chairman.  The appointment is, like all the officers of the Trust, routinely considered at the first meeting of the AGM. This year however, we have a vacancy. It is perhaps worth recording our immediate past Chairman Steve Doughty’s concerns about the lack of new blood coming forward that is willing and able to lead the railway in a voluntary capacity. While I am delighted to welcome Nick Lloyd back to the Council and new face Paul Clements, it is disappointing that the number of nominations received this year was such that the vacancies could be filled without a ballot. This may be a sign of people having less free time than before or having to postpone early-retirement due to the pensions crisis, but I do hope that next year more members will consider standing, whilst recognising that election requires commitment to lead and take responsibility, not just providing a platform to chastise office holders for their occasional failings.  In all seriousness, many of the things we want to do and problems we want to solve could be delivered if more people were prepared to raise their hands and offer to take the lead – for example we remain critically short of leaders in the areas of Fundraising and Project Management. 

I must not pass from this subject of the recent election without giving my grateful thanks to the two retiring members of the Council – Clive Morris and Frank Roberts, both of whom I’m pleased to say remain active volunteers on the Railway.

It is easy when writing a report such as this to focus on what is happening in the Trust’s subsidiary, the Swanage Railway Company, given that this is where most of the activity takes place. However, it is appropriate here to look at some of the Trust’s own projects, especially as many are on-going and require additional resource to see them to completion. Perhaps the most high-profile of these are the Old Oak Common turntable and the Salisbury water-tower. While both have secured some initial grant funding, formal launch is awaiting further project definition – a lesson learned, you might say.

While the former is perhaps the most interesting to the enthusiast, the latter is of greatest interest to the Finance Director in that it is one of the few developments on the Railway which offers scope to pay for itself in terms of reduced consumption of expensive metered mains water. However, we do still need a lot of cash to rebuild it before we see those savings – you have been warned!  On a positive note though we have recently been donated free of charge a “Reverse Osmosis (R O) plant otherwise destined for the skip! This now sits within Herston Works awaiting inspection and testing.

The turntable project is somewhat more complex in that we need to acquire land at Herston before we can go much further.  Beyond these two projects, the Trust continues to raise funds for the carriage shed at Herston. 

It is not all about infrastructure of course. While electrical works has delayed the completion of Bulleid brake 4365, work is coming on well with Bulleid Composite 5761. The Trust has also received and accepted an offer by a member to fund the restoration of Maunsell Open saloon 1346. This vehicle, previously stored at Robertsbridge, is now at Ramparts in Derby. This type of coach was often seen on the branch as part of the push-pull set. While the Trust has another such vehicle that was previously push-pull fitted, it may well be that this coach being in better condition and already funded becomes part of that exciting recreation project for which of course the M7 is the ideal partner.

Another project to be picked up again now autumn approaches is the redevelopment of volunteer facilities in the “coal dock” area including the new signing on point/lockers building. Its completion will allow for work on the shower and toilet facilities nearby progressing to.  The “Sygnets” group to continue with their project to complete their base at Corfe Castle and we must give thanks to this group and their leaders for all they do. They are “our future”. 

All of these need volunteers to progress to completion.  All need continued funding. Our requirements for volunteers and fundraisers are not to be underestimated. Can I remind you on the latter of some of our many ways of fundraising we have in operation and urge that if not already supporting in one or other way you consider doing so – our £2.00 a month supporters club, using a MBNA Swanage Railway credit card, joining the 200 club fundraising draw or purchasing (or assisting with the selling of) annual draw tickets. 

The coming and goings of vehicles by rail has now become an established part of Swanage Railway life, most recently in the crowd-pulling guise of the garter-blue A4.  While it may seem that not much has changed north of Norden since we secured funding for the Worgret Junction upgrade from DCC and PDC last year, we continue to progress both project definition with Network Rail and to press for progress with other key developments in that direction, including transfer of the rest of the branch, the Norden level crossing and the site at Furzebrook.  As members may know, BP has now sold its interests in Wytch Farm, so we need to build a new relationship with the new owners Perenco. While this has inevitably resulted in some slow-down to our discussions, we have no reason to believe that the situation has changed as a result of the sale.  However, our ability to do anything with the line beyond Norden, including of course the start of a train service to Wareham remains critically dependent on finance and as a result there is currently no timetable in place for this to start.

Bringing this report towards conclusion members should be aware that the decision was recently taken to wind up the Southern Steam Trust, the predecessor of the Swanage Railway Trust. The SST had been kept in existence after the SRT as a Company Limited by Guarantee was formed in order to ensure that any payments it received were redirected to the SRT. These have now dropped to a low level and, as we have now been assured that any payments received would not be at risk of being lost, the decision to wind up the Trust has been taken by the Trustees and endorsed by the SRT Council. I'd like to take the opportunity of thanking the Trustees - David T Morgan, Mike Stollery, Peter Sykes and Graham Mimms for their work over many years.

Finally I would like to thank ALL members of the Trust for their continued support for the Swanage Railway project.  The Swanage Railway, like most heritage railways, is dependent on the continuing support of those who believe passionately in what we are trying to preserve for future generations to appreciate and enjoy, so your support is both essential and very much appreciated. Thank you.

Liz Sellen

Acting Chairman

The Swanage Railway Trust

8th October 2011