CoM Summary - July - November 2008

p#160;/p pMy apologies for the lack of updates in recent months. Here is a summary of some of the key points from the CoM meetings held between July and November:/p pMain CoM meetings are currently being held every two months in order to help the Swanage Railway Company Board to fully deal with their business. /p pAt the July CoM meeting Mark Woolley was appointed Secretary and Andrew Moore was elected Treasurer for a further 12 months. /p pAt our meeting on 1stsup /supNovember we welcomed newly elected CoM members Linda Moore and Steve Barker. Mike Whitwam was elected Chairman for the next year and following Steve Doughty#8217;s decision to stand down as Deputy Chairman, Graham Cope was duly elected to succeed him. /p pThe CoM was pleased to note receipt of a grant of #163;5,000 from the Valentine Trust towards refurbishment of the SK(H) coach for disabled persons. Fundraising is ongoing towards this most worthwhile project, for example through the sale of bric-a-brac on the platform at Swanage station. Further grant applications have been made to the Garfield-Weston and Tesco Foundations. The coach has now gone to off-site contractors Rampart Carriage amp; Wagon Services in Derby and will return to Swanage in the new year. /p pAt our September meeting we noted the recent delivery of a SR #8216;B#8217; van from Brighton. It was agreed that the van should in due course be stored at Corfe Castle station and made available to the Sygnets group. An additional siding would be constructed #8211; which was within permitted development rights #8211; which would also be used to store a vehicle for use by the Infrastructure group /p pAgreement had been reached to store six Railway vehicles considered long-term restoration projects (i.e. 3 coaches and 3 wagons) plus four 40#8217; containers at a secure off-site location. This will ease pressure on siding space, particularly at Eldon sidings. /p pMajor permanent way work is planned in the Woodyhyde area during the January 2009 shutdown. The total cost involved is estimated to be #163;45,000. A sum of #163;15,000 had already been allocated towards this by the Trust and it was agreed at our September meeting to allocate an additional #163;30,000 from general funds. /p pAn opportunity has arisen to secure the redundant LSWR water tower at Salisbury station. The tower had been inspected and found to be in a good condition and a detailed project has been put together by Malcolm Munro. The Railway Heritage Trust (RHT) has been approached and a grant of up to 50% of the cost is achievable. Once secured, the plan is to locate the tank immediately to the southeast of Northbrook Road bridge at Swanage and to form an integral part of the water extraction project. The total cost of the project is estimated to be between #163;25-#163;30k A full structural survey of the tower and its proposed location at Swanage are taking place. Network Rail has been asked to supply wagons and scaffolding and local Salisbury based managers are reportedly very supportive of the scheme. At its September meeting the CoM agreed to support the project in principal subject to the presentation of accurate costings and a full project plan. /p pThe CoM was very disappointed to receive news that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had rejected the grant application for funding to support the Churchill museum project at Corfe Castle station. We thank Steve Doughty very much for the extensive effort he put in to presenting the failed bid. Other, Churchill related, sources of funding are being pursued and it is still our intention that the Churchill van will be refurbished and eventually displayed at Corfe. /p pPlans have been agreed to restore the diesel shunter #8216;May#8217;. The Sygnets group will be heavily involved in this project and anyone interested in assisting is please asked to contact CoM member Nick Lloyd. /p pMany thanks to all Trust members who attended the SRT AGM on 11th October. As usual there was plenty of lively discussion and the CoM and Board have agreed to look into a number of issues raised including: /p ol liBetter notification at Norden car park as to why a car parking charge is necessary. /li liConsideration of the possibility of bulk buying of coal with other heritage railways. /li liSetting up a working party to identify and dispose of scrap metal located on the Railway. Nick Lloyd has kindly agreed to co-ordinate this. /li liConsideration of more extensive volunteer induction, i.e. to include activities not immediately related to volunteer position. /li liA review of the cost of rover tickets and the possible introduction of complimentary rover ticket. /li liTo firmly deal with any instances of anti-volunteer behaviour. /li liImprovement of security of credit card sales in retail areas. /li liTo consider the possibility of adding photos of candidates to CoM election addresses. /li /ol pWe have agreed the long overdue upgrade of staff and volunteer facilities at Swanage. This will incorporate the acquisition of good quality portakabins, courtesy of Sunseeker in Poole, one of which will form a new toilet and shower block. The interior of the existing #8216;bothy#8217; will also be improved. In the longer term we hope to carry out extensive maintenance work on Swanage Goods Shed. /p pfont size="4"/font/p pfont size="4"On behalf of the Council of Management I wish everyone connected with Swanage Railway a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year./font/p pi/i/p pi/i/p piMark Woolley/i/p piTrust Secretary/i/p