St Philip's Marsh Depot Open Day and Coffee Shop forum meetup, Bristol, 2 May 2016

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'd love to know the grand total raised for Springboard today - it must be a sizeable amount.

From one of my contacts at the Great Western Railway press office:

While final figures are still being calculated, we are looking at some 5,000 visitors on the day, raising somewhere tens of thousands for Springboard. I will issue a final figure in due course.

[JayMac]

4700 attendance apparently. 3800 pre-sales and 900 gate tickets. ^14 per adult ticket. Added to that, commerative goody bags at ^15. 2000 of those.

Grapevine on the day suggested corporate donations from other train operators whose locos were there. Pitch fees from the railwayana stands and catering outlets are also, I believe, going to Springboard Opportunity Group.

[bobm]

RAIL Magazine is suggested a figure of ^20,000.

The 40th anniversary of the High Speed Train was celebrated at an open day at St Philips Marsh depot on May 2.

The open day attracted 5,000 visitors, with funds raised donated to Springboard Opportunity Group. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) spokesman Dan Panes told RAIL that more than ^20,000 was likely to have been raised at the event.

Also at the open day, Colas Rail 47749 was renamed City of Truro, albeit without ceremony. The locomotive, one of a batch of ^47s^ delivered to the Western Region, carried that name from June 8 1965 until October 1988. Colas removed the Demelza name it had carried since September 2007 in favour of its original name.

GWR also displayed examples of its fleet, with Classes 08, 43, 57, 150, 158 and 166 attending the event, along with main line and preserved locomotives, many of which were regular visitors to Bristol.

For more on the event, and a list of what attended the open day, read RAIL 800, published on May 11.

[JayMac]

An official GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) behind the scenes video of the preparation of St Phillips Marsh for the open day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRwmsZBMvmY

[anthony215]

I certainly enjoyed the open day at St Phillips Marsh even though I was pretty tired  after having only a few hours sleep because I didn't finish work til 0345.   Some of you may had spotted me as I was wearing my black National Express coat.

Anyway here is a photo I took earlier of 43002 on the rear of the 1521 Swansea - London Paddington service plus a few from the open day :  https://www.flickr.com/photos/13416874@N03/26832405371/in/dateposted-public/

[IndustryInsider]

I'm amused at the level of detail that went into 43002's repaint.  The original 'Guard' sign on the power car door has been recreated - even if it was only accurate for a very short time until the Guard's were moved from this very noisy compartment to the TGS.  Hope nobody goes looking there for a guard!

[grahame]

Comment on why the whole set wasn't painted from Rail Magazine

Great Western Railway^s plans to repaint a full rake of Mk 3s in blue and grey, to match 43002 Sir Kenneth Grange, were scuppered by the need to comply with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA^» (Disability Discrimination Act - about)) rules

With a well informed commentator suggesting

Err.. DDA was repealed by the Equality Act in 2010. Also is the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2010 and the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2008 that apply to pre-1998 rolling stock if and when they are refurbished, which would include re-livery.

The relative cost of painting one carriage versus a whole set wasn't mentioned, but I suppose that's simply not relevant if it would be illegal.  And the odd train needs repainting from time to time, even if most have now had their final refurb.

[JayMac]

The article also says:

Under DDA^» (Disability Discrimination Act - about) rules, doors must be a different colour scheme to that of the main bodyside, so that they are distinguishable to passengers with visibility problems.

Which has prompted the comment:

I suspect doors are differently coloured to assist passengers with vision, rather than visibility, problems. If any GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) passengers have, indeed, developed invisibility, we should like a photograph ;-)

Must try harder RAIL. Article written by the Assistant Editor no less. I wonder if the inaccuracies are in the print version too. 

[Rob on the hill]

The article also says:

Under DDA^» (Disability Discrimination Act - about) rules, doors must be a different colour scheme to that of the main bodyside, so that they are distinguishable to passengers with visibility problems.

Which has prompted the comment:

I suspect doors are differently coloured to assist passengers with vision, rather than visibility, problems. If any GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) passengers have, indeed, developed invisibility, we should like a photograph ;-)

Must try harder RAIL. Article written by the Assistant Editor no less. I wonder if the inaccuracies are in the print version too. 

Here's one of those passengers referred to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2MpzKb-o6M

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'd love to know the grand total raised for Springboard today - it must be a sizeable amount.

From one of my contacts at the Great Western Railway press office:

While final figures are still being calculated, we are looking at some 5,000 visitors on the day, raising somewhere tens of thousands for Springboard. I will issue a final figure in due course.

From my contact at Great Western Railway:

Over £25,000 raised by Bristol Depot Open Day
 
Great Western Railway’s open day at their St Philips Marsh depot, Bristol, has raised more than £25,000 for a local charity.
 
Announced at Springboard’s Autumn Ball at Cadbury House Country Club, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Driver Operations Manager Simon Cassidy presented a cheque for £26,000 to Springboard’s Joint CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) and a founding parent, Ann Ramsey.
 
Ann said: “This is a first for us and a truly staggering amount of money. By helping to raise funds for and promoting Springboard and the needs of disabled children, GWR are helping to break down barriers and assumptions. GWR really have pulled out all the stops to make the open day a memorable one and the money raised shows how successful it was. Springboard are proud to have been part of the open day and we are amazed and delighted by the interest shown by the public.”
 
Springboard is a north Somerset charity providing support for children with disabilities from birth to aged 5.
 
The depot opened up its doors to the general public in May in celebration of the 40th year of the Intercity 125 train, and unveiled a specially liveried locomotive in honour of the train’s designer Sir Kenneth Grange. On display was a range of both steam and diesel locomotives, including Intercity 125 High Speed Train locomotives from all over the country.
 
Driver Operations Manager Simon Cassidy said: “Committed to the communities we serve, we have long-supported Springboard and it is fantastic to have raised such an impressive amount. We at GWR are only too aware of the vital role rail has played and continues to play for the local and national economy. To have people queuing to enter the depot and see how it operates day-to-day, and to see such a selection of trains, is humbling.”   
 
Members of the public were offered the opportunity to look inside the depot buildings and get a flavour of the work that is carried out 24 hours a day to help maintain, refuel and clean the GWR fleet. Tickets were made available by GWR with all proceeds from the event being donated to Springboard.

Children at Springboard may have a wide range of disabilities including: autism; cerebral palsy; complex health and medical needs; Down’s syndrome; sensory impairments; language and communication difficulties.

[Timmer]

A huge well done to all involved and to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) for making this possible to raise money for such a worthy cause.