WAREHAM CONTRIBUTES TO £200,000 SWANAGE LOSS
Trust chairman says that “financial position is positive” but “serious issues” need to be addressed.
Running trial services to Wareham last summer contributed to the Swanage Railway making a loss of over £200,000 last year.
The Swanage Railway Company made a loss of £134,055 in 2017, while the Swanage Railway Trust made a loss of £74,997 during the same period, resulting in a combined loss of £209,052. The poor financial performance comes after successive profitable years in which the railway made a combined profit of £819,932 in 2016, and £1,997,361 in 2015. According to SRT treasurer and company finance director Andrew Moore, the 60-day trial service to the line’s main line connection at Wareham from June-September last year made a loss of £70,000 as the result of running the trains using hired West Coast Railways motive power and crews, owing to delays in the overhaul of the wheelsets of the line’s own Class 117 DMU and 121 railcar to main line standards.
In the summer 2018 edition of Swanage Railway Magazine, he says: “The railway is currently experiencing cash flow issues. This has predominantly arisen as the result of the losses incurred in operating the Wareham service, unplanned capital spending and poor trading conditions throughout most of 2017 and which have, to an extent, continued into 2018.”
In the trust’s consolidated accounts for the year ending January 31 2018, the railway says other contributing factors include the shunting collision between BR ‘4MT’ No. 80104 and ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34070 Manston in July last year – which resulted in diesels substituting for steam traction – and the longer financial year which included two Januaries – months where “income is virtually zero”, said Mr Moore.
He added: “Unless some action is taken, our cash flow forecast predicts problems could hit us early in 2019 when our income
streams are virtually nonexistent and there is a need to undertake major maintenance works.” Writing in the Chairman’s Strategic Report, published as part of the trust’s consolidated accounts, SRT Chairman Gavin Johns said: “Overall, the trust’s financial position is positive,
but there remain some serious systemic issues that the trustees need to address.
“We must be bolder and more thoughtful with fundraising. Additionally, the heightened need for recruitment and retention of volunteers requires a similar approach. Failure to tackle both areas will seriously impede the trust’s development plans, as well as the viable operation of the company.”
Amid the difficulties, the railway has decided to sell its Class 108 DMU, steam crane and a Mk 1 Restaurant Miniature Buffet coach. Swanage Railway Company Chairman Trevor Parsons says: “It was always planned to sell our Class 108 two-car DMU when the four-car Class 117 and one-car Class 121 DMUs were delivered to the Swanage Railway for use on the second year of our trial train service to Wareham in 2019.” Among the assets retained by the Swanage Railway Trust is the former National Collection ‘T3’ No. 563, which was gifted to the trust in March 2017 by the National Railway Museum (see page 30).