SWANAGE RAILWAY VOLUNTEER BILL TRITE STANDS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN AFTER 17 YEARS

Press Release from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 8th June 2008
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
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Swanage Railway Trust Chairman Bill Trite at Waterloo on Saturday 6th December 2003 with Battle of Britain 34067 Tangmere after its successful and historic journey from Wareham. Photograph copyright Keith Morgan.

Long-standing Swanage Railway volunteer Bill Trite has resigned as Chairman of its governing Trust's Council of Management – after 17 years in the demanding post.

He also steps down as Chairman of the Railway's operating company, the Swanage Railway Company, a position he has held since 1995.

Citing his own personal reasons for relinquishing the chair, Bill said that he hoped to remain a member of the Swanage Railway Trust's Council of Management if re-elected to it this September.

A Purbeck district councillor and former leader of Purbeck District Council for nine years, Bill lives in the Isle of Purbeck and is also the deputy mayor of Swanage.

Referring to the last 17 years as Swanage Railway Trust chairman, he said: "It has been a long haul but at least there's something to show for it.

“Ultimately, our achievement is down to the dedication of Trust members and volunteers, for whom the best thing management can do is to create conditions in which they can gain a genuine sense of fulfillment and enjoyment. Without that, our enterprise cannot succeed.

“Since becoming Swanage Railway Trust chairman in 1991, I've had the privilege of working with a very good team of committed, determined and talented people across all areas of the Swanage Railway which, as a project rooted in the community, still has much more to achieve.

“Since 1976, the Swanage Railway has been rebuilt from scratch against all the odds, so it deserves to go on to realise its final goals,” Bill Trite explained.

The volunteer-run Swanage Railway Trust plans and manages the Swanage Railway, which last year carried more than 200,000 passengers, has a turnover in excess of two million pounds per annum, has over 4,000 members, some 400 active volunteers and employs 45 people in full and part-time posts.

Swanage Railway Trust deputy chairman Steve Doughty becomes acting chairman until the Trust's Council of Management elects a new chairman at the end of June.

Paying tribute to Bill Trite's long period as chairman, Steve said: "On behalf of the Council of Management, I would like to thank Bill for his commitment and leadership over the past 17 years.

“During his time as chairman, the Swanage Railway's relaid Purbeck Line has undergone a dramatic transformation from a project on the brink of bankruptcy to one of the most successful and exciting heritage railways in the UK."

Swanage Railway Trust Council of Management member Richard White said: "Following the disastrous financial events which came to a head in 1991, Bill stepped into a risky key position at a critical time.

“He gave shape and voice to the vision of survival and revival – and persuaded those who would otherwise have had the Swanage Railway closed to give it another chance.

“It is the members of the Swanage Railway who have truly determined the course of things under Bill’s chairmanship. Not once have I ever seen Bill seek to apply his own agenda or aims other than those which we all hold in common,” explained Richard.

Bill Trite announced his resignation on Saturday 31 May, 2008, at the Swanage Railway Trust's monthly meeting held in Swanage.