St. Blazey Turntable

You would have thought so yes. It'll be interesting to see what happens. I hope a solution can be found.

 

Knowing Network Rail, a six figure job is probably just for painting it.

 

A friend of mine was a project manager with NR and is now holding the same post with an NR contractor. Having heard some of his tales of what goes on, I'm no longer surprised at the cost of railway projects.

 

Or indeed, just the biscuits consumed at the meeting to decide whether a feasibility study is feasible...

 

Well, when we have up to 5 tea breaks a day in the workshop you get to recognise these things...

 

So its too expensive to even think about fixing it. How much would they give to let someone else cart it away ?

 

In the latest HR there is mention on the listing in a quote from DBS " We will comply with the terms of the turntable's listing , but those do not include keeping it fully operational".

 

Was literally just about to ask if it could be argued that keeping it operational could be put under the listed status - apparently not.

 

Maybe a national lottery appreciation should be put in for the repair of the turntable.

 

Surely this is not in the spirit of privatisation. DBS (or EWS) inherited this facility upon privatisation, they didn't pay for it. It is an asset used by other private operators but it seems that as DBS happen to own it, they can do what they want with it? As it is utilised by other operators there should be some kind of obligation on DBS to maintain it, or at least relinquish ownership and allow other operators to maintain it?

 

I'm sure DBS would have no objection at all to other operators giving them a few hundred thousands to repair the turntable. But if it needs say 500k to keep it running for the next 5 years and it's only used 10 times a year...

 

I detect hope here. DBS say fully operational which suggests that there may be scope for repair work to make it operational on a restricted basis. EH's website isn't showing this up as being listed but that may be my interrogation methods. I can see why DBS can't justify repair of the vacuum system as they have no locomotives that use such. However, the ability to turn a locomotive can be useful, for example in the event of an instrument failure, so they might have some interest in a restricted repair possibly with some contributary funding.

 

Can anyone remember reading this article by the way, or signing the ipetition ? The petition still appears to be online, but does anyone know anything about it ? The Cornish Guardian article also mentions a "joint venture" with West Coast Rail and others to "restore" the turntable. Does anybody know what became of that ?

Link to article

http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/St...spite-safety/story-21316734-detail/story.html

Link to petition

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/st-blazey-turntable

 

I have now tracked down the official listing and it is Grade II*. Set out below is a short extract from the quite comprehensive listing description.

"............The turntable in front of the engine sheds is complete and in working order, the line carried on a pair of plated and riveted H-irons. ........ This complex is a virtually unaltered example of an industrial railway terminus with good attention to architectural detail, one of only 3 planned groups of this type in the country. .......".

With the Grade II* listing there is likely to be interest from English Heritage in ensuring the preservation of all parts of the group. Neither EH nor the LPA could require restoration to working order although both could apply pressure on the owners to do so. It seems to me that what is required firstly is a thorough survey and report by an appropriate professional on what work would be required to bring it to operable condition for the restricted use that it is likely to get. This is a form of engineering risk assessment and should lead to a reliable estimate that all stakeholders could negotiate on. Likely sources of funding could be: (1) DBS because of the residual utility of it for the company and because they would, one assumes, want to be seen as taking reasonable steps to look after a grade II* complex in their care. (2) English Heritage which does have budget for assistance and which is directed at grade I and grade II* buildings as a priority. (3) Cornwall Council in view of the benefits to Tourism. (4) A consortium of rail tour operators. (5) A public appeal!

 

Why not buy one of the hundreds that still abound in Germany, Poland, CZ, SK etc?

 

Do they come complete with their own hole and foundations?

 

And surely whatever the listing says I wouldn't have thought it would allow replacement by one from somewhere on the continent?