Open or Closed during Emergency?

I take it then the kirklees light railway is not opening as planned this w,end after bosos announcment can anyone clarify this on nat pres please if true.

 

ESR web-site advises that railway is now closed.

AVR has ceased operations from this evening (web-site waiting to be updated).

EDIT: AVR web-site now partially updated:

https://www.avonvalleyrailway.org/news/covid/

 

ELR have cancelled their services according to the Bury Diesel Group website. Nothing on any of the ELR's official channels though.

http://www.elrdiesel.info/locomotive-roster.php

 

Evesham Light Railway also closed.

 

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway has suspended its service and like every other heritage railway we await developments. It is a great shame as we were preparing for what promised to be an excellent season; takings at the Multiple Memories event were well up on the previous year. Now we face a very difficult time. The railway has issued the following appeal, which I am glad to say is already producing a response:


Victory over the virus

donate to help keep the wheels turning on derbyshire's longest heritage railway

Wirksworth, 20th March 2020

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is fast tracking its appeal for help fight the financial shock the COVID-19 Virus has caused to its operation.

Current Government guidelines have forced the railway to cancel its trains for the next few weeks with a resulting dramatic loss of income.

The railway is one of Derbyshire's treasures, providing a wonderful link to county's heritage. Maintenance of the engines, tracks and structures must continue during this emergency period and the railway is asking for members of the public to donate whatever they can to ensure its survival and a Victory over the Virus.

To help the railway beat the virus please click on the link below. We extend our eternal gratitude for your support at this difficult time.

https://www.e-v-r.com/victory/

The Directors, Staff and Volunteers, Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

 

I doubt the SVR were the first to start an appeal and will certainly not be the last.
This is the Talyllyn's just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/talyllyn-appeal2020
Fairbourne's is here http://www.fairbournerailway.com/

I could go on.

I was really worried about the future of some railways before the Chancellor's announcement this evening. Now if a good portion of the permanent's staff wages can be covered by the Government I am much more optimistic.

 

I think the announcement definitely helps stave off the immediate crisis, though I am sure there is devil in the detail.

Many railways though run a surplus through the season, building up reserves that last them through the close period. So even on an optimistic reading, railways may only have a much shorter season in order to build up the reserves they need. The other point is that materials may not be affordable, so conceivably you could have overhauls and maintenance stalled for want of materials even if paid staff wages are mostly covered.

So the announcement is definitely welcome, but we are not out of the woods yet. We will all need to dig deep for our favourite railway if we want to enjoy the hobby next year. How many volunteers can think right now - "do you know what, I would have spent £100 per month on travelling, so I'll put that in instead?"; or when services return, how many members eligible for privilege tickets might feel that instead they should just pay full whack? We are all going to have to do our bit.

Tom

 

There is now.

http://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/plan-your-day-out/covid-19-statement-.aspx

 

OK Folks, as has been said above I think it's fair to assume that everything is now closed and so I'll just say thanks to you all for helping me put this together (even though it's not the nicest of threads) and then tidy up the first post to "Heritage railways closed UFN"? tomorrow (Saturday) morning and call it a day at that.

OH, Just one more thing... Anyone going to volunteer to start listing the sites once they start announcing their opening dates...? Thought not...
Self isolation? No trains? for how long? Oh well

Alan

 

"The government will pay the wages of employees *unable to work*"

"It is understood that the wage subsidy will apply to firms where bosses have already had to lay off workers due to the coronavirus, as long as they are brought back into the workforce and instead granted a leave of absence" - BBC

Patrick

 

You started it so it's only fair that you be allowed to finish it and no one else take the glory. If you'd made a bad job of it, that would be a different matter......

 

That was my worry when I read the report later, but the words used in the press conference were considerably wider in scope than that. As written, it would seem to give a perverse incentive to lay people off, which is surely not the intent. (I understand you have got to find some means of choosing who is eligible: some companies will not be particularly affected by this and you wouldn’t wish to be subsidising them because the instrument is too broad in scope).

Tom

 

The promise wider than the delivery you mean? ;-) Let's wait for the detail, we only have reports

Yes, my first thought was the possibility of peverse outcomes. I won't speculate how heritage railways might apply it, there are people's livelihoods involved.

Patrick

 

Believe me, when the railways are ready to reopen - we'll all be singing it from the rooftops

 

With all the enforced closures, will the Boiler insurance companies 'suspend' boiler tickets for the duration of the crisis? Seems pointless having locomotives being fully ticketed but unusable in the short term, so why not put them as 'stored serviceable' and help the railways in their hour of need...?

 

I have know knowlege of this sort of thing but presumably the boilers will need to be 'laid up' properly before such an action can be considered.

Certainly from my mis-spent youth on the Isle of Man Steam Packet they would blow boilers down at the end of the season and put a dessicant in them, but those were marine water tube not loco boilers

 

Well done on keeping this thread collated!...and, as you have done such a good job, it would be good if you could.....

 

From the Bluebell Railway Facebook page:

Following the news yesterday, a number of people have been in touch to ask how they can make a donation to Bluebell Railway while our services are suspended.

Coming after the early part of the year when trains are not running, our finances are already at their lowest ebb. We are therefore appealing for donations to help keep the essential services of the railway running at a time when, unexpectedly, we have no income. We have many ongoing costs and expenses which do not stop when we're not running trains.

If you would like to support us by making a donation, please see our page here: http://ow.ly/pNnH50yRRNj​

 

Unlikely. boilers can deteriorate just as quickly when not in service. Storing a boiler so that deterioration is minimised is quite a complex job and pretty impossible with things like boiler tubes.

 

I wonder about the smaller producers who are maybe self employed and the freelancers/consultants who I am not sure are covered.