Rother Valley Railway

Yet another turntable update just in:
http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/?m=1

 

Turntable updates are coming thick and fast on the RVR website news page - Trevor Streeter is having a job getting the updates posted.

 

Checking the Rother District Council website this morning shows that the planning application has been 'Approved Conditional'. The reference is RR/2021/2598/P. I assume that this means that work can resume at Junction Road/Austens Bridge.

 

Surely before any work can proceed, won't the level crossing have to be put in, so that track materials can be moved to the site to enable track to be laid, then ballast dropped

 

I think you're right. I wonder if they will now apply for a level crossing order for Junction Road - this is an East Sussex Road rather than Highway's Agency - so I suspect that this will be relatively straightforward.

 

It would make sence to apply for the level crossing order, get it in and everything tested, to iron out any snags then begin track laying on the section to Austin's bridge, and possibly beyond, if the go ahead to re instate the rest of the line comes in soon, It would give good data on possible problems with installing crossings, before they get to the big one, and clearence and re instating the track bed can be done whilst work is being done on the Junction Rd to Salehurst section

 

The level crossing, AIUI, can only receive assent via the TWAO, so will have to wait. The idea of this amendment to planning is solely to establish a bridgehead west of junction road, in order to retain the original planning consents in perpetuity, otherwise they were likely to lapse before the outcome of the public enquiry was announced.
But forget level crossings for the moment, as that was not the immediate aim.
It's worth noting that the L&BR are going for a similar variation, for a very similar reason.

 

You are absolutely right about the reason for this planning application. My understanding about Level Crossings is that a Level Crossing Order will be required in addition to the TWAO - but I could be wrong. No doubt the RVR has plans in place for all of this. I am sure that L&LB are watching RVR's progress as is the Dean Forest Railway whose extension plans require a Level Crossing.

 

After a gap of a few days - there are a couple of updates about the turntable on the RVR blog http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/ There will be a further update in a couple of days.

 

What a of of b ..... nope, not gonna say it! Fantastic progress. That central pivot doesn't look as if it owes much to steam era turntables.

 

You were going to say "Boules", weren't you?
Certainly a surprisingly sophisticated arrangement for 1926.

 

Isn't all this warfare talk more appropriate to somewhere in Somerset rather than this now quiet corner of East Sussex that is the Rother Valley. Lets get back to the subject of building a turntable and away from mass destruction in Central Europe. Please.

Peter

 

Back to the Turntable. Another update yesterday http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/2022/02/turntable-and-pit-9.html showing that work is proceeding rapidly. It seems that modifications to the track layout are required as explained on the blog - I didn't think that the track was headed to the turntable! Should have known if I had paid attention to the plans!

 

I might have been a bit slow to twig this, but come the happy day (and when not needed for it's stated purpose, obviously), the turntable's positioning could provide a fantastic place to display an OOS loco to passing passengers.

 

It depends on your definition of the concept.

The research for the Heritage Lottery funded Railcar50 event suggested that the earliest "internal combustion railcars" were experimental examples "around 1900", none of which were hugely successful. So by that definition your NER 1903 example pretty much takes the title.

It's generally accepted that it was the 1930's before the diesel railcar became developed enough to move from experimental/limited use/small fleets to being capable of going mainstream/countrywide and therefore a serious contender to rival steam locomotion.

Before 1900 it gets confusing. "Self propelled rail passenger vehicles" go back to the 1840's when experiments were done to rearward extension of loco frames with additional axles. Originally designed for staff transport, documentation hints that the vehicles were subsequently used on revenue earning duties with passengers.

In theory then, the passenger carrying steam railcar is not far short of being as old as the passenger railway itself. Tell that to those who bemoan the loss of the loco hauled railway!

Sent from my moto g(8) power using Tapatalk

 

Another update just in:
http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/
This focusses on the earthworks, or "North Bank", and from this view, it becomes obvious just how much ground needs to be made in order to provide the space, and a decent footing, for the locomotive shed- that is quite a bank, and will surely require a fair degree of retainment:

 

There is a further update on the turntable here http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/ - the pictures show the pit being cleared between the centre pivot and the 'doughnut'.

 

Another update on the blog today showing the installation of the centre pivot.

 

New turntable update:
http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/?m=1
Work must have been difficult if not impossible during the storms.
Now, am I right in saying that a circular concrete upstand now needs to be formed around the outside edge of the "doughnut", in order to mount the steel track which will carry the various wheels of the t/t and its outriggers?
Also, don't suppose anyone knows how the pit will be finished- will it be lined with concrete to match the level of the drain? I'm presuming it will.
There's a lot still to do by March, although I don't doubt for a second that it will get done in time.

 

Another update - Link Here - It could be that the turntable could be lifted into position soon. There is a lot of work going on at Playfoots in Bodiam to refurbish some of the components - some of which have been refabricated.