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Swanage Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Rumpole, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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  2. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    To think all this hullaballoo sprang from an remark about peeling carriage roofs! Have they received attention yet?? I would certainly think the restorers of "our" Devon Belle Observation car must be a little ticked to see all that hard work go elsewhere,and as a supporter I am also. Build it and they will come,or better still in the case of high end coaches,return.!!
     
  3. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    I would think that most people would be happy that car 14 has moved to undercover storage to prevent it deteriorating further, at a time when covid meant it couldn’t be used at Swanage.
     
  4. 007

    007 Member

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    I would agree the restorers of the Devon Belle are probably extremely happy that the Devon Belle is under cover for the time being.
     
  5. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    While you are all still sputtering over your tea, and I realise diesel locomotives are a different species than coaches, check out P71 March RM. "Having Diesels stored undercover since last year has made a phenomenal difference" That is from the Llangollen Railway.
    As Nelson said "Action this day" or in the case of SR., November! (perhaps?)
     
  6. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    but it wouldn't have been deteriorating,or at least not as quickly had the shed been commenced in a timely fashion,I do not have a copy of the original appeal but that was one of the strong points of the proposition,was it not? i'm sorry I do NOT buy the Covid is responsible argument. If the SR needed more money why not ask the existing donors for more to get the job done? It certainly does not stop other appeals on this and other Railways from doing so!. A case in point is the Corris. They work on the principle that projects cannot advance unless there are funds to do so ,eg the"new"Falcon loco. They were running out of money and stated that work would be suspended. Guess what??. The enthusiasts have dug a little deeper and work is ongoing again. Anyway all academic because we have been promised ,November!
     
  7. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    Where does the carriage shed stack up against the Wareham extension and water tower in your view? In other words - given the management capacity typical in an organisation the size of a heritage railway (*) - which one should the railway focus on? Or is your answer "all of them"?

    (*) Not to mention the far-from-inconsiderable "day job" of making sure the railway actually survives what is an almost unprecedentedly difficult situation at the moment, with covid, coal supplies and cost-of-living no doubt all paramount in thinking).

    Tom
     
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  8. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    Not forgetting Devon Belle Car 13 which in regular use on the Paignton - Dartmouth line.
     
  9. 007

    007 Member

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    I think you will 'probably' find that the Corris and Alan Keep came to an agreement, to finish the locomotive with debt that will be repaid. Speculation on my part, but I think that is probably the case.
    You might not buy the argument about Covid, but its fact, not fiction. Car 13 hasn't been in use in Devon for a good while. Its laughable that every time someone answers a question about something you raise, you just move onto another gripe. I mean, I know absolutely no one on the railway who is against Car 14 being sent to Margate whilst it couldn't be realistically used. Except...you...of course.

    Whats next then??
     
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  10. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    Car 13 is in regular use in Devon.
     
  11. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    As long as SR do not roll into Wareham with "peeling roofs"(my words)"shabby looking stock" (not my words) and looking pristine it should augur well for the service,despite the naysayers. 'Keeping Up appearances" for season 2023 is also cause for optimism now that the HCS is going ahead. Then of course Defenders of the Faith have to worry about the LSWR Tank,Perenco.etc. I know the T9 is kept under cover as per agreement. What is the covenant on the T3
     
  12. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if there is any covenant regarding storage. Swanage Railway previously said that if restoration to running order was not feasible, the T3 would be displayed under cover. However I think the intention is for it to be stored outside as part of the running fleet, with the usual maintenance that entails.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2022
  13. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    As long as SR do not roll into Wareham with "peeling roofs"(my words)"shabby looking stock" (not my words) and looking pristine it should augur well for the service,despite the naysayers. 'Keeping Up appearances" for season 2023 is also cause for optimism now that the HCS is going ahead. Then of course Defenders of the Faith have to worry about the LSWR Tank,Perenco.etc.
    I know the T9 is kept under cover as per agreement. What is the covenant on the T3
     
  14. 007

    007 Member

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    Ok stand corrected on Car 13 it wasn’t running a couple of weeks ago when I went down. I suppose it's just a simple matter that SR decided it wasn't viable during covid, frankly I agree with that decision.

    As for the T3, there are no covenants on its transfer agreement whatsoever.
    It is property of the SRT who deem how best to look after it and store it. There is absolutely nothing in the transfer agreement that ties us to any standard of conservation. There is obviously a moral obligation however and that is taken very seriously. The removal of the firebox to eventually become an exhibit or training aid shows how this has been actioned in real life. That cost £10,000 to remove, if it was a normal overhaul it would of been cut out in pieces.

    The T9 agreement is obviously different to that.
    The SRT would have to offer it back to the NRM if it folded or it’s successor folded, that’s the only clause.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2022
  15. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

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    T3 = SRT Property. Reverts to NRM only if SRT / successor charity goes belly up.
    T9 = NRM Property, subject to loan conditions.
    99T = what I'm about to have a cup of.
     
  16. buzby2

    buzby2 Well-Known Member

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    Apparently Car 14 could not comply (easily/at all?) with original COVID restrictions on heritage railways so was stored in a siding and thus starting to suffer from adverse weather, etc.
    An opportunity to store it undercover was arranged hence the movement to Margate to join Sir Winston Churchill's Catafalque Van S2464S.
    I do not know the future plans for either vehicle.
     
  17. buzby2

    buzby2 Well-Known Member

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    BR removed motors before this Brighton Belle vehicle (originally Car 88 until 1936) was purchased by brewers Trueman & Co - but they couldn't use it for their intended purpose so it was moved to the Stour Valley Railway [now East Anglian Railway Museum] at Chappel & Wakes Colne. It didn't fit in with EARM's aspirations and was leased to Swanage from 1982 to 1991 although, whilst still at Chappel, some of SR's London area volunteers installed vacuum braking equipment. A lot of associated electrics, plus the air braking equipment, was removed and SR ran it for many years although only during the Summer as I seem to recollect that steam heating was not installed. It had vacuum brake control gear in the cab enabling it to be used, if necessary, on Swanage - Herston/'Pole 44' push-pull services. After this period EARM sold it to VSOE who, more recently, then sold it to the 5BEL Trust for use in their Brighton Belle Project. It is currently undergoing final fitting-out/testing at Locomotive Services Ltd premises at Crewe before, apparently, travelling to Eastleigh for 3rd rail testing, etc.
    I too cannot recall Pullman 347 returning from WCRC (in maroon) in 2018 to join the SR Wessex Belle rake. 347 ran in Pullman livery all the time it was included in the [otherwise] all-green rake. During 2011/2012 the entire Wessex Belle rake was repainted from Green into the present 'Blood & Custard' livery.
     
  18. Andy Moody

    Andy Moody Member

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    I think there are far more things to worry about at the moment like where is the coal going to come from? certainly not from Russia, and how much it is going to cost!
    I see that the Swanage webcam is now up and running, On Saturday I was able to view the Scene live for just over eight hours and can confirm that there were NO peeling carriage roofs or tatty looking stock at Swanage. Although I was more interested in observing that all of the door handles were in the horizontal position and all trains arrived/departed with tail lamp complete.
    It was very nice to see the new staircase and balcony (The reason the webcam was removed for a few days.) All credit to the team of volunteers that keep our infrastructure in good order, hopefully the timber will last another 22 years before it needs replacing.
    What troubled me the most on Saturday was not on the railway but the local Texaco garage in victoria avenue, that was selling Petrol at £1.70 a litre and Diesel at
    £1.86 a litre, all very worrying.
     
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  19. 80104

    80104 Member

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    Car 14 appears to have been particularly susceptible to water ingress / damp / condensation partly due to being wooden bodied with large windows and partly due to the roof construction. IIRC SR used some "cutting edge" materials on the roof to try and seal it completely about 3 years ago. Anecdotally the body does flex when in service resulting in gaps opening up.

    Car 14 is a very firm favourite of mine and I do agonise over the dilemma of having it in service (to enjoy) but then kept in the open versus having it safely undercover.
     
  20. 80104

    80104 Member

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    The Texaco Garage must be one of the UK's most expensive! However the underlying issue is all too evident.

    The coal supply issue is very worrying indeed. I think we are going to have to accept that assuming a supply is found that it will not be cheap. All HRs are going to have to look much more closely at revenues versus costs and perhaps it just may mean fewer days of 2 locos in steam and more 1 steam 1 diesel though that of course has its issues.
     

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