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Swanage Railway General Discussion

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

  1. gz3xzf

    gz3xzf Member

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    Rumpole, I think you have too much time on your hands! ;)

    I feel Ady that is a bit unfair, I believe the N's frames are overhauled and waiting for a boiler. The tender has been running behind the U for the last few years and is now spare as the U has its own tender again. The problem I believe was that the boiler ran late due to a contractor issue and then COVID, by the time it was available it appeared to be more prudent to keep the U running.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2022
  2. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    well I never understood why the railway continued with that contractor. They took far longer with 31874's originally intended boiler then they did with 4930 for the SVR and 46464 up in Scotland, and neither of those boilers were exactly in good nick neither.
     
  3. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    I have

    Dear Sirs,

    I used the car park on 23.4.22 and on 12.4.22

    One of the payment machines is covered and the other wasnt working on both occasions.

    Apart from any other issues, there are people who dont have smart or mobile phones or who might not find using them that easy.

    Please can you

    1. Fix the machines, and
    2. Tell me what arrangements are made for those who cant pay by phone, both at this and other locations controlled by yourselves when payment machines are not in use, as this is an equalities issue.

    Yours Sincerely
     
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  4. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    There are two sides to any story. I was having a boiler repaired at Northern Steam at the same time and was a frequent visitor. Yes COVID got in the way but once work resumed there was obvious progress on all boilers in their works apart from 31874’s. I often asked about this and was told it was waiting for decisions or free issue parts from Swanage and even a small matter of payments. How true I can’t say but there was no reason to tell me this if it wasn’t true.
     
  5. 007

    007 Member

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    The boiler overhaul saga with 31874 boiler is a massive long and tedious story. Multiple changes in requirements from various boiler inspector.
    The reasons behind the delays are confidential but SR learnt a lot from this period. Partially regarding how you pay for work. The SR were never not paying for things to happen, if that was is being insinuated in the post above.
     
  6. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    boilers,boilers, boilers. Where is the coal coming from to fire them??
     
  7. ruddingtonrsh56

    ruddingtonrsh56 Member

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    Presumably from the source which offers what, in the railway's opinion, is the best combination of quality and expense.
    If you're referring to country of origin, I know at least the Battlefield and the Glos Warks are currently using Colombian coal so that's a possibility. Depending on how much the SR had prior to procurement of coal becoming an issue, they may still be working their way through the last of their Welsh supply, although given how much they have been running recently my guess is that would be unlikely
     
  8. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    Coal from Colombia when it is still available in Wales which needs the jobs. Madness! AIUI there is an open cast mine near Merthyr. With strict H & S surely this has to be a better solution. Are not Heritage Railways about the history of Railways, which includes the fuel they use and where it comes from? Russia, Romania Colombia had no connection to the Steam Railways of the UK that a lot of us remember
     
  9. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    A very quick google search will reveal the less than ideal conditions of Colombian coal mines. 28 killed in an explosion at an operation as recently as February 2022.!! all are privately owned. At 5200 miles to ship to the UK one would surmise that this coal is being extracted at a very low cost. The HRA need to get on top of this situation now, or else we will be seeing stories of such railways running on the back of exploited labour
     
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  10. Shaggy

    Shaggy Part of the furniture

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    From what I understand from reading the various heritage press, the HRA, heritage lines and mainline operators are very well aware of the coal crisis facing the sector and are working for a solution. The current situation with Russia has definitely exacerbated the issue but as can be seen with all the trials going on, there are solutions. Extracting coal from the Welsh valleys or anywhere else in the British Isles however isn't one of them as the government are following their green agenda and will not permit any new mining facilities to be operated within the UK. FYI, all mines in the UK were privately owned as no nationalised coal industry exists in the UK and hasn't done since the Coal Industry Act in 1994.
     
  11. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    One of the guys working the computer when my dad went for his 4th Covid jab started chatting to him about the railway and said they had just had the last delivery of Welsh coal. That was about 3 weeks ago, no idea if that is accurate or not.
     
  12. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Do let us know the answer, I guess the Dorset Council response will be if the machine cannot be used then you have to go and park elsewhere.
     
  13. 80104

    80104 Member

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    There is a bit about this issue at Disruption to cash payments in Dorset Council car parks - Dorset Council news

    The level of risk you wish to take is up to you but If I didnt have either a smart phone or mobile phone and the machine(s) was (were) faulty I would park and put a timed note in my windscreen.

    I would appeal against any Penalty Charge Notice on the grounds that the equipment had failed and there is no legal requirement for me to have a mobile phone, smart phone etc.

    You could of course raise this with Cllr Bill Trite (Dorset Council Councillor) and Cllr Mike Whitwham (Swanage Town Councillor) as they are both on the Swanage Railway Trust Council of Management and presumably would be concerned that issues of this type at Purbeck Park indirectly damage SRT SRC income and reputation.
     
  14. oliversbest

    oliversbest Member

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    Curiouser and Curiouser said Alice
     
  15. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    ????
     
  16. ruddingtonrsh56

    ruddingtonrsh56 Member

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    Not all coal is of adequate quality to be able to provide sufficient heat to be used in a steam locomotive. Ffos-y-fran was the last mine producing steam-grade coal. My guess is that if the open cast mine near Merthyr is not being used it is because it is not good enough to use on a steam loco (I have experience of being a fireman on inadequate coal - I would much rather fire a loco with Colombian coal that is able to maintain pressure than coal from Wales where the pressure drops like a stone once the regulator opens (which has happened to me). It's not perfect but it's what railways are having to do in order to operate
     
  17. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    Ffos-y-fran is opencast near Merthyr. It closes this year and the equipment required to sort the coal for uses like heritage has broken and will apparently not be repaired. Nor will the Welsh authorities permit further coal mining in Wales - as mines close, that will be it.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  18. ruddingtonrsh56

    ruddingtonrsh56 Member

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    Did not know they were one and the same, thanks for clarifying :)
     
  19. ghost

    ghost Part of the furniture

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    Are you seriously suggesting that heritage railways should be only using coal of UK origin (and possibly only from steam era mines?).
    That's a good plan to close heritage railways.

    Can I suggest that you read, then reread your posts and think how they might come across to others, before hitting the send button.
     
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  20. 5914

    5914 New Member

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    Put simply, your understanding is not correct - the whole point is that there is now no domestically produced coal supply available that is suitable for use by heritage railways (beyond that which is stockpiled), and that legislation means that this situation is unlikely to change.

    If there were coal available in Wales I am sure that railways would use it (subject to affordability) - but as there isn't, the point is rather less than relevant! The choice then is foreign coal, alternative fuel (this being the subject of much trial and exploration at the moment), or stopping running steam.

    Some background on the general end to opencast mining: https://www.theguardian.com/environ...hail-end-opencast-coalmines-uk-latest-victory
    and the railways specific situation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61059737?at_custom3=bbc_wales_news&at_custom2=facebook_page&at_medium=custom7&at_custom4=CA5BAFDE-B98F-11EC-A477-C8230EDC252D&at_campaign=64&at_custom1=[post+type]

    It is relatively easy to become well-informed before throwing more criticism at those who are striving to maintain services on heritage railways in an environment that is presently throwing up multiple practical and economic challenges.
     
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2022

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