Spa Valley Railway - Latest News

34072/Bulleid/larger engines are a different competence to the smaller engines so today 828 had to run because of tonights driver and fireman.

Daily profit takes into the following:

• Steam loco fee
• Diesel loco fee
• Eridge track maintenance costs
• Coal
• Water
• Oil
• Diesel fuel
• Electricity
• Insurance (although we pay it annually usually)

We don't have paid staff.

 

What different competencies do you have for steam engines? I know generally with diesels drivers need to sign each individual engine - do you do the same for steam? Or is it more 1 competency for Bulleids and another for other locos?

 

Still the UKs prettiest preserved loco though

 

Do you mean Diesel drivers sign for individual classes? I can’t imagine that some of my friends need an individual piece of paper for signing say both 55009 and 55019 or 50049 and 50035.

 

1. I’m dying to do a brake van ride! Unfortunately I live more than 200 miles away so it won’t be this one.
2. Being a western region man you should know all about unsightly green things…

 

Yes caller, your point?

 

Just updating potential visitors on a change to the loco roster that I encountered on arrival this morning. I don't think I'm the only person on this Forum who visits that lovely railway.

 

No, my understanding is that it is individual locos. At least, that's how I've seen it modelled at a previous railway. I'm not 100% sure on the reasoning as I'm not a diesel man myself, but I understand it stems from the fact that diesels of the same class built by different manufacturers had differences and it was decided you needed to sign for each variant of the class.

 

With diesels it’s the norm to sign for individual classes and not locos. However, that doesn’t mean that every railway will follow this path. Each one is responsible for their own rules and regulations and will go with their own risk assessment.

 

I guess on many railways, signing for "individual locos" and "individual classes" is tantamount to the same thing - at least until gala visits occur!

Tom

 

Our Competence Management System takes into consideration two things, whether the engine is superheated or not and what class the engine is. There is a separate assessment for superheated Class 4 and above for example (which the Bulleid and 4MT are covered by) and a separate assessment for saturated/superheated steam engines that are under Class 4. So to drive 828, 34072 and 80078 in our case you need to be competent in both.

We regularly brief crews on new engines anyway, they sometimes come with reps but not always, the Small Prairie back in March and the Ivatt from the Isle of Wight didn't have a rep so as assessor (me) went out on it first with the Locomotive Operations Manager and I rode out with others if it was necessary. We take it on a case by case basis, if a Jubilee or Black 5 turned up tomorrow we'd review our processes to ensure it a) met the owners wishes and b) we were confident/safe in the locomotives operation with our crews, if that needed a formal training and assessment we'd make it happen as we've done before.

Diesel wise it is far more clear cut, we sign the class of diesel e.g., I sign more or less everything that has visited in the past with the exception of the 17, 42 and 55 (I think from memory) so currently at our railway I sign the Drewry, 08, 09, 25, 31, 33, 73 and 207 and then assess or train others if required. That is usually done through a home railway person being competent to pass on their knowledge to me in most cases.

That said, D7612 and D7535 whilst they're Class 25's they are different electrically. D7612 was a 25/3 modified to take power differently to how D7535 does, which is a 25/2 so it is a briefing on handling. The braking system is the same, the electrical cubicle layout is different though.

The Electric Train Heating is covered as a separate element for drivers and shunters, the 31 and 33 behave differently to one another. The 31 when ETH is on doesn't rev up whereas the 33 does and therefore when you take notch 1 the locos behave differently to one another.

It is of course up to every railway to determine how they do it under ROGS/RM3 but how we do it seems to have satisfied ORR during inspections and subsequent reviews.

 

1. Your all still crazy riding on a QM in the cold.
2. Ha! Ha! Like that hasn't been said 200,000 times before.
If your going to insult the GWR, come up with something original.

 

What is your problem with brakevan rides with a view like this…
For someone who is totally dedicated to the western why on earth would you not want to have a play at being Squire Chesterford?
This is a view from a Toad on the other SVR, it really was the most magnificent fun having a play date on it on that particular Sunday.

 

I hope it's realised by the person that seems rather against brake van rides at this time of year mkre it isn't beyond the realms of possibly for us to put a generator on the Queen Mary (as has been done many times before and mkre recently it powered the whole of the Polar Express tech equipment) and plug a heater into it to keep the inside part warm.

Therefore anyone riding on the Mary could do so by wrapping up warm, which I'd expect anyone to do attending what is predominantly an outdoor attraction/event at this time of year anyway, and pop inside the van if they wanted to during the journey.

Nobody complained when 419 took the QM down the line in the light snow that arrived during the Scottish event. All part of the novelty.

 

Last time I had a ride in a Queen Mary. Lovely and toasty



Tom

 

Did you have Queen Mary’s consent?

 

Ah yes I have had some red hot stoves out on the main line. As a matter of interest what was the lever for?

 

I think it is the sand lever - but I am not a guard.

Tom

 

Thanks Tom.
Yes, I think you could be right, though on the occasions I worked trains with a bogie (Queen Mary Brake vans, I do not recall there being a lever, Mind it was a loooong time ago.

 

Looks like a reversing lever to my untrained eye.