Fire at Mid Hants

I was at Ropley yesterday.

Mainly dismantling whats left of 76017, but for a while, 5 of us went down to the boiler shop (hard hats reqd) to move some superheater elements.

The contractors were hard at work on re-building the carriage workshop with crane and two cherry pickers in use. All of the steelwork uprights and about half of the roof beams had been installed.

I'm not a builder but it looks like any of the stuff that might be damaged by winter frosts has been done.

 

Thanks for the update Colin. I have just seen some images on Tony Wood's Steam Tube page, and the new structure looks to have gone up very quickly.

 

It ha as I was at Ropley last Thursday.

The speed at which the steel structure is going up is amazing, and I am a builder,(or was).

Regards
Chris:

 

Once the bases are done it's amazing how quickly these type of units go up. I saw an industrial unit go from bases to skinned, roofed and doors on in 4 days. By the end of the following week it was being used by it's new owner to overhaul press tools.

 

What a shame that such a unit could not be built in 4 days at Winchcombe to act as a much needed carriage storage shed for the GWR! Unfortunately the landslip at Gotherington is (rightly) the focus of funding at present. (Sorry to go off thread but I believe covered accommodation is a must if we are to pass these artifacts on to our children, and that includes aircraft at some museums sat outside on grass and sinking into it too!)

 

For the first time I've been able to photograph newly arrived 12082 (12049). I think it looks a lot better in BR green and without yellow/Black wasp stripes on the ends.


http://lee.mediaobjects.co.uk/p68188897.html

 

An image on Tony Wood's "Steamtube" page taken on the 24th shows the roof panels going on, and he comments that by the end of the day further progress had been made. With a bit of luck the new building should be reasonably weather-tight now,-given the speed contractors appear to be able to "skin" a new building.

Does anyone have any further recent images ?

 

I do , but I am unsure how to transfer them to this thread as my computer skills are not up to it.

Regards
Chris:

 

Chris: Perhaps you can just relate what progress you have seen on-site?

Thanks

46118

 

Rapid progress with the roof and more panels appear to have arrived.

Regards
Chris:

 

Here's the link to Tony Woods picture taken on Wednesday morning steamtube.ning.com/photo/rebuilding-carriage-shed?xg_source=activity

I don't know if links work from here, so if its not clickable, then cut-and-paste it into your browser.

I was there on Wednesday and by the time we went home there was quite a bit more roof in place. Tony also has some nice photos of 31806.

There was a little bit of assessment going on as theres a red underground power cable to the main shed that ran underground alongside the carriage shop - until the chalk bank was dug back a little. It can just be seen in the photo dangling alongside the chalk bank just behind the orange netting. No doubt it'll be sorted out.

 

Here's the link:
steamtube.ning.com/photo/rebuilding-carriage-shed

Richard

 

Is there also another building project on the go at Ropley at present? A small extension to the loco works, that was part of the original Lottery award?

 

Not on the go as yet, however work is planned to start in February 2011 once the re-built boiler shop and C&W works are completed.

This will be quite a large undertaking with a new machine shop built onto the "country" end of the old Ropley shed with offices,volunteer facilities including overnight accommodation built above it paving the way for the life expired "Ropley Manor" to be knocked down.This would have been started by now had it not been for the fire.

I hope this helps?

Regards
Chris:

 

This was the state of play yesterday when I called in at Ropley



Seems my link did not work. Here is the address
http://fotoalbum.virgilio.it/parker/napoli/picture485.html?idAlbum=4294509077

 

The fire was featured on BBC1's 'Real Rescues' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/wvcsc/?t=37m19s will take you straight to it.

 

It's been 5 months now since the fire. I would dearly like to know what started it. I work in a big shed, and we're about to build another. What can we learn from the Mid-Hants fire? Surely this sort of information should be shared, in the interests of all. Anyone heard anything?

 

There is no official reason as how the fire started. The insurance company was satisfied that they could find no fault why and how it started so I guess that is the end of it though I am sure that extra fire precautions have been added.

Regards
Chris

 

Indeed Chris, it is to be hoped that extra fire precautions have been built in, rather than just replacing like for like. I recall walking round the SVR Kidderminster carriage shed when it was open to members newly completed, and the place just bristled with fire detection and "management" systems, like automatic roof vents that would open and vent the products of combustion up and out, rather than them travelling along inside the building, although that shed is somewhat longer than the Ropley shed, and a fire speading internally for one-fifth of a mile would be unthinkable..

I thought listening and looking at the BBC piece about the Ropley fire that there were possibly a couple of "issues" that appeared to hamper the fire brigades, and one assumes that they will be dealt with in the Mid-Hants future fire management plans.

I dont think we should discuss the issues here because they will have been fully dealt with in the subsequent review of the whole incident by the fire authorities and the Mid Hants.

View the BBC piece and come to your own conclusions.

 

I can't access the BBC piece, so don't know what was said in it.
I just find it strange that the cause is not being discussed at all, yet many of us work in similar sheds. Surely someone must know in which part of the shed it started? Can't anyone describe the process? It happened in the middle of the day; there must have been people about?
If the issues have been dealt with and there was a review by the fire authorities, why should we not know what happened? I'm not interested in blame ('the insurance company was satisfied that they could find no fault') but in the process - it starts with a small spark (grinding, welding, electrical, hot lights etc) and how did it get so out of control (opening/closing the doors, inflammable materials, gases, firefighting attempts, availability of hose reels/extinguishers etc.)

I'm glad the SVR have state of the art detection and management systems, but they don't address the cause of the fire itself. This is where we can learn from others.