East Lancs Gala 25-26th Feb 2012

Line side passes not issued, only people allowed lineside are working ELR members I understand.

 

There was indeed a great mix, but whilst some tail locos weren't doing much (especially 71000 when tail - although the time I video'd him tail, he wasn't meant to tail, they forgot until the last minute that he was supposed to run round & make it a double header, but it was too late to run round without messing up the timetable) - the NCB 65 was a great little worker as tail & as per my vid, was working very hard.

 

I know they don't do event ones & I guessed the annual ones either no longer existed or were for ELR members only from what I could find. It's probably safe to say then that most if not all of the people in suspect looking spots shouldn't have been where they were, especially the person I saw who was perched precariously half way up the banking around the Lumb Wood area I think it was, since the footpaths around there are on the opposite side of the track! He was ok though as he had his orange hi-vis vest on :rolleyes1: (rolling eyes smiley as no tongue in cheek smiley)

 

Remember kids! An orange vest and a camera makes trespassing A-OK! :tongue1:

Now try it on the WMCL, see how far you get

 

It makes me sigh when you see fellow photographers drawing attention to the very fact that they're where they shouldn't be by putting on oranges - I guess they must think that they're doing the right thing?!?!?!? They clearly haven't given it any thought though, as per this excerpt taken from network rails guide to enthusiasts:

Please DO NOT:

Trespass on to the tracks or any other part of the railway that is not available to passengers
Wear anything which is similar in colour to safety clothing, such as high-visibility jackets, as this could cause confusion to drivers and other railway employees​

 

I believe a certain David Leyland has a view on this - has anyone asked him for it ?

 

Well from what I saw it was a great gala with a good turn out, the highlight for me being 44871 taking 6 Mk1's and 71000 up Broadfield Bank with some quality stanier noise on Sunday afternoon!

 

Or even a David Layland as well !!!! Taxi.............!!!!

 

Troll, troll!

 

You took the words right out of my mouth

 

And mine
H

 

I am not stirring it BUT having been threatened with prosecution on a public forum for being inside the ELR boundary I am obviously interested in knowing whether the same action applies to anyone else who takes images from inside the ELR boundary - especially those which are made public.

Rather than it be called "stirring it" I would prefer the phrase "consistency" or "equality"; so far I haven't seen any !

 

Troll, troll!

 

Nah, the signs at each station and crossing instructing us not to trespass on the railway, and common sense, apply to EVERYONE. Certain people are just picked out because they draw attention to the fact that they shouldn't have been where they were. Unless you're doing P'way work or other tasks which require or permit you to be there (of which, hobby photography is NOT an example), other side of the fence for you.

An orange vest does not make one immune from the law.


And on a more self centred note, they get in the way of my videos. Hehe

 

My posts did actually try to draw attention away from the one person that was being slated in here & I made it very clear that I saw a good number of people in very suspect locations throughout the day on the Saturday, all kindly wearing their oranges so they stood out more - they could at least have worn camo's lol.

 

I think that ANY posts on such matters simply draw attention to a situation that has existed ever since this particular railway commenced operations (and most others, I hasten to add), but a matter that, until the very same "person that was being slated" started to inflame some time previously, had (in my opinion) always existed at Bury and never presented any real problems to anyone (not from bone-fide enthusiasts anyway).

If both our friend, and those several others who continue to whinge from their armchairs (because they, arguably, have precious little else to do with their time?), had thought more deeply about the potential harm that they were causing, then the Railway would then not have been placed in the situation of where it had no option but to be forced to act and to make decisions that would prove not to be popular with anyone!

Further to the aforesaid, any suggestion that high-vis vests should be replaced by camouflage is a totally ludicrous one and I only hope that 'sweetktg's' final “lol” was merely one of sarcasm and that he wasn’t being serious! If his "good number of people" really were "in very suspect locations" (a statement with which I must confess to having an element of difficulty), as a former footplateman myself in the dim distant past, irrespective of any issues surrounding trespass and whether or not those involved had undertaken appropriate training, I would have welcomed any advance visible warnings whatsoever of potential hazards.

Might I, therefore, respectfully suggest that, for the benefit of everyone concerned, we should now draw a line under the matter from this point forward? Whilst I would be the first one to agree that free-speech should be a pre-requisite on such forums (and it isn't always, is it?), I would, nevertheless, also urge the moderators of this forum to ensure that no further postings on such matters should be permitted, especially from those - that a previous poster did intimate - might have had their noses ‘knocked out of joint’ and with the subsequent unfortunate consequences?

 

Don't worry, I was being extremely sarcastic about the camo & the good number of people is a slight exaggeration, but I'd stick to half a dozen or so though, and as mentioned in earlier posts, the spots where they were are named & are very suspect locations.

It's interesting what you say though with respect to welcoming any advance visible warnings whatsoever of potential hazards, as per an earlier post of mine this is contradicting Network Rails stance, but I always thought & have been told by other drivers that they'd prefer to see oranges rather than being surprised at the last minute.

 

On Saturday, I saw five or six people wearing orange vests beyond the bridge at Summerset. None were dangerously close to the line. I assumed that they had lineside passes.

 

Strangely enough when the rules about PPE on the national network changed to all orange head to foot we discussed this very idea. It is perceived that "all orange" is safer as drivers can see it better the argument was put that it could also lead to complacency and some could rely totally on the driver seeing us in the distance and blow up in plenty of time. Someone then suggested wearing camo gear as then you know you cannot be seen and therefore need to be more vigilant.

I will stress that this was an informal discussion between colleagues and not a formal suggestion to NR.

We are obviously now all in orange and accept it as it has now become the norm and we don't think twice about it. As for safety and responsibilty, that has not changed, YOUR safety is YOUR responsiblity.

 

There are NO lineside Passes issued by the ELR.
This issue has been done to death on here before. Its impossible to manage the 12 miles of railway with regards to who has / has not passes.
If you are not a registered ELR working member who has been on the basic safety course, then you should not be lineside, end of.
Why do some photographers think that the rules do not apply to them?
No wonder they hack a lot of railways off.