Total/Partial Steam Ban 2014

Its an average July in the UK so far with average rainfall so far (overall 36 mm), following a wetter than average June and a wet May. Some parts of the UK (East Anglia and east Kent)have been very wet and a few places have been fairly dry. The current fire index for the New Forest is actually a minus figure, which means the ground is wet and fire risk minimal. Tinder dry does not exist anywhere in the UK at present and I would only use this phrase for ground conditions in summers like 1976 and 2003. Steam still ran, unassisted in the summer of 1976. I think NR are taking a very negative view probably quite deliberately to cover themselves.

Don

 

You never use to have grass/weeds etc virtually coming across BR land as you do now.
So when it gets dry steam locos can cause fires. The North Yorkshire Moors were getting very dry recently.

 

Yes Al well summarised

Don

 

And worth remembering 1984 when 673 Maude set fire so much of the route between Fort William and Mallaig that (a) it was unable to get beyond Arisaig (b) it was banned west of Glenfinnan for the rest of the season (c) involved virtually every fire tender within the region and (d) disrupted the region for days afterwards.

For WCRC to run the "Jacobite" I suspect guidelines have been set and arrangements put in hand to deal with any fires. That said it is a growing problem that many fires are being caused by thrown away bottles and cigarettes - whether from trains or passing cars - and once a fire starts it can become difficult to identify the primary cause. In that context I suspect the passing steam locomotive becomes a convenient scapegoat.

 

But ciggies from passing cars still occur - and the number of city dwellers who fail to appreciate / understand that ciggies flicked onto grass give a different result from ciggies flicked onto tarmac are still sufficient to create a risk.

Personally I hope that the Duchess of the Forth Bridge in September will be OK if the hot weather lasts as long as some forecasters predict - especially since the train is pathed through numerous "risk" areas - as I've already booked accommodation for that weekend.

 

Time to re-educate Joe Public, that Scarborough, Torbay area, Weymouth, Swanage and S & C are much more visitor friendly in Dec -March on grey, wet, dark days than in Summer sunshine...
Perhaps time to do a financial risk assessment by some on here as the financial suicide of a series of Scarborough Flyers, Welsh Mountaineers in January.

 

Friends on the Torbay Express spoke to the crews yesterday. The traction inspector told them they were under 'caution' and consequently they used their common sense and drove the engine sensibly. The weed-killing train had been down as far as Taunton which meant there was more dry vegetation on the trackside. The return was still lively enough to do Exeter to Whiteball in under 21 minutes with speed for 5029 + 10 not dropping below 52. Hopefully the Weymouth Express will be driven in a similarly cautious manner next Sunday, and at least the South West from Bristol will escape a fire risk alert unless it gets even hotter and drier.

 

MHR suffered a lineside fire between Alresford and Ropley on Sunday afternoon. I don't know the cause or extent, but enough to delay the service until the Hampshire Fire & Rescue had attended.
Very little rain in the area recently, having missed the worst of the storms and further dry weather forecast for a while. I have no doubt contigency plans are in place to provide voluntary fire watch crews posted at intervals for special events but similar conditions last summer resulted in diesel running for a while.

 

There ain't no rain around at the moment or any due in the near future. Also the temperatures are staying high, high 20's/low 30's for the foreseeable future as well.
All the predicted thunderstorms/heavy rain never happens either, just a load of hogwash.
I'm speaking mainly for the South of England but looks similar elsewhere.
Let's face it, we are having a major climate change for the hotter, '76 being the exception.
Remember last winter was very mild if a bit wet towards the end..

 

There's been plenty of rain and lot of thunderstorms around the country over the last view days, but, as is their nature, they tend to be quite localised and when they are over the sun comes out and dries things up within a couple of hours.

 

A change of 5c in just over 60 years is a pretty major change. Such a rise may seem small but will cause very big shifts in the weather patterns.

I have little doubt the climate is changing, significantly. The root cause however is the point open to dispute and discussion.

 

Those are forecast averages, and indeed the averages have changed very little so far. But climate change can bring changes in weather patterns, including more frequent and/or more extreme hot spells, cold spells, wet spells and dry spells.

 

It's not all to do with steam. I myself can't stand such conditions, my body hates it. Along with the associated side effects like hay fever with constant sneezing & running nose eyes. All the insects etc around, had a major ant & flying ant infestation indoors the other night. Spray & powder had little or no effect. Too hot to do anything, for instance I done a bit of furniture moving around today. After a few minutes I was just a total sweatball, all over my glasses, everywhere. Having the windows open again hardly made any difference. It was even worse when I was working being forced to wear a boiler suit & yellow hi-viz vest in all conditions.
Yet people rave about hot sunshine & high temperatures with little or no rain.
Malc, there have been no thunderstorms or rain in this neck of the woods despite all the warnings & alerts. Apart from a small effort last Thursday night.
By the way, '76 was a killer which I hoped would never be repeated.

 

They got the forecasts totally wrong in my local area at the weekend.
I was really hoping for some rain and thunderstorms on Saturday as the unbearable heat was making me feel very ill. Haven't felt that rough for a while.
I regularly checked the forecasts (from three sources) on my mobile throughout the day. In the morning several storms were predicted but we didn't have any at all.
Sunday also had rain and thunderstorms predicted throughout the day. In the end it didn't rain until after 23.00 and it hammered it down.

 

To prove the latter point, one of the jobs undertaken by the Bluebell's P-Way gang yesterday morning was to pump 4ft of water out of a blocked catch-pit. One of the jobs undertaken in the afternoon was to put out a lineside fire half a mile to the south...