jnc's Recent Activity
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jnc liked brennan's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
The Stokers Poem; Set the burners open wide Do not touch the valves at side, Keep the pressure on the pump and up the bally steam will jump If the smoke is black and thick Open up the fans a bit, If the smoke is thick and white To slow the fans...
May 10, 2026 at 11:45 AM -
jnc liked 35B's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
To me it’s really simple. Minehead is “somewhere” so many holidaymakers, once there, won’t wish to travel. Especially not to “nowhere”. On the other hand, day trippers will wish to go “somewhere” and a steam train to a destination worth a few...
May 9, 2026 at 10:26 PM -
jnc liked Steve's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
Whether oil or solid fuel fired, the air flow is primarily controlled by the blastpipe and the driver. It is a wonderfully simple arrangement whereby the more steam that is used, the more that is exhausted through the blastpipe, whether through...
May 9, 2026 at 10:23 PM -
jnc liked torgormaig's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I think that you need to think carefully which locos are suitable (in their current form) for conversion to oil firing. S160s, yes- WD 2-10-0s yes- Bulleid Pacifics yes - but the rest, I'm not so sure. As I understand it, the rapid temperature...
May 9, 2026 at 10:22 PM -
jnc liked brennan's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
Cast your minds back a couple of years ago when the future of the railway looked bleak. The new management introduced the policy of running trains when there is a passenger demand and of reducing the number of operating days. The main tourist...
May 9, 2026 at 3:25 PM -
jnc liked Fred Kerr's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
This depends on the timetable; if the service allows for a split shift then employee could be used by the railway on other tasks - possibly administrative. It could be that some administrative staff at Kidderminster could be trained to undertake...
May 9, 2026 at 9:36 AM -
jnc liked Jamessquared's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Even if the line is not running heritage services on a particular day, it doesn't automatically mean the line is available - railways use days (and weeks) with no trains to have planned infrastructure maintenance. That all gets more fraught if...
May 9, 2026 at 9:35 AM -
jnc liked 5944's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Not negativity, just people being realistic why it can't and won't work. What would be the point in running through to Bewdley? To take people to Bewdley? They can get the SVR services that run there, or take the bus. To take people from Bewdley...
May 8, 2026 at 10:55 AM -
jnc liked MellishR's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
The announcement suggests "a trial of through services". That does not imply commuter services seven days a week. It could be as little as one return trip on some days when the signal boxes are open for heritage services.
May 8, 2026 at 10:54 AM -
jnc liked Bikermike's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
Add in the security risk... are you going to leave stations unstaffed and risk vandalism/theft etc? You'd need to allow for security, even if you didn't have a booking clerk. Also, how much revenue do you get? Yes, you might get an eccentric...
May 8, 2026 at 10:54 AM -
jnc liked 5944's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
More than one though. To provide a meaningful service, even just peak hours Monday - Friday, each box will require two staff per day due to the length of day. In which case are they employed part-time just as signallers or full-time, and do they...
May 8, 2026 at 7:25 AM -
jnc liked Vulcan Works's post in the thread Avon Valley Railway Updates and Videos.
The very best of luck to you and your fellow Trustees and volunteers. It must have been a devastating blow to get caught up in financial shenanigans. It sounds like you're facing the future with a good plan, hopefully one that is flexible enough...
May 8, 2026 at 12:42 AM -
jnc replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
The OP did say "I received an email today with a copy of the latest weekly newsletter, the email said that the cost of propping so far is upwards of £650,000 and that there’s another 4 bridges that need propping" (emphasis added), so if correct,...
May 7, 2026 at 10:29 PM -
jnc liked 5944's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
There's also a big difference between getting someone to pop in for a few hours in the middle of the day to having someone turn up every morning or evening throughout the year.
May 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM -
jnc liked free2grice's post in the thread SVR General Discussion.
The Kidderminster platform extension has been completed. See the view of it using the SVR Railcam. It looks really good. <BJ> [IMG] Thanks to the SVR for the photograph.
May 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM
