Brighton Belle update

I remember once seeing a video on YouTube of an old scrap train from Ashford heading up to where they doing the restoration work. I think they were going to use bits of it for the project like the engines and the bogies that sort of thing.

 

yes that is correct the 5 belle unit is using the bogies and motors of the 4 vop units from ashford the idea is that the use of 400 type traction motors and bogies will give a better ride and enable the unit to have a higher top speed 90 as oppossed to 80 and a few units including some 4 cigs, have been stripped to provide spares

 

I see the last update to the news page has been revised, looks like they've pushed back testing and passenger service to late 2017/spring 2018 respectively.

http://www.brightonbelle.com/news

Re-scheduling of the restoration project's work programme will see the all-important mainline running tests being carried out in the final quarter of the year. This should allow the train's entry into passenger-carrying service by Spring 2018. ​

 

copied from Facebook:

"
Our hopes to see the Brighton Belle returned to the mainline in the same year as the Flying Scotsman were not to be. After a frustrating year be-set by problems... with the complex re-wiring of the motor thirds and resource constraints, the Trust reluctantly took the decision to leave its home at Barrow Hill, a process which cost almost six months of productive activity.

The Trust has paid fulsome tribute to the ground-breaking work carried out by Rampart Engineering. “They were able to achieve what everyone said was impossible and Paul Ramsden should be rightly proud to have created a national centre of excellence for heritage railway restoration at Barrow Hill. Our main problem with hitting our stretching targets has been one of capacity – the ability to work on at least four cars at the same time.”

The new home for the project is at W H Davis at Rotherham, where all of the Belle cars now sit in a vast building akin to an aircraft hangar, with all components and spares sat adjacent to each car in racked out shipping containers. The project has suddenly moved up a gear by virtue of the massive space available, finally allowing the application of lean manufacturing techniques to the project with all the assets to hand instead of being stored at multiple locations throughout the Chesterfield area. A game changer…

The professionalism of the W H Davis management team has allowed an excellent working relationship to be quickly established and the team has access to a large in-house engineering resource to accelerate completion of the project. Problems with the complex wiring systems apart, this final phase is essentially a production line; all of the engineering challenges have been fully resolved and the conditions set by the Rail Regulator are being met.

After re-launching a four car Belle unit, the speed of the completion of final two cars will be a simple product of the rate at which funding can be pulled in. The Trust is crossing its fingers that, with a tail wind, mainline testing might be completed by the end of the year, but getting it right is more important than doing it quickly - we'll keep you posted on progress."

 

I look forward to having a ride on this myself. Very worth project.

 

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand a ride in the restored train would be good. On the other, two years ago I sent them an email, pointing out that there was some seriously out of date information on their website and enquiring whether some technical information was available. I got a snotty response.

 

Website has had a revamp, by the looks of it. Some interesting posts on how work is progressing.

http://brightonbelle.org.uk/

 

Cheers for that. The revamp is a big improvement. Hadn't realised that the cooking kit on this all-electric set was by gas!

 

I get the impression that the writer of the website does not have English as their first language. I hope I am not wrong.

 

I came upon it by chance today. Have to say its not a moment too soon, as I was starting to have grave misgivings about the project and its lack of visibility. Very relieved.
I travelled on the Belle many times as a boy, and one thing I vividly recall was the smell of the the train as we walked down the platform- a mixture of toast, coffee, kippers and brake dust. I bet this won't have that same aroma, but can't wait to take a trip!

 

Much of the News is timeless and the Facebook page has been static for months. Would be good to have a clear update on status and timing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Whatever the reason for the hiatus, a regular (not necessarily frequent.... just regular) update goes a long way to keeping everyone happy in our increasingly connected world. The 5BEL Trust aren't the only ones who could stand to be a little more current on t'interweb.

 

Oh my word! The blurb on the home page is absolutely terrible! It reads very much like what many an enthusiastic amateur writer thinks is atmospheric and charming, but is in fact... Well, let's be kind and just say that it's neither.

I spend a fair bit of my working life being paid to rewrite manuals, press releases and other text composed by clients from across the world into appropriate English (formal or informal, depending on the target audience). I'd work my way through quite a few tea refuellings with that little lot

 

Writing and revision of technical specs was one of my responsibilities back in the day, so I can readily identify with your standpoint.

While I can't disagree with your assessment, I always strive to be as supportive of honest effort as humanly possible (and provide critical feedback on the QT). The layout of the new website is a vast improvement. If we were all to criticise every presentational inexactitude (diplomatic.....eh?) on every website, and boy are there some howlers out there, we would't have too much frothing time left!

 

To all these people criticising the new website, can we see your rewritten versions? Bear in mind that their website audience isn't just enthusiasts or historians but also people interested in investing in the project.

 

Hi there. As someone not at all keen on the habit of ridiculing every effort anyone makes (a excessively common British affliction IMO), I think my own views on how and where criticism is most usefully directed were made clear in post #34, but I'd have to point out that, in all cases across the board, accuracy in spelling, grammar and presentation can't be ignored by any project seeking serious investment. Although often dismissed as pure snobbery, for better or for worse, such things do get noticed and do make a difference.

 

But moaning about it on NP does what exactly?? How does that "make a difference", apart from adding to your own superiority.

You might make a bigger difference by reporting them to the website owner, and allowing this discussion to focus on more important things. The Brighton Belle project isnt going to succeed or fail for the want of a misplaced comma or apostrophe.

 

You might make a bigger difference by reporting them to the website owner, and allowing this discussion to focus on more important things. The Brighton Belle project isnt going to succeed or fail for the want of a misplaced comma or apostrophe.[/QUOTE]Personally, if I was looking to invest in a project about which there wasn't a huge amount of information available, then I would find spelling and grammatical errors in any presentation a big turn off. It speaks of carelessness.

 

Actually, I agree with you. Please note though, that context is all! If you read my earlier post [#34] that's precisely the approach I stated that I favour, though unfortunately, it doesn't negate the general comment [in post#36] which you seem to consider is me moaning - which I'm happy to reassure you, it isn't.

Would it surprise you to learn my only intention here is to improve chances of any success for any serious project website seeking to raise funds? As stated, specific gripes I save for direct contact. It was your own post [#35] which overlooks what I clearly stated in the first place and thereby led me to expand on my original comment, to which you appear still to take exception. In any event, the 5BEL project (which could use some more support from down here on the south coast..... must drop Adam Trimmingham a line about that) is evidently making solid progress.

If you take umbridge at my comments, you're free to criticise of course, but if you're waiting for capitulation, don't hold your breath. I feel my own remarks have been even handed and any criticism you perceive is aimed specifically at the folks at 5BEL actually isn't anything of the sort.

 

I agree, Mark. And, if richards is so quick to criticise correspondents here, why isn't he offering to improve it for them himself?
Why aren't I? Because I don't agree with the whole Frankenbelle project. For me butchering historic carriages - turning them into some sort of bastardised Brighton Belle / 400 series EMU hybrid with searchlights on the front, just to allow (only) the very well-heeled to have over-priced jollies around Surrey with champagne and canapes - is not in the spirit of true railway preservation.