West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Coincidence.

As you will see, we are heading for the hundredth 'TnN' shot and I have taken them in batches.

That is why the 'now' photos tend not to have a train in shot, otherwise it would take weeks. And also, it tends to be the 'built environment' which we are making the comparison about.

Robin

 

The weather didn't help

 

I don't know how many broken springs the NYMR have each year but it is almost a weekly occurrence that has long concerned me as an engineer looking on. Spring changing is now down to a fine art and, with the wheel drop, can be achieved in a very short time. They generally carry a good stock of spare springs. In the NYMR's case, I'm not convinced it is down to the track as it is generally in very good condition. Spring deflection is limited by the travel of the axlebox in the hornguides so you cannot overload it, as such. Yes, dipped joints will lead to an increase in cyclic loading but we are not talking about huge deflections or stress changes. It therefore has include other factors, such as poorly tempered steel and stress raisers leading to fatigue cracks. A couple of years ago, I had a long conversation with Andy Forster on the subject of springs as such happenings on the WSR were fairly rare. Hhe told me that the WSR no longer repaired springs except when there was no alternative. The NYMR however did repair springs as a routine. At the time the WSR was only seeing occasional spring breakage against the NYMR's very frequent happenings. The NYMR now largely does not repair springs and the rate of breakage has gone down but is still fairly frequent. The WSR and NYMR used different suppliers and Andy thought that may be significant.
How many spring failures get sent away for examination? It would be interesting to see some metallurgical reports on them.
As regards the WSR track. I recently rode on both the WSR and the GWSR and I considered the ride quality of the WSR to be far better than the GWSR, as I said in a post shortly after. (Which I can't find but is somewhere on the Forum!)

 

No that is true, but surely we could bide our time and save our money until Minehead Chamber of Commerce fixes the problem when they introduce commuter trains and upgrade the speed restrictions. ;-)

 

One aspect of being a volunteer is that you will always be amazed at who you happen to be working alongside. We have airline training captains, university lecturers, BBC Radio 4 staff, barristers (including one who was present at the trial of the Kray twins), formula 1 engineers and at least three Rolls Royce jet engine experts. One of the jet gurus is looking at the metallurgy of the springs. I won't name names of course but whenever a Harrier engine went "phut", our chap was in the thick of the investigation. He is applying his expertise to this problem.

 

There may be different standards in use as well. I've been told that at least one railway does not regard a spring as broken until three leaves are cracked, whereas others regard the failure of a single leaf as a breakage.

 

One person's "airing dirty linen in public" is another person's 'openness and transparency'.

(I'm not making any comment on the accuracy of their revelations, about which I am in no position to comment - merely about the underlying principle.)

Noel

 

I would agree, but "openness and transparency" usually requires the source to be open too.

 

If the bearer of bad tidings chooses to remain anonymous, perhaps it is whistleblowing - a strength on most railways!

Tom (hat, coat...)

 

It would appear, like all good journalists, David Wilcock checked his facts with Paul Conibeare, WSR General Manager.

There does not appear to have been any suggestion that the factual basis of the piece is inaccurate.

Robin

 

Well, that's the conundrum all across the news world, isn't it? A source may be willing to provide info, but only if they aren't named publicly. So which is then preferable - no public dissemination at all - or an un-sourced one? Usually the former is decided to be the 'lesser evil' - but it does require reporters and editors to ensure that the material is accurate, and that they aren't being used - but these days those are often ignored in the competition for 'eyeballs', alas.

Noel

 

It's a hard life...

I wanted to take a moment to commiserate with those who have to commute by car, doing battle for hours with traffic jams, roadworks, multi-lane highways, variable speed limits and average speed limit cameras, learner drivers, caravans and heavy lorries.

I wanted to, I REALLY did, but there just wasn't time in the 10 minutes it took me to drive from Stogumber to Crowcombe Heathfield station for a piece of bread pudding, a cup of coffee and my afternoon signalling shift...

TWO more days of the WSR Autumn Gala to ENDURE. Just how will I cope?

 

Will the results be available to all?

 

Not usually (and, yes, I note the Olympus case) something that is necessary through the media at board level within an organisation.

No criticism of the journalism (especially given @Robin White's confirmation that the facts were checked appropriately), merely an observation on this individual's personal and subjective test for where the boundary of whistleblowing and airing dirty laundry may lie.

But from the grey skies of SW Lincolnshire, I am much cheered by - and very jealous of - the Somerset lanes.

 

Today's WestSomerset Free Press carries a story that the Minehead Town Council have "agreed in principle" to support a rail link from Minehead to Taunton as postulated by Mr. De Mendoza. Councillor Oliver Harvey claimed that an "initial feasibilty study" showed it would bring benfits to the town. It will be interesting to see this as until now all requests to Mr. De Mendoza for details of the feasibility have been met with silence.

 

I think you are according my attempt at a cheap gag far more seriousness of intent than it warranted!

That said, it is a somewhat extraordinary way to bring the issue into the public domain.

Tom

 

Some time ago Mr Jeff Price indicated that we should have some pannier tank engines on the WSR, I think it fell on "deaf ears" so to speak. Well when you consider The Flying Scotsman couldn't pull out of BL up the Gradient without a push & a little ole tank engine p****d it with 6 on on the last 2 days, makes you think doesn't it. May-be we should be looking for a couple!!!

DJB.

 

What lovely weather for a gala, delighted to finally see a manor on a goods train

 

It would appear that Paul Conibeare's response, to I presume a David Wilcock query, was more measured than the information emanating from the supposed 'West Somerset senior Board Member', who chose to hide his/her thoughts under a cloak of anoninimity. Mr Conibeare's quote confirms what is known ie there appears to have been an increase in loco 'outages' occasioned by spring failures and an investigation is ongoing.

It is interesting to compare headlines this month.

Railway Magazine: "West Somerset enjoys lasting legacy of 'A3' visit"

Steam Railway: "West Somerset probes broken springs 'epidemic' "

For the record I am a subscriber of both publications. This month they arrived on the doormat on the same day; as one is a monthly publication and the other published thirteen times a year, a statistically rare event.

Michael Rowe

ps Two thoroughly enjoyable Gala days so far, one working, one on the cushions. Good weather, an interesting (even perhaps a trifle quixotic) Timetable, an intersting locomotive pool and even varying consists.

Come and enjoy this weekend: the Saturday and Sunday Timetables reflect the requirement for all trains to have generous seating (6-8 coach consists) but they still afford variety. Locos: two Manors, two S&D 2-8-0s, a Hall, a BR Class 4 4-6-0, a LMS 4F and a 15xx 0-6-0T working over the full 22.5 miles, some limited stop services and the Quantock Belle. Who, of us who were around the Railway scene fifty years past, would have believed such things were possible !