Swanage Railway General Discussion

Not confined to SVR (thankfully)

PH

 

And just to prove it leaving on the 15:20 service today passing an in steam 257 Squadron which is behind Class 33 No 33111 and next to the Purbeck Freezer open top bus.

 

For reference, 31806 is being allowed to naturally get dirty on the paintwork ready for the works outing gala. Wheels and motion are being cleaned as normal.

 

Thanks 007 thought it was beginning to look more natural (which I like). Should look good by gala time.

 

Can anyone from the SR or SLL explain what is happening with 34072?
She arrived on the railway in August and still hasn't entered traffic, I know there were reports of an additional boiler test for the insurance company, but can someone explain why this was necessary? Are there new rules that other owners/railways should be aware of? Was there something in the boiler repair that was unusual that made the insurance man want another test? Will she have lost time on her boiler certificate because of the delay?

Thanks


Keith

 

No idea on the ins and outs Keith, need someone with info to answer, but the smoke you can see drifting across in front of the Swanage webcam is from 257. Was lit up again on Friday from memory.

 

There was an issue with the wash out plugs/threads leaking so they had to be re cut or something like that. Hence the re test. Dont think she is stopped, just has no work at the moment.

 

I have heard from a unofficial source (and third hand source at that) why 34072 isnt ready. I won't got to much in to detail because it could be all b#ll#cks but bascily certain fittings have had to be taken off again and not just the plugs. It boils down possibly as a consequence of the July 24th incident as they tried to get 34072 ready as quick as possible to get steam services running again, but somethings weren't done as they should. Hence this state of affairs...

 

Thanks for the responses guys


Keith

 

Nonesense.

That would be commercial pressures overruling engineering requirements, as has been pointed out elsewhere.

 

Well I did say it could be b#ll#cks so 'shrugs'

 

Maybe be accentuated by the telephoto lends but was beginning to "dirty up" nicely on Monday.

 

A cold afternoon made warmer by having to shift all the coal twice! Once from the back of the tender to the front and again from the front to the firebox. Nice to have the shovel back in the hands again tho after a few months off.

 

One advantage of Martin's charter on Thursday was that the same set was used for the Taster courses on Friday and then the PMV was moved to the Swanage end of the passenger services for the weekend.
One from both days, of course not nearly as good as Martin's.

 

According to website -
Swanage Railway has cancelled services on Saturday 3rd due to weather conditions.
Apparently, a decision will be taken at Friday lunchtime regarding Sunday services.
Current (21:45) weather in Swanage remains wintry with snow/sleet still falling (temperature is around 1C, I think, but I'm not going out to confirm!).

 

March rather than April?

Robin

 

Bloody good weather forecasting if not! Better than the BBC at any rate... *Grumble grumble*

 

Only if it snows on April 3rd!

 

Apologies. Senior Moment I'm afraid - or possibly Brain Freeze!

 

Interesting notion. Maybe one for a couple of years down the road when the IWSR has sufficient stock to cover it's own operational requirements (see @paulhitch and @gwalkeriow I knew there was a good reason .... OK, a half-way decent excuse .... to get a rake of those Met 8 wheelers into service!). The effects of that restricted IoW loading gauge are still very much a factor in what carriages can be run on the island. It's a big part of the charm of the IWSR and an operational pain in the ar**.

C&W loans seem a lot thinner on the ground than for locos. Probably the reason for that comes down, as always, to having the neccessary time, manpower and oodles of cash to make it happen.

Pity 245 looks unlikely to make the cut for restoration to working order .... a brace of signature Swanage P-P trains passing under the shadow of Corfe Castle for the first time since 1964 would be a sight to behold!