North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion

From this weekend a new webcam has been installed at Goathland to go with the existing one at Grosmont.
Slightly unusual location though.
Grosmont camera
https://www.nymr.co.uk/live-webcam

New one at Goathland.
https://www.nymr.co.uk/goathland-station

 

Just viewed the new Goathland webcam and watched Tornado arrive and depart. Knew it were Tornado straight away as the 8 wheeler tender came into view first. The only 8 wheeler in service at the moment on the Moors [March 2018].

 

Just watched second episode of 'The Yorkshire Steam Railway' thought this one was a lot better than last weeks.

 

Yes Matt the second episode was better. Though it's a case of par for the course with these style "Fly on the Wall" documentaries [subject no matter] entertaining none the less. As I've already mentioned the series is directed at the general public rather than us enthusiasts. Case in point this morning I was in Fenwicks on Northumberland Street in Newcastle and fell into conversation with a guy, in the model department and he mentioned he'd seen the series so far and was planning a visit........

 

I must admit seeing Pickering on screen makes me think it's about time I pay a visit up there again. I do think a combination of steam trains and nice scenery's always a winner, despite my reservations about last weeks episode anything that puts bums on seats can't be a bad thing.

 

What was nice was that everyone seemed to be having a good time, even if it sometimes did go wrong.

The tip about not getting boiler insulation in your underpants made me laugh

 

I'm hearing rumours that the NYMR is already seeing positive effects in terms of Pullman train bookings - fingers crossed for Easter!

 

A serious bridge strike at Castleton Moor: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...e_after_lorry_strikes_railway_bridge/?ref=rss

Updated by the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-43387839

 

Blasted lorry drivers! This is really becoming unsupportable! Maybe we need to start doing something pretty severe to them, and publicizing it. (I'm thinking along the lines of throwing them live into large pots of boiling old - on live TV. OK, I'm being a bit over the top - but I am really ticked at these thoughtless people!)

Noel

 

You have to wonder if it's a foreign Trucker with limited English and relying on his/her sat nav for directions. Though it could be an English Trucker who is unfamiliar with the area and also relying on the infamous sat nav. How many times do you hear from some driver or other [not just Truckers] the cry of:- "Me sat nav said!" When caught out driving the wrong way down the motorway or what ever road........

 

Reported to be a bin lorry.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Indeed

 

It seems, on this occasion, Johnny Foreigner isn't to blame and I believe it's claimed most of the early glitches which sent massive pantechnicons down bridleways have been updated away. As all too often, it seems the flawed human element (which hasn't been) is once again at fault on this occasion.

I find myself in two minds about driverless vehicles, but incidents like this and the recent strike on the Spa Valley make it hard for me to maintain my loathing of leaving it all to computers and GPS. We look to be on the verge of practical driveless technology and keep in mind, once it's a daily reality, improvements in accident numbers caused by driver error will begin to fall fairly rapidly as well over 50% of all road vehicles invariably cycle out of use every decade, as newer kit hits the market .... which will be far faster than 50% of 'at risk' bridges could conceivably be replaced, assuming the funds and will to do so existed, which they don't.

In the meantime.....

New bridge installations are to completely revised standards, compared with their predecessors, but like it or not, we're stuck with existing structures and - more importantly - their approaches, unless something such as a major road scheme dictates otherwise.

One of the claimed advantages of SatNav (once past the evident prejudices of some - me included!) is that it's rapidly and readily updatable. Perhaps a Uni somewhere could be persuaded to look into the issue as part of some postgrad studies? Bob knows there have been enough official investigations, yet the issue persists, with monotonous regularity and all-too-predictable knock on consequences. Maybe the right questions aren't being asked? Just getting the questions right has got to be worth a PhD in anyone's books.

The ultimate arbiter of how the problem is dealt with of course will be cost. Insurance companies tire of compensation payouts pretty quickly, which is why the treasury invariably comes to some 'arrangement' with insurers to provide continuing cover (as happens with flooding, where they had to admit to the practice eventually). Use of the term 'risk' by the insurance industry always brings a wry smile to my face as it's Mr and Mrs Taxpayer who always tend to be 'underwriters of last resort' anyway.

 

As far as I can see the bridge strike - and other problems are down to

1. Drivers not measuring the height of their vehicles, and
2. Haulage companoes not providing proper 'truck' sat navs with up to date software to their drivers

As 1. is already a legal requirement, I suggest that we follow by making 2, one as well

 

Apparently the bridge was displaced by 10 inches [25cm] or so. Must have been hit with some force with the bin wagon going some speed. What's more having moved the bridge that far must have pretty well taken top of wagon off completely or mostly off. Still though a case of bridge 1 wagon 0. Whilst both Network Rail and Northern will be making a [combined/joint] claim for damages on the wagon owners insurance . The suggestion/query has been made on the N.Y.M.R. that the A1 Trust may be able to add a claim too as they were due to run from the moors to the Severn Valley via Grosmont and the Esk Valley. They're having go via Pickering New Bridge PWay yard and ironically wagon today.

 

Impressive viewing figures...

 

Perhaps we need more of what they seem to have in Australia - very strong girder beams placed before bridges so they take the impact, not the bridge.

 

Has Tornado left yet??

 

If just 1/10th of 1% of viewers visited in the year after seeing the programme, even with no-one who didn't see it in tow, that's nearly 18000 bums on seats. Put another way, that's a lot more than the total carried on the Talyllyn during the first year of preservation.

I wonder ..... would that be worth more than the sum total of the programme's digressions from total accuracy which exercised some folks?

 

Bookings for the Pullman Diner have evidently rocketed, since the program first aired.