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Swanage Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Rumpole, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. derby2

    derby2 New Member

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    Would it be true that this through service to Corfe from Salisbury holds the record for the most reversals en route of any UK train (four)?
     
  2. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

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    Think this one might beat it.
    I know its a tour rather than a regular service.
    https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/760228lu.html
     
  3. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    I dare say many a railtour has involved more than four reversals, but I'd be surprised if any regular timetabled train has. Some apparently similar workings are split over two separate train IDs, and it's slightly surprising that this one isn't treated as Basingstoke-Weymouth and Weymouth-Corfe. But officially it is a single working.
     
  4. 21B

    21B Part of the furniture

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    It has nothing to do with confidence. You're suggesting that the two products offered by the Swanage are so differentiated that people will pay extra for the steam train ride. I agree for the present. The limited service this year is unlikely to cause any issues to the main service. However, it is clear there is a body of opinion that sees this as "the thin end of the wedge" and that the desirable other end of the wedge is regular services along the whole length of the line connecting with Waterloo. This "thick end" has the potential (at least) to abstract from the Swanage Railway quite considerably in a number of ways.

    Anyway, it isnt my problem, so I will simply observe with interest how all this develops since the running of "ordinary" services over "heritage" railways will I think be a bigger and bigger pressure. It may offer great opportunities, but it also holds huge pitfalls. Very happy for the Swanage to blaze this particular trail.
     
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  5. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    I'm sure that the West Somerset are watching with great interest
     
  6. stephenvane

    stephenvane Member

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    So where does the leave the proposed Swanage railway run services to Wareham using the 117 and bubble car?

    Are the SWR services just a one off this year, or will they continue I wonder?

    There certainly isn’t room for both, especially if SWR only charge £5.
     
  7. alastair

    alastair Well-Known Member

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    Good question. As far as I know, the official line is that the completed units were supposed to arrive on the railway "in summer 2018" so that staff could be trained for a 90 day trial service to commence in spring 2019. Anyone know if this is still the case? Wasnt their overhaul fully funded by external bodies so hopefully shortage of funds is not a problem ?

    I suppose it's important to note that the SWR service is very limited running for just a dozen or so days and for just a few hours a day.
     
  8. John Baritone

    John Baritone New Member

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    I agree; thinking back to the early 60s when the first standard gauge preserved lines got off the ground, in many respects the systemic differences between branch lines and heritage lines were relatively small - but that was nearly 60 years ago!

    Look at signalling systems, traction, coaching stock - or even the on-board computer systems used in RRVs - let alone the mind-boggling complexity of current main line rule books, forms, and operational procedures; 'us' and 'them' are a world apart. A junction such as the one at Matlock, where Peak Rail use one road, and the mainliners use the another, with a platform in between and the rail connection locked out of use, is relatively easy to set up and run. Trying to dovetail two significantly different systems together - even if the overlap is only from Norden to Corfe - is a whole different ball-game.

    All credit to the people at Swanage for giving it a go, but I think it's going to be a very steep learning curve.
     
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  9. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Dovetailing is needed only at the interface between the preserved line's signalling system, procedures, etc and those of NR and the external TOC. When the train is on SR track it's controlled by SR signals, obeys their speed limit, etc. Just the same as for the occasional through running onto other preserved lines.
     
  10. John Baritone

    John Baritone New Member

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    I've been talking to the people who've been planning the extension of the East Lancs Railway to Castleton, and they've been working on that interface of "signalling systems, procedures, etc" for years; if what they've told me is anything to go by, there are a heck of a lot of 'etceteras', and the process is anything but simple.
     
  11. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    Fair comment, but once the arrangements are in place for regular through running (as they presumably are now for the Swanage Railway) it should go smoothly enough.
     
  12. seawright

    seawright New Member

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    How do SWR train crews gain route familiarisation between Worgret Junction and Corfe Castle or do they pick up a Swanage Railway pilot at Wareham?
     
  13. Rumpole

    Rumpole Part of the furniture

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    SR Conductor Driver and Guard picked up during the stop at Wareham, as with any other operation onto SR by an external operator.
     
  14. seawright

    seawright New Member

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    Did this happen throughout last years trial Swanage to Wareham service or did the requirement reduce once WCR train crew had become familiar with the route and signalling systems?
     
  15. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    I believe so, I know one of the WCRC drivers involved and he always had a Swanage person in the cab with him, and there was always a WCRC guard as well as an SR guard on any train I either traveled on or witnessed at Swanage Station.
     
  16. 007

    007 Member

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    At all times, a Swanage Railway pilot crew is required. One was with every one of the West Coast services last year and this continues now.

    Its not only route and signalling, its a different rule book and as such, SR retains its right to control the railway and its operations.
     
  17. David R

    David R Well-Known Member

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    Well, last year it was £15 Wareham to Swanage, this year it's £5 to Corfe and £10 onto Swanage so still £15

    I would say that the next few years could be an ongoing learning curve as Swange seek a formula that allows some kind of through service from Wareham that can pay it's way and not abstract revenue from the heritage operation. To a limited extent this may be possible, and this years operation by SWR is not necessarily incompatible with the proposed 117/121 operation. Especially if the inital ambition is to provide a seasonal summer service linking Corfe and Swanage with the main line. Think more Newquay branch than commuter service.

    At this stage I'll just say this will be interesting to watch, but I wish them well.

    David R
     
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  18. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    Deleted
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2018
  19. Mogul

    Mogul Member

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    I can confirm that SR operated services using the 117 is still very much the plan of record and we hope to commence these in 2019. We certainly won't want to be competing with SWR on our own metals so any SWR operation in 2019 will need to be complementary in some way. I imagine a end-on type of connection.

    The SWR pricing is unsustainably cheap and may cause some politically difficult comparisons with the SR fairs. Apart from that the SWR service in its current form is harmless enough and does serve to relieve some pressure on the organization and allow it some breathing room. I do hope tho that Pandora's box has not been opened by the operation of this service. A more extensive encroachment will damage the core operation in a number of ways. Some are concerned that there is a danger of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

    It's worth noting that there is not much spare capacity (or appetite) within SWR for the type of extensive services that the stakeholders hope to establish.
     
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  20. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

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    A lot of money, some public funds I believe, have been sunk into this project. I am pretty sure, that this was not a philanthropic venture.
     

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