Swanage Railway General Discussion

Horrah...

 

Has anyone else thought about the idea of showing off British Tech with a couple of class 230s for a few summer weeks on a Heritage Railway. Some of us remember the real Raison d'etre of the SRP!!

 

http://vivarail.co.uk/class-230-development/
Mmm …..nice. <BJ>

 

Having been held for the T9 to arrive, 257 Squadron pulls away (with a small slip) from a signal check outside Harmans Cross with the the first down service of the day on a sunny Easter Monday in Purbeck.

 

What a pleasant photograph Mr.Gladiator 5076. This is what we've been missing. <BJ>

 

I see 257 Squadron was used on the shunt at Corfe today and to move a Crane that I noticed going through Corfe on the webcam about 1550
Waiting in all afternoon for the burglar alarm engineer meant I missed any opportunity for any images.
Not sure if the 33 has an issue or the Bulleid was used as it was still in steam from yesterday.

 

257 Squadron was out part on departmental moves, part on a footplate staff training day.

 

Still no update on the Swanage Railway website about the Gala's Wareham to Norden bus service, so doubt if few attending the Gala would know about it?

Would be good if the the DMUs are unlikely to make it back for the summer.
But the rental costs might be simular to the previousWCR and LU 4TC service and not be cost effective.
The concept of using batteries is really good and Viva Rail have already shown the refurbished class 230s to work at other railways, so will probably ask for a commercial rental rate?

 

Thanks for the info RUMPOLE.
My dad missed 257 with the crane as well but he did send me the attached of it with the two vans at Swanage.

 

The inevitable question is was the cost of restoration of the DMU's worth it???? Still not in service after what is it ?aa3 years or more at Eastleigh

 

Compared to the cost of a more modern 4 car unit it probably looks cheap but the true test will be in how many years reliable service we get from it once it finally returns. From the point of view of it looking right and fitting in without detracting from the Heritage operation, its age is a plus point as are the views obtained riding in it.

Compared to Loco hauled MK1 its also cheaper on track access because of low axle loading. Operationally its more flexible than loco hauled as there isn't a need to runaround.

As we are talking about non steam haulage here the only comparison would be the TC. It probably could have been overhauled more cheaply and quickly but would cost more in track access and then you have the costs of the mainline 33 to factor in. On balance its hard to compare.

The biggest problem with the DMUs has undoubtedly been the reputational damage from non delivery of the service. The cost of this is hard to measure.

 

Indeed. The TC + a 33/1 may have been quicker to mainline - at least there would have been no dependencies on spares that are difficult or time-consuming to obtain. Being able to drive from the cab of the TC on the main line would certainly require some changes that would need design, design approval, implementation, sign-off (etc). How long that would take might depend on whether would be any re-use of what's been done for the hastings unit or for Gordon the VEP. I don't know if a 33/1 is different enough from a 33/0 or a 33/2 that it would require special treatment to mainline.

 

At the time of drawing up the original project outline, heart would have indicated 33+TC as being the optimum option. However...
* The original rationale included the fact that the monocoque construction of the DMUs mean that obtaining mainline approval for use on scheduled services was much easier (the derogation regarding speed-limits that applied to the NYMR not being possible on a stretch of mainline that, although short, has a far higher speed limit).
* The HMRI advice (it was that long ago - but the advice didn't change with the move to ORR!) was that a leading Mk 1 vehicle could not carry passengers on the main-line - fine running one way (loco-first) but limiting capacity when being pushed.
* At the time there were no main-line registered push-pull fitted 33s available within the pool of preserved 33s (let alone those readily available to SR)
* Track access for DMUs was significantly less that for locos with hauled stock. Although ways around this have been found for EMUs, these involve significant rebuilding which would have given no advantage over the DMUs in terms of cost or speed of entry to service.
At that stage, the only affordable option was to go for up to 5 DMU vehicles (subsequently reduced to 4?) giving far higher capacity that 3 Mk1s (accounting for a non-passenger carrying driving car), with much lower track charges and an accepted safety case for limited main-line use over an option that, at that point, had not gained any form of approval and would result in significantly higher operational costs.

 

A very understandable conclusion given what was known at the time about the state of the DMUs.

 

Not that much different, waist level air pipes, buckeye couplings and a rubbing plate. The Southern Region really thought about standardisation with it's locos and EMU's.

 

Some more news on Wareham services from newsletter:

An update about the proposed DMU services to Wareham Trevor Parsons, Chairman of the Swanage Railway Company, writes: Having carried out visits to Eastleigh on several occasions since February, we are now becoming more confident that the DMUs will arrive back at the Railway before too long. It is hoped that the engines will be fitted and running within the next six weeks and then extensive testing undertaken with the units to make sure they meet all the requirements to travel out onto the mainline. The maintenance pit for the units is scheduled to be constructed in the sidings at Corfe after the Diesel Gala in May. Whether or not the units will run to Wareham in 2019 will depend on the financial viability of using our drivers and guards with a third party TOC (Train Operating Company ). Our own TOC will not be in place until next year. We have reached an agreement with South Western Railway to run a summer Saturday service to Corfe Castle similar to last year, subject to fitting in with both SR and the mainline timetables. During August an additional charter is coming to Swanage on Sundays together with one or two at other times through 2019.

 

I thought the maintenance pit was going to be at the old oil sidings. What happened to that?

 

The negotiations to get a lease on the Perenco sidings are still ongoing. These have been very protracted for a number of reasons, most recently the merging of Purbeck District council (plus other district councils) with Dorset Country Council to form a new unitary authority ‘Dorset Council’. The council will be taking the lease from Perenco and subletting to the Swanage Railway. This local government reorganisation has caused a hiatuses of about a year in the negotiations.

There are additional issues with road access to the site which would be required for crew, fitters and fuel delivery. Even with the lease granted these access issues make the site difficult as an operational base. In the longer term we still expect the Perenco sidings to have an important role in the delivery of the service but we are forced to create an interim facility to enable the service to commence as soon as possible. After much soul searching siding 1 at Corfe was selected as the least bad location.

For a Railway with a very intensive operation and trying to expand further we have very little space.

 

The Facebook page of Heritage Carriage Group people has an up date, the Maunsell Drop Window Third S1381S seems to be 'close' to traffic.

 

Thanks for the DMU update, notice the website has been finally been updated with the gala bus service. The DMU info on the website is minimal. Guess even though I attend the railway every other year might be worth joining the membership to get the newsletter and discounts.