Swanage Railway General Discussion

People have been asking if it could work through to Wareham, haven't they?

 

In terms of grass cutting - the "on trend" method at the moment is to leave it long where possible to encourage wildlife diversity and also carbon capture. Many councils are actively designating areas to be left uncut for this reason - and probably because it saves money employing people to cut it!

 

One worked in through Wareham yesterday from London and has done several times. As far as I know both are standard specification.
I think a lot of the constraints were relaxed when TPWS was introduced. @twr12 will have a better idea.

 

I don't know about the camel's back, but it has broken the ferry.....

 

Is there anychance we could put the Swanage Railway/Chain Ferry Issues/Public Transport stuff in another thread, this is starting to hack me off

 

Not all of the "diverse wildlife" that lives in these swathes of uncut grass is human friendly. Try having an allergic reaction to a Blandford Fly bite.

 

All you need to do is report a post (any post) in the thread and ask the mods to move the stuff. No point in asking in the middle of a thread as they may not see your request.

Keith

 

Standard spec, but with a locomotive coupled at each end.

 

Yesterdays tour at Harmans Cross. Same two locos as the previous week 73201 and 73107

 

A loco at each end is the way round the crashworthiness issues (but obviously increases operating costs) , but how are they circumvented with the DMUs - are they to a later design considered up to modern spec?

 

My understanding is that some DMUs - for example, Class 101s - are considered to be 'Mark 1s' with separate body and chassis but others - including Class 117 and 121 - are considered to be of 'integral construction' and hence not subject to the same rules as Mark 1s.

Mark 1s are no longer subject to the same restrictions that required a Mark 2 on the back due to updated risk assessment, based in a large part on the success of TPWS but also in part on the thought of what happens when a 'solid' Mark 2 hits the preceding 'soft' Mark 1!

Steven

 

The 4TCs seem to be Mk1 coaches with driving cabs added.
The LU owned 4TC unit seems to be busy with mainline and Met line charters as long as a loco is at each end, rather than in push pull mode with one loco (in a previous post someone said it was tested and worked at Swanage with a 33).
Soon when the refurbuished Brighton Belle will be used for charters, looks like the driving cab will be suitable for mainline use. But the LU don't seem in any rush to update their 4TC driving cabs.
From the 4TC group the aim is to refurbuish their 4TC unit and base it at Swanage and have made some progress. There is no mention of it meeting current mainline standards, so might not be used for charter trips?

 

It’s worth remembering that, whatever the intended use, maintaining the cabs in working order would require the cabs and associated multiple working equipment to be maintained both on the unit and any locomotive with which they may work. This would only apply to class 73s (none based at Swanage) and class 33/1s (one based at Swanage).

I wouldn’t be able to criticise any decision to stop short of that level of restoration.


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I'd agree with the last point first ..... albeit reluctantly. T'ain't my 4TC or money, so the following is merely an observation from a personal perspective.

Surely the feature unique to 4TCs, among the myriad preserved MKI fleet, is precisely the provision of a driving cab? Recall that these units/sets represent a significant milestone in UK railway operations, as the first commercial application of the pull-push principle (yep..... I've got a 'Southern' tint!) which wasn't a branch line plodder and paved the way for other mainline services, notably Edinburgh - Glasgow and the Gatwick Express.

It's been remarked on before that many among our number (with some notably honourable exceptions) can tend to be a tad 'loco-centric', to the exclusion of much else of historic worth. I rather think the sad demise of the electric museum in Coventry only reinforces the charge. Fingers crossed the folks behind the 5BEL can demonstrate a successful model for preservation and operation of fixed units, in the same way that A1SLT did for another 'impossible dream'. Remember .... something's only impossible 'til someone goes and does it!

Of all heritage lines, the Swanage, right in the heart of p-p territory, seems ripest for a fully operational 4TC, doing what it was designed for .... and there certainly appears to be an appropriate requirement, as Wareham services appear, to me at least, ideally suited. That said, we are where we are and practicality is dictated by the availability, or otherwise, of funds. So long as any restorations don't preclude the eventual reinstallation of full p-p functionality, I guess we just have to suck it up and accept the reality of the situation.

 

I agree that the ferry doesn't belong on the thread but isn't discussion of the public transport issues exactly what these fora are for? Better than just repeating the railway's own publicity material (mentioning no railways in North Devon!)

 

If everyone on NP confined their posts and observations to a twenty mile radius of where they live then this would be a most uninteresting place. Rather like the magic 200 miles of the WSR!

 

I believe the 200 mile limit is restricted to 12 miles round coastal waters, and is drawn along the median dividing line of contiguous territories between neighbouring lines. Territorial lines of allowable external commentary along the western Solent are particularly keenly contested.

Tom

 

I guess so as there is no other mainline approved loco serviceable currently, and it was down to replace a 73 on one of the Sunday tours and the following day the 4TC moves early morning from Eastleigh to Waterloo for the Warminster trip it appears, so maybe being used on that with a 73? But all guess work on my part.

 

Correct. The TC tour to Warminster for Imber on the 17th is indeed supposed to involve 33012. The 4TC needs ETH for central door locking and the 73/9s have an ETH voltage that is too high for the TC. 73/1s cannot ETH when on diesel and in any case the risk of overheating between Basingstoke and Warminster cannot be ignored if it would be a hot day.

 

The service train from Waterloo to Corfe Castle is running to plan today. <BJ>
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Q04495/2019/08/10/advanced