West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Indeed, several of us asked the same question, if its delivered to Minehead, and nothing moves this side of Christmas, then , people will start asking why.

 

That does seem to be the intention though doesn’t it? Nothing before March 2021 has been mentioned.

 

I'm not a level-crossing expert, nor am I aware yet - but happy for someone to advise me - of all the (alleged) issues surrounding Seaward Way, but from what i can deduce so far the two main issues claimed are that (1) it does not meet the latest standards and (2) it is now 'unreliable'.

IMHO neither issue is a 'show stopper' that prevents trains operating between Mb and all stations east thereof. There are many things on railways which do not meet the latest standards, but that does not mean that they have suddenly become unsafe. You plan an upgrade and in due course it is implemented - hopefully before the next change in standards renders it obsolescent!

As regards 'unreliability', then provided any fault always results in a fail-safe condition, then again no safety issue, simply the annoyance factor of having to do a repair. If the frequency of such failures is considered too great, then a simple and pragmatic answer might be simply to man the crossing in 'local control mode' at all times. OK, so suddenly you need to roster another person all the time that trains are running, but at least you would keep the trains running. You'd also need to provide that person with a nicer warm shelter close-by!

 

No........why ? no need to ? line is under PW possessions

 

Exactly. That was the point I was making.

 

Where is the DMU ? A shuttle from BL would be cheap to operate and prioritising any issues on the section to Watchet would widen the market.

 

Such a place already exists right next to the crossing. It even has toilets, and provides refreshments in the form of Big Mac and fries.

At the risk of opening another can of worms, but isn’t it SCCs responsibility to upgrade the crossing anyway?

 

This might shed a little light:
https://democracy.somerset.gov.uk/documents/s5628/Decision Report WSR Seaward Way Crossing.docx.pdf
Covid is probably the reason for any delay.

 

can't a flagman be used to protect the crossing, for a movement ? I find it hard to understand, if there are no PW possession on the Williton to BL section, and a service could be run safely that does not effect any ongoing works, and may add revenue why not open up part of the line, otherwise you might start to wonder why?

 

My understanding is that the cost will be met by SCC but the actual work will be carried out by WSR staff.

 

Correct, so it will be delivered by road transport to Minehead.

 

If the barriers close and the red road lights work but the signalling is not operational, then yes, this is a relatively common occurrence. If the barriers don't close, my understanding is that only a police officer has the authority to stop the traffic. Certainly, seeing the speed of some traffic using the crossing, despite the 30mph limit, I wouldn't dare step into the road with just a red flag! Happy to be corrected on the police issue if I'm wrong.

 

I'd always understood that a police officer could not authorise someone to cross over a railway line? They could stop you but not actually send you across?

 

I expect you are correct. The PC would probably need the authority of the hand-signalman to cease stopping the traffic (as opposed to sending you across).

 

It gets better by the minute.

 

Only for a while . Look how he ended up !

 

Only the WSR Facebook group could have a topic about ‘Which former resident you would like to see return’

Quite a few people have said 53808!

 

As I see it, there are two elements to the Seaward Way crossing operations....

1. The actual functionality of the crossing itself, ie the lights flashing, the barriers coming down and the treadles etc which trigger/cancel the operation. These could be worked locally if so required.

2. The interface between the crossing controls and the signalling. As the crossing is 'locally monitored' there is no direct interlocking between it and the signalling, insofar as the signalman is able to pull the relevant levers for Up or Down trains despite the barriers being up and the lights out (unlike at BA, where he must close the gates and lock them across the road first). However the controls on the Down Inner Home and its associated subsidiary signals are such that, even when the signalman has pulled the relevant lever, none of those signals (all colour-light) will show a 'proceed' aspect until the barriers have been proven down, the road lights flashing and the driver's white light flashing. It might be necessary therefore to isolate that interface and require the signalman not to clear any signal until he has received permission from the crossing attendant.

As regards police, the main issue is that no police officer may authorise traffic to pass the flashing [#] red lights and cross the railway without the specific authorisation of the controlling signalman. If a car driver ignored a railway flag-man with a red flag and then got hit by a train, I doubt he would get much sympathy from a court (assuming he survived).

# Flashing red lights are treated differently from steady red lights.

 

I suspect that the many motorists who use all the various level crossings along the WSR line are happy there are no trains. You know how many motorists seem quite impatient these days, so there are no hold ups for them whilst there are no trains.