Swanage Railway General Discussion

Hardly a secret and it was a close call. At the time, the Bluebell were battling to fund purchase of the line from BR, following their decision to terminate existing lease arrangements, which was also the reason attempts to save a K class mogul failed, one apparently having been specifically earmarked (at Willesden, I believe (despite others being stored dead at Hove). I can't vouch for tales of a tender full of spares, although certain rescues are known to have come thus equipped! Perhaps it was the unique status of Fenchurch, something of a local celebrity as the oldest, which tipped the scales, The tale (which I first learned many moons ago) gets a mention in this piece, oddly in the section headed 'The Next 60 Years' a ways down the page:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...-six-decades-of-worlds-most-popular-line/amp/

 

I stand corrected. It was a long time ago now and I was only an uninvolved youngster at the time. Apologies

Peter

 

No worries Peter. TBH, i really ought to have sourced a suitable link before posting. I was still at the ankle biting stage myself back then (I mean 1964, not the last hour) !

 

Assuming this is still the Swanage Railway thread, Where else can you store the freight and engineer wagons on the SR.
Siding space is and always have been a premium. It should also be noted that at Herston, the track has had to be lifted for the construction of the carriage shed.

 

Of course just because you live near rich people it doesn't follow that you yourself will get rich by default.

What the Bluebell undoubtedly does benefit from (along with a number of other lines such as the Severn Valley, Isle of Wight and Great Central) is that it has space to play with. The stations on the line were big country stations with large yards, on which can be built sheds and sidings to keep the "linear scrapyards" to a minimum. This isn't a luxury afford to many lines (such as the Swanage or Mid Hants) but it means that the more decrepit and unsightly projects can be kept out of sight of the punters more easily.

 

I have just returned from a few days at Corfe. It was a pleasure to see trains operating again although I missed out on 80104 (running today) which I remember from her LTSR days and would liked to have seen again before her ticket expires. We spent a couple of days walking old mineral lines. It seems many visitors are clueless about this aspect of Purbeck history although the evidence is all around. I think most are just as oblivious to the stored SR vehicles. It is easy to forget what a triumph the restoration of the Swanage line has been. Most of the line is utterly delightful.

 

The linear scrapyard of today is the living museum of tomorrow.

I know one guy who spent the 1990s buying up steam-era freight stock as it was withdrawn from mainline use. He ended up with around 35 wagons, and manages to restore about one a year. I am sure his life's work will be completed and be an asset to the railway, but for now there's likely to be a siding of 20+ "scrap" wagons for the next 20 or so years. The chap concerned collects the wagons because he likes them, they are useful once restored, and he contributes to the railway in many, many ways. Should his collection be given their marching orders though?

 

This does tend to create the illusion that once restored that's job done. Nothing could be further from the truth. By the time your man has restored the last of his 35 freight wagons the original restorations will have deteoriated back to the state they were in when he started 35 years earlier.. Alas, like everything else, no restoration last forever. So do you carry on restoring them all or do you cease restorations and concentrate on maintaining those you have already done. This is one of preservations big dilemas.

Peter

 

Yes, I was keeping it simplistic. In this case the older restorations are kept maintained and don't generally deteriorate. But there is still a long line of stored wagons to get through and a consequent linear scrapyard!

 

It's just the well-known and worldwide 'Y Chromosome Issue', which also applies in equal measure to hoovering and visiting the in-laws.

 

This was Herston on the 8th and looks very similar this afternoon with another loaded spoil train in the same place. I think the two sidings at Harmans Cross are pretty full and the DMU's will be at Corfe although I have not been to the station area since Christmas.

Swanage do some good wagon restorations. The two mishapen Super Turbot's behind the 33 in the first link now look a lot better for example.

https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-66jngLb
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-b82MNSP
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-Tmbc56h

 

Sorry, But I am unable to view the three smugmug photos, as they seem to require a username and password.

 

Andy I will try to find the originals and post them as a jpg. I guess SmugMug recognised I was already signed in when I checked the link worked.

 

Try…

https://garypacker.smugmug.com/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-66jngLb
https://garypacker.smugmug.com/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-b82MNSP
https://garypacker.smugmug.com/Swanage-Stock/Wagons/i-Tmbc56h

Simon

 

Try these Andy

 

Thanks for that Simon and "Gladiator 5076"
Andy

 

Maybe for the next gala the demonstration freight could be made up of the Turbot's and Dogfish wagons for a change?

 

Off course Swanage does have "offsite storage" away from the railway where several carriages live under cover. However in Purbeck's AONB, this sort of accommodation is rarely available and therefore leaves Swanage Railway with a bigger dilemma than other railways. It is easy to criticise and not compare like with like.

 

I wonder if there is also sometimes a case, as had been eluded to on the Llangollen thread, of lack of clarity over who owns certain items of rolling stock, so nobody is doing anything to restore them but then nobody wants to make the decision to get rid in case the owner suddenly appears and complains.
A railway I have close ties with have announced recently they are having a review of stock on the railways, and if people have a claim to ownership of an item they should declare it within 2 months, otherwise it will be assumed to be a company asset to be restored / stored / sold as the company sees fit.
Not saying that is the case for all items of rolling stock at every railway, but it wouldn't surprise me if it isn't the case for at least one forgotten wagon or coach at the end of a siding where it's sat for 20 years...