SVR General Discussion

1501 pulls into Kidderminster with the 1:18pm service from Bridgnorth on Thursday 30th of December.

 

The 2021 season has now finished and the next public train will be on 2nd April :-D

 

Apart from all those ‘test runs’ and ‘crew training’ runs my Dad sees from the bottom of his street
Seriously is there nothing at least pencilled in for half term in February?
Someone needs to have a word with the GM.

 

That isn't unheard of this year. Extended maintenance period and unknowns on what can be done even in February are all in play.

 

Two major projects. Network Rail is replacing the long footbridge over the line at Kidderminster between January and May. From May the MPD is closed for a number of months for roof and crane works: between now and then overdue and planned maintenance needs to be done on the fleet, as much work as possible is to be done on the five locos undergoing restoration/overhaul, and everything needs to be moved out and stored.

I think from Matt Robinson's notes last month there will be some weedkilling train testing too, which will help offset the revenue from half-term traffic.

 

Can’t argue with that, fair enough Patrick

 

There's also work at Sterns I believe. The railway will be far from quiet.

The post christmas festive season was well used, with only Boxing day a little quiet from what I saw (Boxing Day is often a little mixed, this year was no different).

 

Yes, Sterns is one of the projects that Chris Bond listed in https://www.svrlive.com/blnov21. The drainage works near Country Park Halt will be very welcome too, it was reported last week that the cess was wet.

Going back to the closure period, a comment from one of the PWay team from last winter's works is that you get far more done in an uninterrupted period, apart from the loss of days it's simply because you don't have to stop, make everything safe, and move the equipment twice.

Patrick

 

Id like to see you challenge her.

As Patrick has said. 2 major projects but he has also missed out on thats not immediately obvious in the first few months of the year. There will be alot of work going on within Bridgnorth shed to prep for the roof and crane works. Having an extra 6 weeks without the worry of maintaining 2 running locos will give the paid staff and volunteers extra time to move machinery and tools out of the shed. We also have concrete to pour before the contractors turn up so we are out of their way when they start.

Im sure the HODs have looked at the risk/ reward of running from Feb half term. In previous years, it hasnt been worth running.

Again, as Patrick has said. The Pway/ contractors have a clear 3 month run at Sterns, we are also hamstrung by Network rail with Bridge 104. When we ran just to Bewdley in 2020, it didnt justify running.

 

I think that a growing number of railways are coming to the conclusion that it is not worth the hassle of running at February half-term. Whilst the additional cash injection may be welcome at this time of year, the true benefit is probably negative. Other railways may not have similar works to those happening at Bridgnorth but you can bet that most will have infrastructure works to contend with, most of which can't be carried out whilst trains are running and both the effort required to put things back together and the loss of time are not insubstantial. Add to this that we are in the coldest time of the year and the fun and games that can be had in keeping steam locomotives and steam heated stock operational when the weather is below freezing and you can bet that most people involved will heave a sigh of relief to hear that there will be no trains. We've been lucky in recent years in terms of cold weather but global warming hasn't entirely put an end to cold spells and snow.

 

The Bluebell is running in the February half term (but with a six week shut down before hand) and I assume we have done our maths. Visitor patterns in different areas may be different, of course.

Years ago, we ran 52 weekends of the year, and of course, everyone remembers 'that' brilliant day they had in January when it was cold and crisp and the steam hung in the air and the public came in droves. They forget the other four weekends when it was wet and drizzly and no-one came ... A longer shutdown definitely makes substantial track work more feasible, and I guess most lines will be finding they have to do that more and more.

Tom

 

I think the 'not closed' section in 2022 would be only from Bewdley to Highley too.

It hasn't, but increased wetness too. The new then GM's first experience was Storm Dennis with huge flooding, major damage and a big drop in income. Her second was Covid, which puts the first into context, but storm and flood with damage to infrastructure seems to be a growing risk.

It's a thought that the MD has had ~2 months of normal followed by ~23 months of crisis.

Thanks, much appreciated. Kick off editorial was today and publication's next Thursday, 13th.

 

Had a nice trip on the SVR last Wednesday, typically the only day S2 did a full diagram with no steam heat! Luckily it was something like 16 degrees!

Does anybody know if the railway has done away with first class supplements? We weren't charged for travelling on the GW set and I couldn't see stickers in one of the newer out-shopped Mk1 CKs. Is this temporary maybe with covid?

 

First Class wasn't charged when it was pre-book/fixed train and it was decided not to start charging when it moved to 'hop on, hop off' (or whatever you want to call it) as it was 2/3 of the way through the year. I would be surprised if it doesn't return next year along with sets in a more practical layout.

 

As an aside I looked at other railways near me in case I wanted a February fix and DFR. ESR, WSR, MHR and GWSR all don't run. The SDR is operating part of the line. It would instead be a trip to relatives in the SE or North!

EDIT: Swanage is running, but that's 2h15m away. A bit far for a day trip

Patrick

 

That's correct. Running from February 19th. <BJ>
Timetable - Swanage Railway