Rother Valley Railway

Mark. There was initially just one turntable at Cannon Street that was much shorter than ours Thats the one in the picture and that some suggested is the one we have. Later on longer a 65ft TT was put in at Cannon Street as a second turntable in a different area. Its suggested that second turntable was the 1928 built one we have and which was removed and taken to the new Hither Green depot opened only a few years later in 1933 - but weve not seen any hard evidence of that transfer.

 

Hey.... that's my video

 

Thanks, Mike. I didn't know there were 2.

 

Thank you Mike - I'm guilty of quoting the 'moved from Cannon St' story based on what I read elsewhere (including RVR blogs) but, looking at your photos, I agree it's fairly clear these two TT's are not the same size. Fascinating stuff.

 

Two shown here ... https://maps.nls.uk/view/231272322#zoom=5&lat=3775&lon=15169&layers=BT (1919)

Looking at earlier maps, the turntable on the eastern side was shown by 1873 (https://maps.nls.uk/view/229950212#zoom=5&lat=2788&lon=15526&layers=BT), the second came later. (Of course, not necessarily the same table, but in the same location). Two turntables by 1895: https://maps.nls.uk/view/229950212#zoom=5&lat=2788&lon=15526&layers=BT

Caution: Browsing maps.nls.uk can cause serious damage to your free time ...

Tom

 

A bit like Nat Pres, then...... Not sure how you find time to do both, though, Tom.

 

You are so right there Tom.

 

I'm procrastinating from finishing tomorrow's Bluebell Times ...

Tom

 

A case for the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Small Engines .. .. (Oh! Hang on, that was the Midland Railway!).
Even from here I can see that the Dogfish were overloaded, so a good effort.
Pat

 

Thanks Mike - I had wondered whether that was the case.

 

That's the one!

 

And helping to keep the Bluebell running, and family, and a day job ...

 

For those who are members of the Supporters Association there are more pictures of the turntable in Pheonix which arrived today.

 

I know. That's a lot for one person. Makes me wonder if there is more to the James Squared name than I thought?

 

Moving back to matters RVR, and probably the most important one, when is the Ministers decision over the extension likily to be made public? Hopefully it shouldn't be much longer

 

Certainly not before the local elections in May. I’ve no idea whether the Inspector has completed his report but, assuming he has, once it’s on the Minister’s desk it’s anybody’s guess.

 

The last thing I saw is "due by the summer". With regard to the report this is likely to be quite long in view of the length of the Public Inquiry.

 

The timing of any announcement will almost certainly be governed by the ability of the RVR and National Highways to finally reach common ground on their remaining outstanding issues regarding the A21 crossing. It might even have already happened, but we certainly won't know anything about that until the Inspector has made his announcement. As Miff stated, the local elections may also have an influence on timing.
In the meantime, patience, mes amis.

 

Local elections will not have any bearing on the announcement. Purdah does not apply in this instance and furthermore there are no elections taking place in Rother District this year.

 

Roger Ford’s Informed Sources third law: always distrust schedules based on the seasons!

If the Portishead Development Consent Order decision process* is anything to go by (yes, I know it's a different process!) they will be going through it with a fine toothcomb, to avoid perceived grounds for appeal.

*Extended deadline for that is this week, 19 April, and they had the application 19 July 2021