Rother Valley Railway

It’s a pit, though, and the ORR are rather keen on pit protection.

 

Particularly as there will be a degree of public access to the turntable area. This, I believe, was a requirement for the trust to recieve grant funding to aid with the installation, so the necessity becomes more obvious.

 

A flick through “Southern Sheds” (Hawkins and Reeve) shows Ewer Street (in London on the line between Charing Cross and London Bridge) and Redhill as other examples with rotating fences - both ex-SECR. Very tentatively, I’d suggest - on the southern at least - that they may have been the preferred choice where space was very tight and the position was such that they would see lots of foot traffic past them. In places where they were more out of the way, for example at the far end of a loco depot, less need for them. To which you layer on additional complexity of which turntable supplier did each pre-grouping company prefer; and what the prevailing thoughts were at the time a turntable was installed (or replaced).

Tom

 

There has been a recent update on the RVR blog pages with more pictures of the turntable.

 

Further updates concerning the turntable are on the RVR Blog at:

http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/

 

I hope that nice (?) Mr. Shapps will find time to make a decision on RVR’s TWAO application before becoming Prime Minister, or being shuffled off by whoever does.

 

Just realised it's just over a year since the Public Inquiry started [6th July 2021] - the website states that the inspector is writing his report. So it shouldn't be long now.

 

Don't underestimate the risk of being caught up in the current nonsenses at No 10.

 

I'd reckon the inspector completed his report months ago and it's somewhere in the queue of many things for the SoS's attention.

 

A new SoS who will be wondering quite how much reading he wants to do before the inevitable reshuffle...

 

And may well be looking for the items to read that simultaneously tick two boxes: “make me look popular” and “don’t upset the natives”. If you’ve got a backlog of decisions to make and an uncertain future, why would you get immediately stuck in to the difficult stuff?

Tom

 

I'm not sure how much detail the SoS will actually look at - I suspect that Civil Servants in the policy team will do most of the reading and make a recommendation based on whatever policy is set.

 

I just hope the next SoS, isn't a certain farmer supporting former local councillor, who it has to be said has no Hart for Hastings, and hopefully will at the next election a former member of Parliament .

 

I suppose it could be a certain local MP who is chair of the Transport Select Committee who is supportive of the RVR. The opposition would cry foul if it was.

 

I’d still like to hope the existing one will be able to make this decision before moving on, after all he may still be there at least until September.

 

MP's are legally obliged to declare any potential conflict oc interest. Failure to do so leaves them open to all sorts of problems. Not doing so when anyone who looks will realise they're conflicted would be monumentally cretinous, even for this crop of feral lunatics.

During that bobawful LibCon coalition, Norman Baker (LD Lewes) held a minor transport portfolio and discounted himself from the process concerning the still not reopened Uckfield-Lewes line, making him no more or less useless than Andrew Adonis (Lab), who likewise did s-d all during his stint at DafT.

 

As always much comes down the 11th Commandment, although even most MPs could likely name their constituency, if not actually find it unaided, it'd be tricky even for one of this shower to deny their own Hansard entries.

 

Still no decision from Mr. Shapps. But good news from Robertsbridge - the turntable goes round:
http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/2022/07/youtube-video-player.html

 

I was about to post this link but you beat me to it!

The previous blog post mentions a new booklet on the first 25 years of the supporters' association - well worth purchasing.