West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Not just the HRA - we all should as individuals be setting an example both within and without the railway environment.

Peter

 

Really? I am not sure whether you intended to appear sarcastic or not, and maybe it is just my reading. If sarcasm then perhaps you are not being very inclusive? Anyway here is a link to an explanation https://www.acas.org.uk/improving-equality-diversity-and-inclusion

 

Despite the fancy term, what it boils down to is what we were discussing upthread: just treating other people decently, or "do as you would be done by".
Mind you, take the direct opposite of ED&I and you get a good summary of much of the WSR's woes over the past few years.

 

I wasn’t being sarcastic.
I’ve been retired now for many years and am not familiar with the latest ideology relating to the workplace.

 

+1
D1002 I did not think that you were being sarcastic either, I guess each and everyone to their own opinion.

 

Fair enough. Tone is a very difficult and potentially subjective thing when reading something written, and the interpretation depends on your frame of reference. In fact one of the things about improving inclusion in the workplace is to specifically recognise this fact and allow for it

 

Tender T2061 for Odney Manor.

In recent past there has been a lot of painting and one coat of paint looks very much like another hence the lack of updates.

The important progress has been the grit blasting and painting of the tank and associated components, this has been undertaken by professional contractors on site at Plymouth. The blasting was specified to standard BS EN ISO 8501-1 SA 2.5 with independent inspection and then painted with 2 pack epoxy paints, one primer, and internally 3 top coats with a strip coat on raised edges. This has resulted in good quality protection on the water side, the work being funded by the West Somerset Railway Association as their contribution towards the project, our thanks go to them.

Upon return of the tank and sundry plate work the final riveting of the side fenders and rear coal plate took place along with the riveting in place of the well tank to the frames. Other items fitted have been the water scoop dome and water level indicator gear. Testing of the water level indicator involved playing around with a trough of water under the tank at a known height to ensure that the float floated and the indicator was calibrated correctly.

On the top of the frames GWR tenders had a timber support for the steel base of the main tank. This timber was nominally 1.25" thick but due to the original frames being "slightly" old and not quite level we could not guarantee that we had ended up with the correct gap for the timber. To overcome this we have reduced the thickness of timber and will make up the gap with a thin layer of epoxy putty which will be squashed down to the correct thickness when the tank is lowered into place.

When the tank was returned from Plymouth it was temporarily placed on the accommodation bogies and the well refitted to the frames. Yesterday we hired in a pair of 3 tonne gantries to do any tank lifting as the lifting capacity we had in our shed was not sufficient for the job.

Andy.

The well tank in place with the timber support spacers around the well. (Photo - Paul Orrells)


The rear of the painted tank with the water scoop dome attached, the filler will remain off for now to make access easier. (Photo - Paul Orrells)


Front of the tank with fenders, rear coal plate, fire iron rack and water level indicator in place. The tank is now suspended from the two hired-in gantries. (Photo - Paul Orrells)


Inside the tank at the front on the Driver's side showing the water level indicator linkage. The float and arm is behind the photographer. the original mild steel linkage has been replaced with brass and stainless steel. On the tank side is one of the original bronze shaft brackets that had the tender's number (T2061) stamped on.


Tank temporarily lowered onto the chassis to check clearances. End of the day, time to go home. (Photo - Paul Orrells)

 

There’s a video update on the WSR’s Facebook page, I can’t post a link at the moment sorry. I know that some people grumble about the railway management but hopefully supporters will work together to help the railway because the permanent solution will take some time to investigate and implement. Cost liabilities will depend on the circumstances of the slip and the land ownership and drainage responsibilities but it does sound like the WSR has a reasonable case.

 

Thank you.

What are the liabilities of the adjoining landowner in cases like this.

I can understand how things like ploughing the land and growing potato's might raise issues if you then get soil running off, but on another railway the land is sliding down naturally but it seems that the landowner is still liable.

 

Both Winterlights and Santa trains will now run top and tailed (steam/D6575) from Bishops Lydeard to Tribble Bridge (just south of the affected area) then to Norton Fizwarren and back to Bishops Lydeard. The Santas will then do an additional run again to Tribble Bridge and return.

 

It seems that the lack of proper drainage to the adjacent land was a known problem, with the A358 being put out of action by soil being washed onto it earlier in the year from the same piece of land.

 

That's a very informative video and I'm sure all those who have complained about lack of information will now be silenced, especially if it continues. Despite the obvious setback JJP seemed positive for the future. The only unanswered questions are how long to rectify and how much and I doubt the WSR currently have answers to these.
I wonder if Kerry is the driver behind this positive change in approach, for which many thanks, Kerry.

 

I’m glad it’s out, and welcome the comms. It left me with more questions than answers though, but as it was obviously done on the fly in response to a developing situation, it’d be unfair to criticise it for lack of polish.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I can’t comment on the WSR because I don’t know the details but generally speaking land, drainage and property liabilities can be awfully complicated to untangle especially if there are multiple landowners, tenants and properties involved not to mention highway authorities, utilities, railways, Environment Agency, Canal & Rivers Trust etc. Typically the landowner is responsible unless they can show that somebody or something else caused the problem. For example property damage at location A might have been caused by subsidence of location B which itself was caused by a blocked drain at location C. I get involved with some consequential damage cases at work (a utility company) and I can safely say that land agents, insurers and the legal profession make a tidy living protecting the interests of their Clients!

 

Quite informative but a couple of points
1) do you need a General Manager (lackey......) to operate a camera
2) as has been said elsewhere I would be rather careful as to what I said about the causes of this, unless I was absolutely and utterly convinced that I was right.

 

You don’t need but it makes sense for the GM to visit the scene together and discuss things. It’s a simple matter to then film the scene and make a statement using the phone. It doesn’t need a cameraman, director, chief grip and everyone else associated with filmmaking.

 

There has already been mud on the road from that site and it seems clear enough that mud has flowed onto the railway from adjoining land

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-64049974