Severn Valley Railway Spring gala 14-16 April (plus Pendennis Castle trips 13 April)

Agreed, slightly concerning news.

 

I understand they’ve been fit for purpose for around 80-90 years but now not idiot proof enough ,for those that find closing a door hard ,and turning a handle ,to keep it closed ,a step too far .

 

There were a quite a few issues over Christmas.
A review on their use is underway at the moment.

 

As I understand it, the review is due to 15 reported incidents of trains using GW coaches departing/attempting to depart with unlocked doors over the last 2 years.

Very unfortunate timing when the railway is trying to market a GW themed gala.

 

i have a ticket for Friday 14th April for the svr steam Gala. i am not able to go so if anyone wants it for £15, first person to txt me on 07305273460 gets it

 

I will say I remember being caught out by it in the past, at first not realising they aren't slam door like most other stock. So if an enthusiast can get confused then you can't blame joe public for not knowing, or I can't in any case.
Anyway I have read comments elsewhere online that sounded optimistic about part of the GW set being in use at the gala.
I was going to comment about photographers being trusted to have supervised access to the lineside but not to travel in the GW stock, however I understand that they aren't getting the former for this charter.

 

Tbf in my experience, enthusiasts struggle to shut GW slap locks, regular passengers struggle to open them! It can be hard to turn them at times.
Yes, for those who haven't seen the comments, there seems to be a plan to run a two coach local set of GW slam doors (presumably 9103 and 6045, though 9627 would also fit the bill) and a three coach which would be platformed at all stations, which seems to be part of the risk assessment for it operating at the SSG.

 

Hopefully the timetable will follow in the not too distant future...

 

Granville O’manor?

 

No, Heckmondwike Castle (many years ago 78022 was "named" Cleckheaton Castle)

Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

 

The SDR, definitely used to if not still, used to give out information leaflets when buying tickets that included photo diagrams with instructions on how to open and close the GWR doors. Maybe this is something the SVR should look into?

 

Thank goodness.

 

I am tempted to go even though it’s a long train journey but the overcrowded trains at SVR Galas put me off.

 

Its far easier and more sensible to stop and come up with a long term plan to mitigate the risks, than lots of quick plans that might contradict one another as time goes by. There's a hell of a lot of work that goes into the safety management systems that Joe Public never sees and keeps the man from the ministry and the insurers happy.

 

Timetable on the SVR website

Sent from my SM-A137F using Tapatalk

 

https://svr.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Spring-Steam-Gala-Timetable-ALL-DAYS.pdf

 

In my opinion, that shows a good gala.
But I can see why, nobody likes being rammed in a corner, though do you ever notice it's always the people that go for the whole 3/4 days?
Like they think they are more important than those who maybe only spend a day/couple of hours riding trains?

 

Is there any indication to which way the locomotives face snd will they be turned during the gala ?

 

How would you know that unless you were on the trains yourself over the whole 3 to 4 days. [BJ]