Spa Valley Railway - Latest News

Today in the snow a team from the Civil Engineering department ventured to the infamous Broom Lane Bridge to undertake deflection testing on the structure (measuring up and downward movements with a train on the bridge) and to do its 6-monthly inspection. This structure has a 10mph PSR on it because of the condition of some of the metal work.

In an ideal world we'd love to replace the bridge but the cost of that would probably exceed anything we'd ever earn through events or daily running, that said repairing the bridge just prolongs the inevitable, something for us to discuss further internally but as a result of today we did get some very useful data to do with the bridge.

 

Such a good project the 207 centre car, everyone involved should be applauded and encouraged. A very rare vehicle that will compliment the already excellent 2-car unit. The Blue & Grey is also smart and different. I will certainly be looking forward to the centre car's launch and will be visiting to ride on it.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk

 

(not my video)

 

Caledonian Railway No. 828 is running this weekend. To maintain heating it'll be on the Tunbridge Wells West end of the train and the Class 31 Saturday and Class 33 Sunday on the Eridge end of the train.

 

Many thanks for that Jonnie. 828 is a great loco, I enjoyed a wonderfully noisy climb behind it up from High Rocks to TWW last October. But mixing steam locos with my owl related activities at present means I have to set priorities - and for me on the Spa Valley that is currently 34072. So I'll wait to visit until that loco is back on the roster.

Incidentally Jonnie, any idea yet which way 78019 will be facing for its short stay at 75F?

 

How long is 828 staying at the Spa Valley? I know it was a long-term loan, had a feeling that ended this year?

 

In light of the recent news the KWVR have gained a grant for a DMU facility and other works, would Spa be in a position to get a similar grant for Broom Lane Bridge's replacement? Possibly if the grant was hefty enough it could sort out the landslip issue and other more minor things at the 'same' time.

 

I believe the KWVR's grant is as part of the Levelling Up fund isn't it? Keighley as a town is in desperate need of heavy investment, and the railway is benefitting from that. If I'm mistaken please do correct me.

 

Well considering Tunbridge Wells is hardly a deprived area maybe getting a grant from there isn't going work. But as a major tourist attraction which attracted 40,000 people to ride the Polar Express it might attract grants from other parties?

 

Winter Steam Gala
Timetable for the Winter Steam Gala is in draft format and being checked over.

Trains are planned from 08:50 until 22:00 on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th. Trains from 08:50 until 18:10 on Sunday 11th, two sets of 4x coaches, one will be all green MK1s for the first time with the BCK-SO-KATE-TSO. The other set is 3x Choc & Cream and the MK2 BSO, if you visited during the Beer Fest you'll know the train formations, they won't differ much.

828, 78019, 80078 and 34072 are working all three days, 2315 is working Brake Van rides Tunbridge Wells West to Groombridge on the Saturday and Sunday. There is planned to be an early morning and late evening brake van ride with another engine too. These will be on a ticketed basis due to limited accommodation.

The evening trains will be hauled by 80078 and 78019 both evenings:

• 80078 ERD end Friday
• 80078 TWW end Saturday
• 78019 TWW end Friday
• 78019 ERD end Saturday

2315 is purely doing brake van rides, it won't pull a train up the line but will help do shunt release for the Bulleid at TWW on the Sunday so it'll haul a 4-car train in from outside TWW to the station so you can get a short ride being it then.

All engines planned to face TWW.

This is a copy of the email sent to our volunteers last night:

January
We’ve had a very busy period over the last few weeks and an enormous thank you must go to everyone that has made it happen. The Purple timetable days in December and January did well for themselves overall and hopefully we can see similar repeated in 2024.

• 27th – 88 people, slight loss of £89.39.
• 28th – 151 people (highest number ever for a purple timetable day) £890.36 profit.
• 29th – 82 people, £53.58 profit.
• 30th – 90 people, £301.60 profit.
• 31st – 99 people, £320.90 profit.
• 1st – 77 people, £167.14 profit.
• 6th – 101 people, £293.36 profit.
• 7th – 73 people, £70.02 profit.

The unit proved popular with its electric heating and the catering kiosk at Groombridge and the shop at Tunbridge Wells also did very well on what have before been a mixed bunch of days to operate on.

Green Timetable
This weekend just gone was a first for us as I don’t recall we’ve operated trains in January like this before, but nonetheless it was a great success and very worthwhile doing!

We carried 408 people on Saturday 13th with revenue of £11,719 and we carried a further 311 people on Sunday 14th with revenue of £4,455. Broken down into profit this equates to £5,371.66 for the Saturday and £1,902.82 for Sunday 14th. We had 76 people for Fawlty Towers, the first of the year, which was again done in house by and large, a huge thank you to everyone that came to assist in serving food and supporting the catering this weekend, it really did make the difference between profit and loss!

This weekend our first Murder Mystery of the year has already 95 people booked to travel, and another sell out Cheese train is taking place on Sunday with 67 people booked.

The visitor numbers for the year stand at 74,539, to clarify the Wealden Railway Co. Ltd financial year runs from 1st February to 31st January so anything taking place before 1st February 2024 lands in this current financial year and that includes the visitor count. As we haven’t previously opened this far into January it’d usually have been concluded by now. I don’t think we’ll hit 80,000 people but based on the current advanced bookings it should reach 76,000 to 77,000 visitors, I hope.

Thank you to everyone for supporting your railway and making it an ongoing success. You often read and see things online of doom and gloom with businesses and whilst we are not flush for cash and an injection of a million pounds or two could easily be spent on bridges, track, carriages, locos, embankments etc we are comfortable as things stand.

We're not a perfect example of how to do things though and I sincerely hope that these organisations in difficulty are able to come out the other side. We have in the past been in a bad place ourselves before so it isn't an unknown feeling, running our railway is by no means cheap, the daily costs are now just £2,000 (which doesn't include all the costs, some are the unexpected ones) and thankfully the public continue to support us and enable our hobby to happen, furthermore people like yourselves volunteering and giving up your free time are able to then make it happen for these people and everyone on the Leadership Team extends an enormous thank you to you.

Best wishes,

Jonnie

 

If you get the time @Jonnie it would help me to know if 34072 is still booked to be the steam loco operating the timetable on 20 and 21 January. Thanks, Bryan.

 

I'd be interested to understand what constitutes daily profit on running days, do you look at the costs to run the railway for that day or do you factor in overheads to run the railway, paid staff, energy costs, maintenance etc?

 

That answers a few questions.
Still think anyone who is going on these are bonkers.

Does anyone else notice that [aside from the unsightly green thing] these engine classes were based in Scotland?

 

I can't anwer for a longer distance run in a brake van, but I certainly enjoyed my run in a brake van at the end of a short goods train on the Bluebell on 13 October. Fenchurch, aka 32636, did the honours and of course I timed the run!

32636 + 3 goods wagons+brake van - 61 tons tare circa 62 tons gross. Horsted Keynes platform 4/5 to Horsted Keynes platform 4/5 took 7 mins 54 seconds. I generously assumed an on-time departure and a schedule of 8 minutes.

So, what's bonkers about standing in the open on a steam loco hauled brake van run and timing it?

 

... with two reversals

Tom

 

Oh, which of 828, 80078 and 78019 have been painted green recently?

 

Both of which I recorded. The first, on the line to Sheffield Park lasting 18 seconds and 5 clangs; and the second, north of the points beyond Leamland Bridge, lasting 31 seconds and 4 clangs.

 

Signalman was on the ball then!

If I've read the appendix correctly, it is 37 chains between signals; so if the train returned to the same spot it started, you have twice that distance plus just over twice the length of the train for the trip; call it a mile with two reversals.

Tom

 

That’s no way to talk about the class 25.

 

In what I imagine was a late change 828 was the loco on at least the first two trains today, instead of rostered 34072 that I had gone across for. I saw 828 at Groombridge, and back home now, the webcam shows it as I expected it to be, on the second train too.

Maybe 34072 is not available yet after it's hard work on the Polar Express. Or perhaps the loadings expected for the weekend, especially with another winter storm due tomorrow, didn't justify the larger and presumably more expensive loco on coal. Whatever, there will be a necessary reason for the change which I fully accept.

I took a photo of it leaving Groombridge on the rear of the 10.15 TWW-Eridge. Then, with my well known very narrow steam locomotive focus coming into play, I headed home where, despite advancing years, I continue to try and pursue both of my main 'hobby' interests. That doesn't mean I think 828 isn't a great loco - it is and I did have a wonderfully noisy run behind it from Groombridge to TWW last Autumn - but rather sadly it doesn't fall into my sharp focus of steam locomotive interest for photography.