West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Well said! I may have simple ideas , as a lot I suspect of my generation do, but I remember a time (steam days!!) when this country & its railways were not hamstrung by red tape & political correctness!!!

 

The West Somerset Railway now has another streaming webcam. This one is at Minehead to complement the existing webcams at Bishops Lydeard. Go to http://www.wsr.org.uk and click on webcams.

David

 

It's a far better picture than at Bishops Lydeard. =D>

 

And so it should be the one at BL has been going since 2006 and uses old technology, camera wise.

The new one is sponsored by a professional webcam company who have the resources to put into the latest kit, unfortunatly I do not have deep enough pockets to get a new camera. So until then we have to put up with what we have.

Yesterday the BL camera had 2200 stream starts and was at the maximum 50 viewers for most of the day. I dont yet have the figures for Sunday.
I did cut down the quality to allow more people to watch and would like some feedback on which is more important to the viewers, the greater chance of getting to look at the picture, or less chance but if sucessful better quality.

 

But unfortunatly (I understand) following a technical problem with the hardware at Minehead some days ago, at which time the camera alignment was changed to what it was originally, and now nicely captures everyone leaving the Gentlemans' toilet. Perhaps a sign should be pinned up inside the loo warning everyone to "Adjust your dress before leaving and NOT to do it outside in view of a global audience", or "Smile, you're on web TV"? [-X

On a more serious note, is there any chance of the camera being aligned back towards the trains?

Chris

 

The camera direction will be realigned as soon as possible.

Steve
(WSW)

 

Work started at Norton Fitzwarren last week on building of the West Somerset Railway's eleventh station - only a short four-coach length platform initially, but from small acorns....

David

 

Any more rails arriving yet David?!

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Cholsey & Wallingford run alongside a NR high-speed line for a short distance? And if a small railway like that can do it...

Phil

 

I dont think its going to happen soon , but if there was a separate line , whats the problem, WSR line--NR line, wether their 6ft or 6 miles apart, their still apart!

 

There must be others as well. Won't Spar Valley also run beside NR for a distance when they make their connection to Eridge ?

 

Correct! At Cholsey we run next to a 100mph NR line for about 50 yards. Because of the bridge just before entering Cholsey station our line is at the minimum allowed clearance meaning there is no fence between us and the 100mph up relief. Thank goodness we got in to Cholsey before privitisation - the track was reinstated by volunteers in the early 90's with the full co-operation of BR. I think it would be a completely different story if we asked to do it now!

 

Pictures of the platform construction work, tracklaying along the Barnstaple branch, and yet another visit by the HOBC, are now on the Latest Pictures page on www.wsr.org.uk Oh, and yet more Tornado pictures

Steve

 

Thanks for the information, Autotank. Could I ask if you own the 50 yards of land or do you lease it from NR? And what is the minimum distance between your line and the up relief? And what special operating arrangements do you have, for example, in case of derailment and fouling the NR line(s)?

Steve

 

All of the land from the 10mph board at the top of Cholsey bank is owned by NR - for which we pay a small rent.

Without going into too much detail, all trains must carry track circuit clips in case of a derailment fouling the up relief and staff are trained in how to deal with such events. Obviously work taken on the P-Way is subject to various extra rules and regs.

You can see how close we run to the up relief in a picture on the 5542 website: http://www.5542.co.uk/candw.html

 

A recent picture of the Norton Fitzwarren site, taken from the air, shows the new platform under construction and a HOBC discharging spent ballast. Busy place these days! GWML lower left; WSR on the right; West Chord on left; Norton Bridge top; front of HOBC stands on West Chord with the back at Allerford Junction (beyond the bridge); East Chord (without track) curves from West Chord to the now-cleared Barnstaple formation which is parallel to the GW main line. Hope that makes sense. See it all for yourself at the Steam Rally 1-2 August which takes place on the fields bordering the West and East Chords...

Picture by Biggles Dorrington

Picture subject to a Creative Commons licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

For more latest pics, see http://www.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery.c ... &t=newspix

 

Is there a timeline for the construction of the proposed triangle in that area ?

 

Recent reports suggest completion in late 2010. But progress depends on many factors, so it could be a lot sooner or much later. Track is currently being laid on the Barnstaple formation from the end of the West Chord westwards towards the (former) Allerford Bridge - not shown on the picture above,but see the Norton 2009 picture page http://www.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?h=Norton 2009 - Progress in Pictures&t=norton2009pix

Steve
(WSW)

 

It certainly looks like good progress has been made. The new platform has really come along since I visited three weeks ago.