Swanage Railway General Discussion

Oneweb have confirmed they are supplying the satellite service (as a testbed for rural locations)
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eute...-of-england-activity-7297629446130331649-UjE8

The Government will be after more orders for the Oneweb service where they have a large shareholding.
Technically the Oneweb satellite service test bed feeding the wifi should be quite a lot quicker than 3G, perhaps being optimised?

 

A couple of images from either side of my visit to the dentist (the one near the shed) this afternoon. The 15:00 from Swanage and the 15:45 from Norden.

 

Tinder dry conditions require sensible application of appropriate motive power.

 

If anyone is on the train with the satellite wifi service, can you do an internet speed check to see how fast it is?, such as https://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest

 

Is that the train or the wifi?

 

There is kit to work out train speed, see 16 minutes in, but on the Swanage Railway will always be less than 25 mph.

But yes did mean wi fi speed over the Oneweb satellite test bed setup on the train. May vary a bit as the LEO satellites (like rival Starlink) are constantly moving.
Oneweb say they can do 195 Mbps for downloads and 30 Mbps for uploads. Which is far faster than 3G and many home broadband links

 

Looking back through my (self produced) loco roster spreadsheet 80104 worked 31 continual days in 2018, and 31806 did 24 days the same year. Highest total I can find for a Bulleid (Manston) is 20 continuous days.

 

I guess with the U Boat at Spa, Squaddy broken and the T3 still at the Mid Hants there is little choice in order to maintain a daily steam service. Impressed with 31 consecutive days, that’s definitely a bit higher than the norm! Hopefully the water tower will be one of the next big projects now the carriage shed only needs a few small things doing to it.

 

563 heads home this week.

 

Is 31806 going direct from the GWSR to the Spa Valley Railway please? Or has it already gone there?

Bryan

 

U is still at Swanage Bryan (or it was about 15:30). I was not aware it was going to the GWSR.

 

It was working yesterday but Manston is today with D6515. We are staying at Corfe all next week and so will have Manston but with the dreaded 117 which we will avoid. Great shame as. I would have liked a run with D6515 or the 20 as well as 34070

We are getting there by taxi so will be usi

 

I started so I will finish to say we will be using Breezer buses as well as the railway

 

31806 is still at Swanage - perhaps you were thinking of 34072 which was meant to go to the GWSR but got cancelled? 31806 is going from Swanage to Spa, where it will spend a week or two before heading up to the Mid Norfolk for their steam gala - which strangely has 4 of the same engines as the Spa gala two weeks prior. I guess there will be little difference to patronage for both considering they are around 150 miles apart.

 

What? the dreaded 117!! best bit of kit on the railway. Close the booking offices, turn the stations into un manned halts, buffet trolley service with TTI's. Perfik

 

Oh yes, thanks. It was 34072 of course, and it didn't go. Which was the final reason I didn't go to the GWSR Gala.

Bryan

 

Might as well close the railway then!

 

Just trying to make it profitable

 

That really didn’t last long

Manston failed this morning and replaced by 20066, with the T3 running the last train or two.

 

Thought crossed my mind when I checked the webcam this morning as I like pictures in the rain and I had to take my Dad's shopping up to him. Decided not to get wet doing that so surprised to see the T3 as I got to his flat in Gilbert Road this afternoon especially as I had not even noticed the time until I was halfway there. It has just worked the 16:40 as well.
It was not the fastest departure from Swanage I have seen.