East Midlands Railway Trust/GCR (Nottingham)

I can't actually remember the last time we ran around at Rushcliffe halt when operating a service train.

Clearly the Gypsum train locomotives did (which dictated to a large extent the length of the loop) and it occurred a couple of times when things were being exchanged to/from the mainline connection.

 

It was being reported on social media that the 1948 Cowans Sheldon 36/45 ton breakdown crane ADRC95222 was to be cut for scrap at Ruddington on Thursday of last week. Does anyone on here know if this has indeed happened?

 

I see on social media that the former Thronaby steam crane on site is to be cut up - folks are saying it as advertised for sale, but I don't recall anttihng anywhere, has it been in priint?

 

I think the steam crane was advertised on a rail vehicle website. However there had been no serious interest. Despite what a few people seem to think, it would cost a couple of thousand pounds just to move it away, then where do you keep it? who will pay to overhaul it, who will pay to get it insured for lifting, who will pay for the training to get a qualified crew....
The railway will now get money and space ....both of which can be used for more immediate projects which can generate an income.
Also on FB is news of another vandalism incident with carriage windows smashed and fire extinguishers let off in carriages stored outside. They are on good CCTV images though!

 

The crane has been stood untouched since a photoshoot back in circa 2011 (from memory, might have been 2013).

I recall when it had the FTR for this it was identified that it needed a hell of a lot of work to get useable again, this included a complete new set of cables, boiler re-build and then a lengthy re-commissioning process to get all the other parts going. At the time I had to check the non structural steel and it was also pretty bad!

So it was pretty bad then!

It was then put onto an isolated section of track (one of the shed roads was temporarily slewed over for the move, then returned) and its stood and deteriorated further.

At one stage there was talk of a re-paint to make it more presentable but, a lack of volunteers to do this meant it never happened.

 

Lack of catch points surely didn't help either.

 

I will be interested to read the full report, whether RAIB discuss the role of catch points and, if so, whether they suggest that they would have had a positive effect compared with the possible derailment.

 

Catch points have not been fitted on passenger only lines for many many years - their presence was largely for the benefit of unfitted trains, which are now a thing of the past, and the mitigations introduced by improved braking characteristics, wheelslip protection, TPWS et al have made their cost benefit calculation such that they just aren't worth it. The massive cost (and it is a massive cost) of installing them to protect against the rare occasions when there is a braking failure simply can't be economically justified.

John

 

Thank you, thats a lot more resoned than the discussion on Facecloth, where the lack of civility ftrom some of hte guys is far from becoming. I appreicaite that emotions run high over the scrpa word, but a simple explanation on these lines would have gone a long way to reoving the heat and light from the discussion.

 

I was going to say the same thing. Although none of that is more than you'd expect for a 75 year old machine which has been out in the rain for around 30 years, and I still think it is an ill-judged decision, it does at least put some facts in the public arena. Thanks Mark.

 

I can't say I am buying or selling to be honest, it wasn't a decision I was involved with.

Going back in time (and to add a bit more context as to why the steam crane was not touched) we also had a diesel electric crane, sadly this one spun its bearings (Mclaren diesel engine) due to oil dilution when an injector fractured during use. Whilst I was sourcing new parts, those of a 'mobile nature' decided they wanted the copper from the cables, generator, and motors, which effectively wrote it off.

Since then various other lifting solutions have been used from hired in cranes to using Hiabs and road/rail 360s

 

There is more detail, and background, to this on the GCR(N) thread in the Heritage Railways section.

 

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Can I repeat my (non-judgemental) question, has 95222 actually been scrapped?

As a steam crane owner myself I am very well aware of the difficulties and costs associated with them but also would potentially welcome the opportunity to see certain parts of 95222 help keep other cranes in service if it is not too late.

 

Its a work in process, certainly plenty of cut parts already

 

I understand it's gone now. And social media has been very quiet

 

I wonder whether the same fate awaits the similar crane put up for sale by the NYMR?

 

Yes, confirmed, 95222 has now gone in pieces to a metal recycler from Newark

This brings the total number of ex-mainline breakdown cranes scrapped by the preservation movement to six, which amounts to just under 20% of the total number that initially entered preservation.

To put this depressing statistic in perspective it would be equivalent to the preservation movement scrapping around 77 ex-mainline steam locomotives*, which would, I imagine, cause something of a furore! Cranes, it seems, are missed by very few.


* It is a little difficult to establish (quickly) the exact number of ex-mainline locos that entered preservation, this is based on an AI-generated of 388. 35 breakdown cranes entered preservation of which 29 remain.