Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Make that MOST people.

 

Or, on the same line, Lewes...




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Not forgetting a number of tube stations- Golders Green, Arnos Grove, Cockfosters, Uxbridge and Loughton all come to mind.

 

Norwood Junction

 

Don't forget Guildford.

 

Ascot is another one (should have remembered that one; it was just about my local station when I was growing up!)



Off-region, there is Yeovil Pen Mill, and the former Yeovil Town.

Tom

 

Seemingly not that uncommon, especially on Southern lines (Ventnor was another one) but I wonder why it was done?

 

Looking at most of the examples above, the main station buildings are on a platform off to one side, and they then seems to have been arranged such they have an island platform furthest from the station buildings, with a yard or relief line beyond the last platform road in most cases. With an even number of platform roads that's inevitably going to lead to one being served by two platforms. No need to fence off one side of the further platform to segregate the public from bits of the railway that don't concern them?

 

and Lewes; may have been filled in now, presumably part of the original Uckfield Line (well not THE original via Hamsey) layout, first visited in early 70s after the line shut; it had a little footbridge across back then

 

Most, if not all, apart from tube lines date from an era when there were plenty of station staff to escort passengers to their compartments and stop them doing silly things!

PH

 

The track in question has indeed been filled in (mostly with shingle) while the platform the EMU is standing at has been extended back to the road bridge.

Another place that had a platform either side of a single line was Christs Hospital south of Horsham. In fact this location had two such tracks (platforms both sides of a single line), one being on the Guildford branch and the other on a loop off the main line heading south.

 

Having platforms on both sides of a through track makes much sense when onward connections for passengers or goods and parcel transfer are required in either direction or when allowing passengers to either exit the station or join other trains without the need to cross the line. I suspect it would have depended on the original promoter's expectations of use and traffic patterns how things were laid out. Central platforms (either bays or through lines) also allow reversals short of the end of the line whilst causing least disruption to other services (trains entering or leaving don't block a line they won't be using) and the full length cross platform access for passengers avoids crowding and delay which comes from the "pinch points" inherent with a bridge or subway. Whilst every example probably has its own history and logic which in some instances may include concepts like private platforms for upper class promoters and investors ease of use for both passengers and transfer of goods and parcels probably explains many examples.

 

Well if two of the biggest resistors-of-change on the planet - my father and ex-mother outlaw (both well into their 80s) - have had mobile phones for over a decade, then I suspect there are very few left who don't. The rest are probably still driving Austin A30s, determined that they don't need any of that modern power steering, electric windows and working heaters rubbish. "It wasn't needed in our day..."

 

You'd be surprised. My father (early 70s) is a refusenik, but keen on change more generally. He just sees no need for a mobile phone and, when we did persuade him to have one, either left it at home or switched off, completely destroying the purpose of it.

 

Having platforms on both sides doesn't make sense to me from an operational point of view. How does the guard ensure that all the doors are closed before giving the right of way? He can't really hop back and forth through the guards compartment (can he?) and even with platform staff, it must be a nightmare. It might be OK with controlled doors on modern stock but not with slam door coaches. Question for Tom, then, is what happens at Horsted Keynes?

 

Would loading on one side and offloading the other have been a way of speeding up dwell times at busy locations?

 

Probably not a consideration at Horsted Keynes!

Tom

 

After a quick scan, I couldn't find specific instructions about dispatch of trains from platform 4/5 at HK, though I'd imagine that there are instructions issued to guards and platform staff. So the following is from observation, not documentation.

4 road through HK is curved, with platform 4 on the inside and platform 5 on the outside. Generally it is used for down departures (as was it's historic function), though it is now signalled for bi-directional working. Because of the curvature, from the footplate the crew have a good view along the train on platform 4, but can only see about one carriage on platform 5.

When the train is due to depart, the guard crosses first to platform 5. The platform staff there confirm that the train is ready to leave (doors shut etc.). The guard then walks through his van to platform 4; confirms with the staff there that the train is ready; then the guard turns to give the right away to the loco crew.

I assume on the platform 5 side, part of the function of the platform staff is to ensure that no-one is still in the booking office or coming up the subway. There is generally a ticket inspector stationed at the exit to the booking hall, which is also at the top of the subway steps, who can presumably stop anyone trying to board a train that has already been made ready for departure.

As with any departure, in theory someone could try to alight after the train has started to move, but obviously in this location, that could occur on either side, and the guard can only be watching down one side of the train (presumably the platform 4 side). As far as I can see, there is normally a member of platform staff on each platform at the back of the train in sight of each other, so that if anything untoward happened on the platform 5 side, a stop signal could be relayed across from platform 5 to 4 and thence to the guard watching behind.

Clearly a labour-intensive process, which is one thing with volunteers, but in former days with paid staff must have added to the expense of working the line.

Tom

 

From the e-Newsletter:

TRACK TREK 2016: CRACKING ON DESPITE THE WEATHER!

In very poor weather conditions of persistent rain, 120 people assembled at Sheffield Park at 8 a.m. on 12 Nov., 2016, to take part in this year's Track Trek. They were bused to East Grinstead to join another 84 intrepid souls to start the Trek for the 11 miles to Sheffield Park at 9 a.m.

Later in the morning,they were joined by a further 20 Trekkers doing the shorter distance from Horsted Keynes. Unfortunately, the total of 225 was short of the 310 who registered to take part: the weather understandably took its toll on participant numbers.

The Trekkers were led by Dick Fearn, Chairman of the Bluebell Railway Plc, and Graham Aitken and Steve Bigg, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Preservation Society. Bob Mainstone, Mayor of East Grinstead, welcomed participants before completing the full distance himself.

The fastest Trekkers were Linda Attrell and Linda Wilkinson, who set a cracking pace and arrived in just over 3 hours. The last departure from East Grinstead was at 10 a.m. and the last arrival at Sheffield Park was just before 4 p.m.

The initial estimate of the money raised in sponsorship is £11,000, after deducting the £3,000 it costs to to stage the event. We hope there is more to come from Trekkers who have still to collect sponsorship. Money raised will be divided between the OP4 and ASH projects.

Please send your sponsorship money to the attention of Track Trek Administration, Sheffield Park Station, Nr. Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 3QL. If you planned to take part but were put off by the weather, we would still be happy to accept any sponsorship you have raised, if that is acceptable to your sponsors.

I wish to thank all who turned out in such weather conditions, be they Trekkers, marshals, station staff, or the many volunteers who carried out other roles to make the Trek possible. Your contribution to the Railway is greatly appreciated. Special praise must go to James Young for his management of the event. The time and effort he put in to see it run so smoothly was enormous. Well done James!

By Roger Kelly, Funding Director

And to add to that: a few soggy photos from me: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamessquared/albums/72157674972700012 For some reason I seem to have stopped taking photos after Horsted, but I did make it all the way, honest!

Tom

 

Also from the e-Newsletter:

FOSP UPDATE: MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

Well, our remarkable stretch of good weather seems to have come to a seasonal end, as some actual November weather descends. However, there can be no complaints. We have made so much progress during the last several months, that the Friends of Sheffield Park (FOSP) are "on top" of the outdoors task list to a much greater extent than we expected to be.

In fact, one of our regulars advises that until this week, we had enjoyed no fewer than 14 consecutive Wednesdays on which we experienced warm, dry weather, so no wonder many more things have been spruced-up!

To highlight a few items that we have dealt with recently ...

• The ticket printing workshop has received two coats of suitable wood preservative (and we took the opportunity to strip off the previously applied treatment that was the incorrect colour (thanks Sue!)
• The "Wealden Dock" fence has received a fresh coat of Creocote (a poor substitute for creosote, but that substance is no longer available to us).
• Similar treatment has been started on the fence around the viewing area at the north of Platform 1.
• We are engaged in the regular programme of maintenance of the Up Side running-in board, where the plywood of the lettering is delaminating; eventually, we expect to replace the letters with more authentic metal ones, but we are putting that off as they are likely expensive.
• The loco storage shed window frame painting is progressing.
• The door to a concrete hut used by the Loco Department for storing headboards has been re-hung on new hinges, pending possible replacement of the rotten door and frame. Preparations for hard-standings for some of the picnic tables are underway (we will use materials that should withstand the occasional winter flood).
• Finally, brickwork pointing is another "Forth Bridge" enterprise that sees regular attention.

As winter arrives, we move indoors, and we have plenty of decorating tasks to attend to ...

We will decorate the "Harmer Room" and hall landing and stairs in the station house, and there are requests to deal in the Members' Room also. Some logistical planning will be needed here, as that room is fully occupied on Wednesdays, when we usually work.

In "front of house" areas, we will be sprucing up decor in Bessemer Arms and Platform 1 Gents' toilets, and the Ladies' Waiting Room fireplace hearth will be retiled as soon as we can source some suitable replacement tiles.

Behind the scenes, a significant new project is being scoped and submitted for formal approval through the Change Management process, and we hope to be able to make an announcement about this very soon (and we will be offering the opportunity for sponsorship, so watch This Space!)

By Chas Melton