Future max speed of heritage railways

Hollo together,
I know that there are important reasons for the 25 miles per hour speed limit on heritage railways.
But while having a look at future plans of the GCR, there would be use of increasing the speed limit of the regular steam trains on this reconnected line. With the increase of the speed, they could be truly become a full mainline heritage railway. Other trains on this line are allowed to reach the 60 mp/h, so why shouln't it made redundant on this particular railway. The tracks are of high quality and the operators are very experienced.
There are also other heritage railway lines, e.g. the Gloucestershire Railway, who build the new railway tracks in high quality, so steam trains could possibly drive faster than on other railroads.

Is a change in law for particular heritage railway possible?

Thank you,
Cheers
Fred

 

So is it a total pipe dream ? To see something like Tornado , a Castle or an A4 crawling along at 25mph , IMHO is such a waste . Most herritage lines PW are in better condition than when BR abandoned them . I suppose footplate and train crew's training would have to be upgraded . I attended NYMR's Spring Gala last year and took a trip on the Whitby to Glaisdale line , it was thrilling to be travelling at the Big Railways line speed behind a steam loco .
I can dream .

 

Pity .

 

To be honest the main beneficiaries of such a move would be the lineside video makers.

For the paying punter you get a shorter ride and less enjoyment of the scenery - so would you still pay as much for the ticket (and I'm meaning Joe Public here who make up most of the customer base). For the enthusiast it probably still wouldn't be fast enough to draw them away from mainline charters (and if it did would that be good?)

For the lines, the additional costs etc of maintaining track and stock in the face of the greater stresses of higher speed running isn't likely to be matched by higher incomes so why would they want to do it.

Even then you'd need to pick your lines carefully - somewhere like the GCR would be reasonable to run at 60mph - some of the former branch lines might not.

 

At more than 25 MPH, in addition to the things already mentioned, you would have to OTMR and possibly GSMR. You would also not be able to run passenger trains using screw coupled timber bodied stock to boot.

Sawdust.

 

It might be fine to run at higher speeds through uninteresting countryside but a good many Heritage/Tourist lines run in magnificent scenery. Bearing in mind most of the passengers on heritage lines are used to main line speeds on the national network, where most seem to be absorbed by mobile phones, tablets and other electronic apparatus, rather than scenery. And the others are used to car travel which again in congested areas or motorways gives little opportunity for 'sightseeing'.

 

No chance of running at 60 mph through East Leake on the GCR.

 

It's been discussed previously on several occasions on Nat Pres. In essence, theee is nothing to stop any heritage railway from running a speeds higher than 25 mph. In reality, it is just not worth it. Modern legislation (largely driven by EU directives) creates a lot of hurdles that would have to be jumped. For example,but not limited to, the fitting of TPWS, a ban on slam door stock and licensing of drivers. The get out is that the movement has been able to negotiate exemptions to these requirements provided that the maximum speed is kept below 40 kmph (25 mph).

 

Does the Light Railway Act no longer stand? that was the reason behind preserved railways having 25mph Speed limit that was what the law allowed, unless you had special permission from the then rail inspectorate to allow you to have a higher speed limit normally for DMU commuter trains, if you had desires to run a service.
Now adays, there is no Inspectorate that has power to judge on individual case by case, if you want to run at 45, 50, 60 mph and carry far paying public, you have to meet the same requirements as the main line, some have dispenation to test at 60 mph, but thats with a non passenger carrying train solely for testing an overhauled engine that is undergoing a return to the main line. people may be getting confused between a line that has to observe a mandatory speed for its scheduled passenger services and tests that are ran with ECS as part of an engines post restoration / repair main line testing operation.

 

Why would you want to? Since most visitors are there for an enjoyable ride, running at higher speed seems to be a way to add expense on the operating side while at the same time reducing the journey time - and therefore the perceived value - of the trip for visitors. Sounds like a lose-lose situation.

Tom

 

I would agree with the fact that on most lines there is little/no advantage of running faster. However on lines like the WHR or WSR where the time is really on the edge of what people can tolerate a ten or twenty minute time saving would make the whole journey seem less daunting to non-enthusiasts who make up most of the railways market. And they may be more likely to visit.

 

The longer lines, in particular, are trying to sell an all-day experience in order to make their fares appear comparable with other competing attractions. Most will be trying to persuade their passengers to break their journeys at an intermediate point - e.g. Grosmont or Goathland on the NYMR, Dunster or Watchet or Washford on the WSR. Getting between them at higher speed would not necessarily enhance their visit.

 

A Light Railway Order is a Statutory Instrument. Therefore it is enshrined in law. If any changes are to be made then this must be the subject of a new Transport and Works Order, I believe..
It is no longer possible to create a new LRO, but many lines are subject to existing ones.



regards

Matt

 

High speed runs would be good on gala days as long as the railways is suitable to it e.g. Not a twisty branch line. But everyday I don't think it would be worth it.

The average for heritage railways tend to be around 1/2 hour long end to end, the one thing you don't want to do is shorten it while keeping the same costs. If you look at reviews on TripAdvisor most bad reviews of heritage railways come from the fact prices tend to be quite high. The last thing you want to do is reduce the time the customer is with you if this is already an issue. Then there's differences in engines, timetables would become a bit of a nightmare if you had to factor in engines with different speeds. Small tank engines and mainline cruisers wouldn't mix too well on a normal timetable day.

It's a great idea but it will have to be executed properly and be worth doing!

 

My kids...
When we've been holidaying in deepest darkest ziderland my two are always very reluctant to go to the WSR due to the length of time spent on the train (not sure how this is different to me dragging them up and down a shorter line multiple times, but there it is).