MHR Restorations and Overhauls

Days like yesterday when neither steamer wanted to play properly and diesel was on until mid afternoon.

Looking at the site on Google earth, if cutting away banks was seriously considered then doing it on the North side of the site opposite the Boiler shop would create the most space for covered Loco storage. It looks very marginal space wise on the south side near the head shunt. Public access would be better on that side as well and keep visitors out of the operational area and there might even be a way of incorporating the new footbridge as a viewing gallery. Lots of money needed though

 

There's a 10m cutting face on the north side, so no.

Though I suppose it could be tunnelled into the bank? Strategic reserve anyone?

 

I think I have been through this before, but hey ho.....

The realisable options for additional siding space are...
1. Ropley, London side of the bridge. One additional siding created by digging the bank back, and possibly lengthening the existing siding.
2. Butts Junction on the formation of the Meon Valley. Much of the land in the triangle would be unsuitable for ecological reasons.
3. A siding alongside the main off the UP platform at Ropley on the Alresford end of the station.

That's it unless we were able to acquire additional land. However, there are few pieces of land that would be at the right levels, and land values around the railway are immense.

The land where the old manor was sighted is unsuitable for building on without significant civil engineering. Similarly the road would require a lot of stabilisation to take the weight of rail vehicles, and the gradient between the yard and the area where the manor was is significant enough to be a worry. I wouldn't want to approach a turntable on a wet day down there. In addition there isn't all that much room anyway.

 

Having spent a few days over the past month clearing vegetation on the steep bank behind the current headshunt on the London side of bridge 62, digging out enough land to build a shed would be a major engineering operation plus the cost of buying a bit of the field next to the railway to dig in in the first place.

The headshunt at Alresford is hemmed in by the Methodist church and Perins school on one side and Ellingham Court (retirement flats) on the other...although I suppose it might be possible to build some sort of lightweight shelter, effectively roofing over part of the sidings. Looking at the station side of Jacklyn's Lane bridge there's not much room at the bottom of my garden (Hammie lives there at the moment) and the embankment appears to be mainly ash!! - the other side is occupied by the Belle and/ or Countryman, again, not much room given the high embankment above Station Approach.
We'll just have to build a carriage shed instead of the goods yard at Medstead, a start has been made with the cosy enclosure for the class 27...Sorry Dave

 

I take it that particular grenade has been lobbed in my direction!

Its oft been mooted about constructing a covered work area in the yard at Medstead, either of brick or steel/timber, none of which would happen, as substantial civil's would be needed to support the damn thing, we've even considered using a temporary structure such as a polytunnel........ none of them would work, and as ably demonstrated by the cocoon surrounding the box, you would loose the use of a road, making any shunting a tad difficult!

So, as nice as the idea would be, the cost of ground works & the loss of a siding all count against it.

 

Sold for housing wasn't it, a few years back.

 

if you mean the short stub of the basingstoke branch, then yes, i understand the land of the Meon valley spur at Butts is not suitable, , it would seem that any further building at the MHR will require very extensive civil engineering to build up a firm base and regrading to make usable, as well as purchase of land, that farmers may not wish to sell, at first the plan was for the now C&W and boiler shop, was to be the running shed, but the need for improoved facilities , changed that,
There appears to be no railway owned land that looks to be suitable for any covered accomodation for either stock, or engines, even a lightweight roof in the Alresford head shunt appears to need extensive civil engineering.

 

Wasn't there a plan for a carriage shed at Alton at one time? Has that opportunity now been lost?

 

If I remember correctly the plan was to buy and build up land to the east of the station - but that the brownfield site was found to be contaminated with heavy metals and was subsequently used for flats.

 

Out of interest how many perserved railways can put their locos and coaching stock under cover on a regular basis.


Cheers

 

For the last year or two we have been able to put all service stock and locos undercover when not in use at Havenstreet IOWSR. That is thanks to the Lottery funded Train Story building.

 

Yes Gary, but you had the luxury of the former goosefield where you could build it many railways dont have that amount of spare land

 

Not the Bluebell, though by this time next year, we should have more than half the locos and all the pre-nationalisation carriages under cover, either in running sheds, storage sheds or maintenance workshops. That has come, though, from a pretty-sustained fund-raising campaign that has been running, on and off, for the best part of twenty years. Which probably gives an indication of the sort of timescale you might be looking at, accepting that some storage is already in place at the MHR.

Tom

 

We only have Griffins field, the Goose field, the Show field and the Barn field because the Railway had the sense to acquire land around the station site. They even waited until the price was right. Buying the land around the Station also prevents developments that can compromise the Railways' own development and operation.

 

very sensible Gary - at Winchcombe I believe a few years ago we actually sold some land for development, I assume to raise funds for one of the landslips as with Broadway goods shed, but now we are looking at redeveloping Winchcombe yard we keep saying it would be really useful to have that land back! I don't think there was a lot else that could be done at the time though. However, I suspect in a few years time we'll have all of our running coaches under cover, I don't know whether all the locos can be in the shed at Toddington at the same time - I've seen some sitting outside but I would guess they are still cooling down.

 

The problem for the MHR is that it is almost entirely on either embankments or in cuttings. There are few places where the adjacent land is level with the track or even where it could conceivably be made to be level. The only the place that the railway sold (many years ago) that would now be useful was the land that became part of Perrins school playing field. At the time the railway needed the money badly enough that it was sell the land or loose the railway. The land at Butts sold three or four years ago would not have been suitable for sidings or carriage shed etc.

 

Everybody seems to get excited about keeping steam locos under cover, but as a former General Manager of one of the Great Little Trains once said to me "why does everyone talk about keeping great, solid lumps of metal under cover but are happy to let comparatively much "softer" carriages stay out in all weathers?"

A carriage shed would probably give the greatest payback in terms of costs saved, with out of traffic locos being kept under cover being the next priority. Locos not in use for a few days but not being worked on are probably lowest need for being kept inside. Reducing the rate of rot in Mark 1s is probably becoming not just a "nice to have" but a requirement if the size of serviceable fleets are to be maintained.

Steven

 

yes, that has to make sense

 

Where there are sidings, are the spaces between them too narrow to allow even a thin wall as part of building? If so, could any of the track be slewed by a few inches to create enough space?