If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

Rother Valley Railway

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by nine elms fan, Nov 4, 2012.

  1. Biermeister

    Biermeister Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2019
    Messages:
    333
    Likes Received:
    625
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Brewer
    Location:
    Daylesford, Victoria, Australia
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Well spotted Mark. I seem to remember there were some negative views expressed about loss of wildlife corridors along this stretch of line. However, this aerial view clearly shows the railway retaining adjacent hedgerows for our wildlife which provides encouraging evidence to perhaps reshape views of some of these erstwhile detractors...
     
  2. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2018
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    1,329
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Battle
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I'd missed this as well although there was a piece in the recent members' magazine showing the start of tracklaying. This followed the granting of the S73 planning consent enabling the construction of the line to be phased. Laying this section of track means that work has started on the original planning consent thus preserving it. We are still awaiting the result of the Public Inquiry into the TWAO which shouldn't be long now.
     
  3. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2014
    Messages:
    17,609
    Likes Received:
    11,223
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    St Leonards
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Let's hope its going to be a green light,
     
  4. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2018
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    1,329
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Battle
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Here are a couple of Pictures I took of the Turntable at Robertsbridge which I took yesterday. Apologies for quality of the photos. It's rather Bigger than I thought it would be!

    Turntable 002.jpg Turntable 001.jpg
     
  5. mikehartuk

    mikehartuk New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2007
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    441
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Some pictures below showing the work that’s currently in hand toward completion of the Robertsbridge turntable project. The circular steel structure for the timber access platform and the rotating fencing around its circumference is seen well advanced (as described in my earlier post on No 1897 on Page 95 of this thread). The K&ESR volunteer track gang have also been back on site to install the new point and siding to the turntable. Following that Balfour Beatty bought their tamper liner down to RVR Robertsbridge for a few days of on site operator training and while there kindly tamped that new track. The final picture is a cab view of the tamper returning to the N Rail mainline at Robertsbridge for its journey back to base – which is coincidentally at Hither Green where the now refurbished turntable came from! Mike.
     

    Attached Files:

    Johnme101, Dan Hill, Miff and 6 others like this.
  6. H Cloutt

    H Cloutt Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2018
    Messages:
    884
    Likes Received:
    1,329
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Battle
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Thanks Mike for the pictures - it's certainly coming along. That Tamper Liner is a bit of a beast!
     
    Mark Thompson likes this.
  7. Mark Thompson

    Mark Thompson Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2017
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    3,562
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    E sussex
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    A much appreciated update, Mike, and many thanks for that. Just wondering how the relaying at Junction Road is progressing. Has that now been completed?
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  8. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,165
    If the rotating decking will cover the whole area, why are fences needed between that and where a loco goes?
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  9. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2006
    Messages:
    11,930
    Likes Received:
    10,088
    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I’m guessing that the fences are only temporary to protect the currently open pit as they are just scaffolding tubes.
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  10. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    The turntable will not be fully decked, and possibly never was. It’ll be much as it was at Hither Green (apart from the weeds). See Mike’s earlier post which explains this clearly.
     
    MellishR and H Cloutt like this.
  11. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,165
    If the outriggers(?) are not for supporting a deck, what is their purpose?
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  12. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    14,900
    Likes Received:
    12,241
    I recommend you mock a turntable up with 'outriggers' set-up as they are shown in that photo, and then try turning it…

    It looks very much to me as though they're simple, temporary devices to hold the deck in its current position.


    Re-looked at the photos, and I'm now confused too.

    Simon
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  13. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Messages:
    26,103
    Likes Received:
    57,432
    Location:
    LBSC 215
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    There's some discussion here: https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/rother-valley-railway.38105/page-95#post-2733530

    Looking at photos of the turntable in situ at Hither Green, it certainly didn't have decking by the late 1950s or 1970s. What it was like when originally built I don't know. But the key to it seems to be that the framework supports a rotating fence around the perimeter of the pit.

    Tom
     
    H Cloutt and goldfish like this.
  14. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    14,900
    Likes Received:
    12,241
    I was never any good at rotation in geometry. Thanks for the reminder.

    Simon
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  15. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    As explained in Mike’s earlier post (linked above by @Jamessquared , or look for any photos at Hither Green) they support the decked walkways on both sides of the bridge, and the rotating fencing all around (just inside) the circumference.
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  16. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,165
    That's making some sense now, but raises yet another question: why a rotating fence rather than a fixed one?
     
    H Cloutt likes this.
  17. Selsig

    Selsig Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2007
    Messages:
    861
    Likes Received:
    365
    Location:
    Coventry, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Because that way you only ever have a gap in the fence that leads onto the turntable deck itself - if you had a fixed fence with gaps where the rails head towards the deck then they would give free drop access into the pit whilst the table was part rotated. Moreso if there were multiple tracks onto the turntable.

    John
     
  18. mikehartuk

    mikehartuk New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2007
    Messages:
    91
    Likes Received:
    441
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Heres a few shots of the turntable when it was at Hither Green that might help with how the rotating fence around the circumference of the turntable functions
     

    Attached Files:

    Johnme101, 35B, Miff and 1 other person like this.
  19. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It may be needed as part of the rebuild, but how many other turntables, around the country, have this amount of fencing installed?
     
  20. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    14,900
    Likes Received:
    12,241
    How many of them had it originally? Isn’t that the point here, that as well as a practical asset for the railway, it’s a restoration …?

    Simon
     
    mdewell likes this.

Share This Page