The "linear scrapyard" revisited

The biggest problem is people who buy things but don't have the money or the necessary skill to restore them. The items sit rotting in sidings, sometimes for years after the owners have left said railway & without a hope of being restored because they are privately owned.
The host railway then becomes free storage space for these items.
Sometimes a cull is required, such as that carried out by the G.W.S.R. recently.

Bob.

 

Spot on

Paul H

 

To add to the above, if a railway funded the construction of covered storage for unrestored stock at the expense of well maintained stock, toilets etc., I'm sure their passenger numbers would suffer much more than prioritising the latter over the former. Few if any are awash with money so priorities have to be juggled.

 

I don't think we are too far apart. I would be a little harder I think, about taking on things that cannot be stored away from public gaze, especially when there is little immediate prospect of their being sorted.

PH

 

They are all important and can be achieved if everyone has the will.

 

Agree entirely - however, that doesn't alter the fact that the visitor sees a line of rotting vehicles on one side when leaving Toddington on the train on your favourite railway and lines of rotting vehicles on both sides when arriving at Winchcombe on said train.

 

Whilst I admit neither station is perfect, both have improved and continue to improve. At Winchcombe most of the time the reasonable looking third set hides stuff on one side, and the workshops hide a reasonable amount of stuff on the other. The really dreadful looking GWR carriages (which I assure you, do make us feel embarrassed!) are privately owned and will be moving imminently. Of unrestored carriages on view, most of them are on the list for the next 5 years or so, I don't know whether that falls into Paul's acceptable time gap but I think it ought to.

The Toddington headshunt is still a remnant of before we were running public trains north of Toddington. Obviously we have done for some time now, but I hope that when we open to Broadway that the powers that be can tidy that up a bit. I know one or two items up there should also be moving on shortly.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making excuses, merely trying to explain what we're doing to combat the problem we accept exists!

 

I have happy memories of travelling in coaches like that in 1961 & 1962, although they weren't that clean!

Mouth - watering stuff, Gary!

Regards,

John

 

They are both important and there is some correlation between the two.

 

The Severn Valley is not immune to the wagon problem, with the Tenbury siding and Stourport Triangle* to name two of the more unsightly areas. However a recent article on the Severn Valley Railway Wagon Department's new website is encouraging. Selected quotes:

There are plans to build a 60 wagon three road wagon storage shed on the site of the old sugar beet sidings at Foley Park. There are over 100 wagons on the Railway with over 50 being ex GWR representing over 30 different types. The continued exposure to the elements of outside storage means that over 30 vehicles are currently unserviceable, many being of historical importance. (Benefits include...) A much tidier and less congested railway.

Full article here. https://svrwagons.wixsite.com/svrwagons/wagon-storage-shed

*Cunningly sited on the opposite side of the line midway between the rhinos and elephants to ensure it goes un-noticed by small children.

 

It will be about a mile and a long tunnel away from the rhinos and elephants

 

I meant the Stourport Triangle was cunningly sited....

 

Brilliant idea, and long overdue. We have a priceless collection and this will stop Bewdley Carriage & Wagon needing to play catch - up.

It will also stop the axle - boxes filling up with water and make it easy to maintain a large number of vehicles for Gala or photo - charter use in pristine mechanical order.

 

Given the slightly ivory tower-esque feeling of this thread, why doesn't that surprise me...?

 

There's nothing ivory tower at all in trying to keep somewhere tidy. The "normals" as one N.P. correspondent describes the bulk of tourist railway customers no more want a panoramic view of rusting RSJ's than they do of the midden heap at a farm park.

PH

 

It is only like that due to the efforts of many people who have a common aim, not ivory tower at all.

 

Whilst thee, me and many others on here find much of interest in the lines of (let's be charitable) stored stock, to Joe Public, it's more usually seen as no more than an eyesore. The practicalities and financial costs of everything neatly out of sight simply don't enter into it for visitors who shell out simply for a train ride through picturesque scenery (nobody mention Pages Park at this point!). Wish I had an answer.

I wonder (tongue firmly in cheek) if we're missing a trick with a potential Halowe'en market here? Any lines got members who could do a decent, say, Freddy Kruger impression on a spooky MK1? OK.. perhaps it's not totally suitable for very young sprogs!!

 

(Thankfully), the IOWSR cannot manage a Mk.1 but it does have a Halloween fright night.

PH

 

My preferred option would be:
1) Built decent storage facilities for all running rakes and future requirements.
2) Build replica pre-WW2 coaching stock from all eras 1830s-1930s.
3) Scrap all Mk1s everywhere, apart from one for NRM.
Anyone got deep pockets?

 

1. - agree
2. - Have you travelled in the replica L&M carriages????
3. - you malign a humble workhorse. Much as I need to try the Quad Art sometime, I suspect the Mk1 will come up well by comparison