West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Could they be giving the signage the bird?
Are the Pheasants revolting?
I'm not game for a game pie - would prefer the game to be cancelled due to waterlogged pastry. Now a decent snake and pygmy pie - that's more like it...

 

West Somerset Railway - Then and Now #119

Dunster 1975 / 2017

The potential for Dunster to be the WSR display / heritage / museum location telling the story of Goods movement by rail is considerable.

Copyright Tim Venton / Robin White

1975


2017

 

I think I would be too ashamed to show the now photo's to the world.

DJB.

 

Hopefully the potential can be recognised and the will found to move the P.Way Department to a better base with proper facilities not so publicly visible (and kept a bit tidier wherever it might be) allowing the gem than Dunster could be to emerge.

Robin

 

I see that there are a lot of cut logs. How about selling them off to staff ? The yard gets improved, the dept gets the cash, the staff are happy. Has anybody said "no" ?

 

@Robin White. You are quite right to suggest that Dunster would be the perfect location for a goods heritage centre.

You only have to look at Washford to see what can be achieved.

Stef.

 

Was it not Washford they were going to relocate the p'way to after they booted the S&d a few years back? 24/7 access on a dangerous bend, 24/7 access over the accommodation crossing and a mess like Dunster yard in full view of the main road?

 

Quite a distance, but would not Norton Fitzwarren be a suitable location for the PWay department?

Subject to planning issues undoubtedly involved, the ballast cleaning site would seem ideal (not sure if that is owned as I understand from here it has to be 'restored' when ballast cleaning complete, but if that could be changed, a major cost would be saved and a suitable site already in similar use be 'tailor made'!)

Steven

 

Format of information looks fine Robin, quite took me back to the heady days of the early 1960s when we dashed around South Wales looking for 3103 the last of the 31xx prairies. Cardiff Cathay, East Dock, Newport Ebbw Junction and found her at the back of STJ. Glad I saw one of them before they went, although a visit to Swindon in 1956/1957 revealed a plethora of early Welsh minor line tanks awaiting disposal and a 28XX clearly marked for sale £200.
Alas I have got to that age when looking back seems preferable to looking forward. It is a very interesting time as I am disposing of one of our deceased long term station staff's model railway. I sold a 00 gauge locomotive and 7 coaches for about £200. So at that rate a 28XX is now worth a Kings ransom. Ken

 

Thanks for the endorsement, Ken.

Robin

 

Given that Dunster village and its environs are a delightful tourist attraction in this instance it was probably a good thing that the original railway builders sited their stations quite often some distance from the village or town they served.

 

Number 3103 was one of five 3150 Class locos rebuilt in 1939 (previously No.3155) with inter alia a 225 psi No.4 boiler to become the 3100 Class . It was, as Ken says, the last of the 5 to survive being officially withdrawn from Ebbw Jct January 1960.

The 3150 Class were 40 locos built 1906-8 with the larger No.4 boiler. They, other than the five 3100 Class rebuilt locos, were withdrawn between 1/1947 and 8/1958.

Nos 3100, 3111-49 were built with the No.2 boiler as noted previously. Ten of these were rebuilt (by then renumbered in the 51xx series) in 1938-39 with higher pressure No.2 boilers (225 psi) and smaller coupled wheels (5ft 6inch diameter to improve acceleration) to become the 8100 Class.

Presumably but for the outbreak of WWII more, if not all, of both types would have been rebuilt.

Thinking further about 5193. Post the introduction of the 5101 Class the 3150 Class locos became the preferred banking engines. In 1935 there were 16 of them at Severn Tunnel Jct, eight at Newton Abbot, two at Taunton and three at Gloucester (sub shredded Brimsdown) for Patchway, Dainton, Wellington and Sapperton inclines respectively. The remainder as per the 5101s (ie 5193) were mainly employed on passenger work. Post WWII there were 22 3150s allocated to STJct. ( some of these were used on passenger workings ?). After the withdrawal of the 3150s various locos fulfilled these banking duties, particularly in the last few years of steam operation members of the later built 41xx series.

I actually timed number 3150 when attached as a pilot to Castle No. 4081 on 28/8/56 with a 13 coach train. Including attaching the pilot before Severn Tunnel Jct and detaching at Badminton the time from passing Magor to Hullavington was 51minutes 50 seconds. On 22/3/61 I timed Castle 5045 with 13 on (475 tons gross). No pilot was taken, speed fell to 27 mph at one stage climbing out of the tunnel but the STJct Badminton time was only 49-57. Although the two locos mounted the long gradient quicker this could not offset time taken attaching and detaching.

Michael Rowe

 

NFW is probably the most viable site for a PWay depot, although a long way away.
Is a part of the Watchet paper mill site also a possibility? Good road access, down in the valley, central to the railway etc etc..
What does the PWay Dept. think?
I can't think of any other locations - any ideas?

 

Sorry but paper mill a complete non starter on cost grounds.

 

I can understand the attraction of NFW on aesthetic grounds. However, operationally - it’s 22 miles from the far end of the line, probably a good 1.5 hours each way in a Wickham or road-rail vehicle. Which must surely put a constraint on the ability to have pre- or post-service moves for infrastructure purposes, especially if an early morning Wickham heading back to NFW starts having to thread in between the first down services. Even on days when there is no service, it could be adding up to three hours on everyone’s day just travelling to and from a worksite. Possible, but you can see why operationally a base near the middle of the line would be preferable.

(For completeness, Dunster would seem to be almost as inconveniently placed).

Tom

 

Ideally you might expect the PW dept to be located near the centre of the railway

Yes - though road (or NR rail) haulage of materials to NFW is far preferable (and probably cheaper) than to any other point on the WSR given the "quality" of the local road network. Otherwise logic points to Williton as Tom suggests. That would require a total rethink of the Williton site, part of which is not in WSR or WSRA ownership at present?

 

I wouldn't dismiss an acre or two of the paper mill site just yet - there's something like 40 or 50 acres there - they'd hardly miss a couple.
Dunster & Williton are roughly an acre each, give-or-take, approximately or near enough.
There's a brief mention on page 223 of this thread.

 

Perhaps you don't know just how expensive commercial land is in the UK?

 

Tom - Have to disagree slightly.
On the NYMR Newbridge yard is a mile from the South end and 17 miles from the North.

We do not use Wickhams we use Loco and wagons for moving materials, generally an 08 but sometimes something a bit bigger depending on tonnage.
Early morning Engineers train moves are quite common delivering materials to site or collecting them returning to Newbridge before the first train.
For day to day maintenance the PW Gang use a Transit crewbus ex Network Rail. Pick ups are available if needed.

However the location was the only one available to us that had Low loader access, nowhere else on the line is accessible to large vehicles.
We need access all year round for Loco or rolling stock movements on and off the railway.
Bulk deliveries of Ballast, Rail and sleepers or disposal of similar.
If our Track machines are out and about, then they are either part of the consist of an engineering train or they are in a possession. As shown below before heading out for an overnight ballast tip and tamping session.

We have made them Possession only machines even though they could work on their own as a train. That is for our own reasons.

The yard itself must be large enough to stable our machines, associated working wagons, new bulk materials and old bulk materials plus allowing for HGV and private vehicle access and parking.
In our case we also have to allow for some interloping from the MPD with their noisy smelly steamy things.

 

All of which is achieved “off set” and without offending the eye or undermining the heritage presentation of a station.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk