Mid Hants Preservation Society Gifted LBSCR Coaches

These days the word "night school" is a dirty word in government departments whatever colour their rosette is, and government funding has been cut back.

 

Hello,
It is a legal requirement to be trained on woodworking machinery.
Training provides safe working practices and a safe working environment.
Lots of people get hurt or killed by lack of training.
Can any heritage railway afford a volunteer death by lack of training?
Hefty fines of £100,000 plus are common ,prison in some cases for a worker being killed.
I hope your group do not have a serious incident. I would not join your group with such cavalier attitudes.


Nick

 

Depends on your definition of safe...

Not having the paper is a big risk as far as insurance and legal professions are concerned.. And those kinds of legal disputes can be expensive, especially if the insurance doesn't cover it because of the lack of the necessary pieces of paper.

 

I think the risk for me in wood working was summed up when I met a former wood worker who was missing one finger and the stub of a second, claimed by a simple accident with a router. It really doesn't take much for something to go wrong even on simple tools such as a router, sharp chisel, bandsaw etc.
If your lucky you might get away with it but it really will be down to luck and not judgement.

 

I must say, the thought of the MHR having any vintage stock, leaves me cold! Just think back on all the historic coaches that the MHR has had, and then think how many are left [1]. You'd never in your right mind even start to think about a vintage set, let alone 6w LBSCR, on a LSWR line, with the Mk! fleet looking so rundown. There needs to be proper infrastructure built, to store, and restore coaches of that age. A single shed at Ropley, simply is not enough. The BlueBell has a large shed, bigger than Ropley Shed just for coaches. Once the accommodation problem has been fixed, then start finding appropriate projects, like a swap with the BlueBell, or other lines.

 

If you want to do something, there is always a way to stop you.

WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMON SENSE? AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY?

Since the days of the STONEAGE Homo-sapiens have got on fine and freely developed to where we were in 1993. In the short time since then, have lost everything we learn in 50,000 years?

 

How is preventing someone dying/being maimed by insufficient training not being responsible? Surely letting them die/be maimed (when it could have been avoided) is irresponsible?

'Common sense' is too often used to describe 'application of prior knowledge' - people not trained/brought up in an environment where such dangers as those in woodworking, engineering etc. are commonplace are unlikely to know of them. Hence, training is necessary, preferably before they cut their fingers off.

 

Agreed, it is a dreadful expression that often has nothing to do with sense of any kind!

Paul H

 

Mr PolSteam times have moved on, the MHR is a very different place to the one you knew; the railway is now turning out excellent restorations, overhauls & general maintenance for example look at the excellent restoration of 34051 and the work being undertaken currently in the carriage shop on the two Bulleid coaches.

Unfortunately the current Mk1 fleet is still suffering from after painting schedule set backs caused by the shed fire; I know they are planning on addressing this issue over the coming years or so.

For all of the above reasons the Mid Hants having vintage stock is not something to worry about.

 

Oh dear, do you guys get out of bed in the mornings without doing a risk assessment?

 

I just do one at the start of each financial year, and add revisions as and when I need to.

 

You all say it's changed a lot, but I simply do see the same railway that I do, when I've visited. So, please prove me wrong with rakes of fully restored coaches, like the MHR did have.

Last time I was there, the Mk1's all needed a fair bit of welding, and internal work, which I would think would be a good 2 month repair per coach, times how many?

 

Can I ask where did you get all the papers necessary to work on a preserved railway?

 

So what qualifies you to hold such a low opinion of unskilled volunteers?

 

Hi John,

The quoted post was a facetious response to the 'getting out of bed without a risk assessment' post, should probably have added a to show that!

If you are asking why I would not trust an unskilled volunteer to do dangerous tasks, then my opinion is largely because (at the railway where I volunteer) I am an unskilled volunteer, often working under supervision of someone who is qualified, which I am glad of, because they can help me become a skilled volunteer by training me. Thus I acquire the knowledge without putting my/other people's lives/fingers at unnecessary risk.

Likewise, in my day job, I do not rely on common sense to prevent my crew members from getting injured, I do risk assessments to show due diligence (Or I employ trained and experienced professionals to do so), as I certainly do not want someone else's death on my conscience if it could have been avoided, regardless of whether it was their own fault or not.

 

Hold your bleedin' horses.........

I've just read the various reponses to this post......... and quite frankly it makes my blood boil, having read what you posted in the "MHR then" thread................ so your view is tainted by what happened to you in, I assume, the JB era?............ times not surprisingly have moved on & JB is no longer part of the equation, hence your bitter & twisted view.

You are in effect through your tainted view, making accusations of the current management.........

The fact that the MHR have been gifted these coaches, surely is a vote of confidence in the direction the Rly is heading, regardless of whether or not they are appropriate for the line........ give it a rest, this is preservation, it doesn't matter if they are appropriate or not!

As for the coaches themselves, they are undercover at Eastleigh, and by the time they emerge, no doubt the cover they need will be provided, as for the BB comparison, just how long has it taken them to get to this point?..............

So please pipe down, and stop trying to rock the boat.

 

My present task is not safety critical but I have undergone an induction session nevertheless, which all new volunteers do. When I was involved in operating, I underwent the necessary training. You ought to take note of what Corbs has to say.

PH

 

All Preserved railways have a duty of care towards those who are employed by it, this includes voulenteers, so the railway says everyone has to have an induction,and has to be tested on machinery, to not do is a breach of their duty of trust, thats fine as far as it goes assuming the railway in question has the right systems in place, where it breaks down is where you have a situation where the trainer is not on site, and the employed and trained staff are un willing to pass on their skills.

 

OK, lets get a few things clear, true I hate a certain persons guts, I think that goes without saying. But I hold no malice to the MHR today, nor did I then, as it was all down to one person who is no longer there.

But just stop for a min, and look at what you have at present. You can't say everything is great. JB has been gone for how long now? I don't even know when that was, as I was out of the country, or busy having kids at the time. But my critique of things as I see them now, seems to have sparked a bit of a war of words.

I said before I'm nothing but an outsider looking in, but it seems as though you are taking me too seriously. I'm a nobody, so why get so upset? Or is my voice more powerful than I think it is?

LBSCR 6w coaches are not appropriate for a LSWR line, with no engines from LBSCR period. That is my opinion, like it or lump it.

I think, I might just be saying what some others have said. or might have said, but these people don't want to put their heads above the parapet, judging by your response.

Lets see what the next reply holds.

 

Are you part of the Hayling Island Society?