The "linear scrapyard" revisited

It would have got the hump from that most certainly.

Paul H

 

The reason I bothered to post was not because I thought that stock should have been scrapped, but because it is often claimed that people don't notice or don't mind untidy unrestored stock in public view. My point was that even a toddler noticed it, noticed it was untidy, and expressed as she was able an opinion that it shouldn't be spoiling her view. I imagine many more mature visitors think the same.
The railway I question is generally very tidy. It may be letting this go a bit, or it may have been a temporary "park". But one visitor noticed and commented.
In her case, it won't prevent repeat custom as a) she didn't pay anyway and b) Daddy is taking her back whether she likes it or not....

 

Does the IoWSR have a linear scrapyard?

 

No, they have a neatly secreted collection of 'strategic spares' and 'future restoration projects'......... (Essential to achieve immaculately restored carriages like a number of their's that weren't purchased 'complete'!)



Steven

 

The short answer is "No". Of course it has its assortment of "stuff" but this is not visible from a public area. It has taken people (not I) a deal of hard work to achieve this.

PH

 

Sometimes it pays not to throw rolling stock to the scrap bin, especially if it can be used for storage or by PWay etc. Relatively recent before & after images from the very informative GWSR C&W Blog.

 

You are still making excuses for linear scrap yards.Clearly this vehicle comes into the "tidy it away until it can be dealt with" category. There is much worse than this, sometimes in pieces strewn around.

PH

 

Over the years we have had several. When we only had Havenstreet to Wootton as our railway we had a stub end towards Ashey & Smallbrook which we called the Ashey Siding. It had many items stored on it and the further you walked from Havenstreet the more decrepit they became. The last 1 or 2 wagons were beyond the end of the track due to shunting mishaps. We also had a siding at Wootton which contained old wagons and locomotive Ajax in derelict condition. When we extended to Smallbrook all that had to be moved and much of it ended up in in fields or sidings adjacent to the running line at Havenstreet. We did recognise that this was undesirable. First we abolished the siding at Wootton when we extended the runround loop which forced the move of those eyesores. Then, about 5 years ago, we were able to move all the remaining linear scrapyard items to other locations on land we had purchased. We still have many items that are not presentable but they are not on public view. As I implied above we do have a number of Victorian carriage bodies on show in Train Story to contrast with the ones that have been restored and are in regular use. This contrast seems to be appreciated and understood by the visiting public.

Our collection of vehicles continues to grow and, like all other Heritage Railways (Sorry Paul - Tourist Railways), we need to be vigilant to keep presenting a tidy railway.

Nick

 

It goes beyond keeping our scrapyard out of sight, the Loco and C&W PMVs that are used as stores and workshops at Havenstreet have been repainted over the years, even though they are destined to become donor vehicles for our grounded bodies. We have one left to do which will be tackled later this summer. It does need concerted effort and a well thought through plan for it all to come to fruition but you do have to see the need in the first place.

 

I'm not making excuses at all, but if I were, it would be my view (180 degrees from yours it seems) that it can be a mistake to dispose of some items for scrap. I'm merely pointing out that sometimes a very dilapidated piece of rolling stock (which is no longer being made by any current railway works and would otherwise need to be built from scratch) can be restored. In its pre-restoration state, sure, do your best to hide it away from public view but once work starts, enjoy the delight to the eyes that restoration can bring. This particular vehicle was relatively easy (!) to restore. I would be the 1st to admit that some rolling stock requires very skilled volunteer and professional labour and expensive material to restore but, once restored (and maintained of course - all the wagons in the photo behind the skeleton van are looked after and repainted) then they can not only look good but have real uses on the railway.

 

This reminds me that although this place has a higher percentage of authentic rolling stock than most and much of the equipment which has been brought in is of appropriate type, even here cannot be 100% "heritage". The Southern Railway re-vamped Havenstreet so everything could be done by one employee. Nowadays two people are in the gift shop alone!

Running a modern day tourist attraction demands considerable change. For instance, the Southern Railway never installed gas or electric light. Ice-cream without electricity is unfeasible, even when made by Minghellas just up the road (seriously yum)

Hence my thinking "tourist railway" is a more accurate term, even for here.

PH

 

Hence the workshop viewing areas which are becoming increasingly common, Not the same thing at all as the "pile of grot which passeth all understanding".

PH

 

But tidying things away (assuming you don't disagree with the 'if you scrap it, it's gone forever, with no hope of ever doing this kind of restoration some day' point) takes time, energy and resources - which are likely diverted from things like maintaining current stock, maintaining the p/way, down to improving the food outlets and cleaning the rest rooms. So the question is, what's more important: hiding 'piles of grot until the time comes', or any of the long list of other things begging for attention?

Noel

 

I was unaware that Life was Neat and Tidy. So why should Heritage Railways? Nice sanitised Heritage Railways?
May be we can get some promotional material and have a Demostos Railway....all neat and tidy and 99% Germ free!

 

Give it half a chance and grot breeds, especially in the hands of railway enthusiasts who have a tendency to hoard. Hearts need to be hardened I fear.

PH

 

To listen to one or two on this thread you'd think that heritage railways on the whole are awash with row after row of derelict stock and IMO that is far from true. Took my first trip on the MNR a couple of weekends ago and whilst Dereham yard contains more than its fare share of "junk," the majority of the journey is through pleasant countryside and some nice little wayside stations - Yaxton is a gem. The fact that the railway has gained a "Certificate of Excellence" from Tripadvsisor would seem to suggest that for some people at least, the redundant stock on the line is not a major issue.

 

Because the distaff side, who ultimately take domestic decisions, being much more sensible than the male will say something like "I don't want to look out over piles of rotting wood and rusting steel or use lavatories that smell like middens. Neither do I want to throw away clothing which has acquired a dirty mark I can't shift." "Next time we go out it will be Marwell Zoo or Blenheim or Jane Austen's house"

Yes I exaggerate but not by that much. We are selling a sanitised view of the past, rather than the past itself.

PH

 

You can get some nasty stains if you get too close to the wrong cage at Marwell… can't speak for Blenheim or Jane Austen…



Simon

 

You've hit on a good couple of points. Internal cleanliness of stock and nice loos are very important but they are achieved by a number of heritage lines irrespective of the presence or not of a "linear scrapyard."
Using my partner as an example, collections of redundant stock don't bother her but the state of the inside of carriages and the loos most certainly do.

 

Some of them are. More are untidier than they should be

PH