Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

I can’t comment on the regularity of changes in the policy and it is a couple of years since I last spoke to the NRM management about a loan, but at that point it was Science Museum policy and had been for a little while. There was no allowance for modification, I asked. That said, providing the borrower gave no reason to cause a change in the loan I was led to expect you could expect a regular renewal, but it could not be a contractual right.

 

Having a brother that deals with planning and having to deal with someone who really doesn’t understand it earlier this week I could well imagine why it wouldn’t be as straightforward as you might think.

 

With new (ish) houses on one side and a school on the other (with consequent trespass of teenagers "looking for our football") it is not an easy location in which to erect a building. You would also probably need to lose a siding as there really are some tight clearances in the cutting. A few years back when clearing scrub on the south side bank our working party came across great piles of garden waste and used cat litter which had mysteriously appeared just behind some of the recently erected garden fences up there... Further complications include drainage, as the cutting is actually rapidly replaced by a steep embankment above an assisted living development and other houses, and of course Jacklyn's Lane road bridge. Twenty five years ago with fewer houses and a perhaps a more relaxed view on environmental issues planning permission might have been relatively simple, but not now I'm afraid.

 

Planning is the least of the problems since PP would probably not be required (permitted development right). Building regs still apply though. Access is a major headache, and therefore cost. And all the issues @Hampshire Unit has mentioned.

 

I see a lot of reasons being given why something cannot be done, but has anyone looked in any depth as to how the problems might be addressed, or is it just the "too difficult/too expensive! because that's what we think" arguments being made?

 

Do you indeed? I didn’t see anyone saying it couldn’t be done. Only that it wouldn’t be inexpensive.

The problem has been looked at in enough depth to know what the issues are and to have a broad idea of what the cost might be, which allowed it to be seen in its proper priority. Relaying the point work at Alresford was more urgent, affordable and important. For example.

 

Surely the best place to have more covered accommodation would be the other side of Bighton hill road bridge at Ropley. The Railway have already removed the chalk and have laid two new sidings and extend them for shortage.

 

The excavations for the chalk sidings gave minimum clearance from the running lines and the chalk bank. It was a "needs must" exercise to stable stock while the Butts bridge was replaced at Alton. The sidings have proved their worth in allowing space for Ropley Works Yard to be sorted out and made easier to use.
Roofing the chalk sidings would need further excavation and slueing them away from the running line to give suitable clearances.

Note this isn't an official view, just putting 2 and 2 together from the Watercress magazine and personal observation when helping with a loco at Ropley.

Cheers, Neil

 

The railway has many things in its favour, but one that work against it, the only major minus, is the lack of available land that would be suitable for building covered accommodation for anything, in a location that is where it needs to be, that is at Alresford, and Ropley, both have no spare land, and no chance of acquiring land in the short to medium time span, I deally we would all love to see the field next to where the old manor was sited, acquired , levelled and a semi round house built, but the farmer has no intent of selling, and the railway, has no money anyway, so its just a dream, but that is the only way any covered stabling point could be provided,

 

Also not an official view, but I had some involvement in the creation of the sidings and your remarks are spot on.

An additional consideration is that the sidings are on a gradient of maybe 1 in 85. Possibly not ideal for a building.

Final observation, whilst anything is built over existing sidings you have to be able to put the stuff somewhere else. That means the first step in building a carriage shed at Alresford, might be to relay and lengthen the Meon siding at Alton!

 

From time to time people mention the land at Butts Junction (site of). Apart from having no road access (the parcel between our land and Mounter's Lane is owned by A N Other, and the lane is a bridleway - definitely NO motor vehicles), it is an open invitation to the morons to go in and trash everything.
Just thought I'd get that out there!
Pat

 

I think security issues could be overcome, and there is quite a bit of land we do own (enough for 4 or 5 sidings with 6 to 10 carriages per siding). However, some of that is outside the LRO boundary, there is a TPO and the ground is “made up” fill. All addressable, but not inexpensive.

It is a shame that the road access wasn’t created during the bridge works, but that’s hindsight.

 

RAT and Belle out tonight- Belle only just got back (23:15) -wonder of cold and damp caused adhesion issues?
Here is a shot tof the ECS for the RAT up at Wanders earlier this evening. @21B may remember similar weather with 30925 a couple of years ago

"Goliath" at sunset by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

 

F F F F Flippin''Eck it were fresh atop the hill yesterday morning!!!! If it carries on, it won't be long until its ruddy perishing....................

Any road, after reluctantly extracting ourselves from a cozy mess room, it was time to try and tame some troublesome trucks....... three of our number had the task of derusting & red oxiding more metalwork on LMS van M517317 & given it would be more temperate by the time the oxide came out, it was one of those overdue jobs that needed to be done!

Elsewhere, muggin's 'ere & me oppo were tasked with looking at vac cylinders...... first one being on the cattle van, which is in for som running repairs, and the vac cylinder had been isolated at the neck end of last year due to reports of dragging brakes........ and Soooooo it was out with the scissor jack to do our tried & tested method of testing....... rudimentary it might be, but it works! After three operations of the cylinder, it holds vac no problem, and the piston comes to a stop when the string is let go, so there's no probem with the rolling ring, but it was noticed that the piston rod was suffering from some corrosion, so this has been removed along with the gland seal & housing, which need machining so that everything will work smoothly.......

Next up was the vac cylinder on the Meat van, overhauled by the Alton gang, the cylinder is siezed so needs an overhaul along with all the brake gear...... - it should be a straight forward job to get the ruddy thing off, but it decided it wanted a fight....... first up the securing bolts wouldn't budge, so the gas axe came out to blow them off - two out of three were straight forward, but the third didn't go cleanly meaning there was a sliver left, which caused us no end of grief in trying to get the cylinder to drop!!!

Eventually we got the damn thing off and opened out for initial inspection, by then it was time to pack up & head home for some much needed liquid libation!

Some pics of yesterdays passing trains.....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53259802204/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53259742448/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53259752308/in/dateposted-public/

Plus the final few from last weekends gala......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53253690515/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53253693030/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53253555159/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53253193476/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53253552209/in/dateposted-public/

The offending vac cylinder off the meat van..... finally on the deck!

 

Had an update today about the final day of operation of 53808 on 4th November.
Originally scheduled to be a one train service the timetable has now been altered to a two train service with 41312 on the other service (starting from Alton).
53808 will be on the Alresford set.
The 7F will also be operating the RAT in the evening.


Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk

 

Which begs the question "what happens next?". Will the WSR be arranging and paying for the overhaul?

 

Doubtful, if it doesnt have a copper cap, the PLC chairman wont have it!

 

Good, I hope it stays/moves somewhere worthy of it.

 

The problem is who is going to come up with the money to overhaul it,? the trust going to need to find a lot of money, I know that some will expect the WSR to honour their side of the arrangement, but that's not like there is money in the pot, there will be some, from the MHR, for hire and steaming fees, but that's nowhere near enough, the best we can hope for is that some agreement can be found, whereby it remains an MHR based loco, and help is given from the members, to get the engine overhauled, and that some financial assistance can be gotten from the WSR plc,

 

Good luck with that. [BJ]