Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

Watched the latest in the loop video last night. Excellent as always with a good round up of what is happening in Ropley MPD. It is mentioned that 34070 is leaving in late May so it will be down to 506 and 41312 (and Dave?) to handle services.
Is anything coming to help out for a while like 34070 has for a few Months?


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Preumably an additional loco will be needed, especially as they head into the busy summer season. Unless one of their own overhauls is going to be ready very soon!

 

Not sure when CanPac is going to be back. The boiler is now progressing very well at Ropley. The rest of the loco seems to be stuck at Eastleigh though. The frames of 92212 are now at Ropley but that loco has a fair way to go yet.

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Normal service, Dear Reader, has now resumed........

Over the last two weekends, things have progressed with both the steel Highfit B481682 and LMS van M5173617......

On the Highfit, more prep work with jet wash has been done, including the removal of the two end sections of planks, which were a bugga to get out, due to the amount of crud welding them together!

The planks also recieved a jet wash, and a stress test to see what nick they're in - they passed!

The center planks will be romoved once the crane grab has been lifted out.

On the LMS van, the south side cladding planks were removed on the London end, along with the longitudinal beam, so that the new steel work could be derusted, red oxided, and bought into first undercoat........ the country end corrugation has also recieved attention, the retaining bolts for the ply end sheets have been cut to size, red oxided, and caulked in to prevent water ingress...... the paint work has also been dealt with to bring the corrugated end into first undercoat, and a start has been made on reaming the holes on the country end south side cladding planks and steel to take M10 & M12 bolts.

It doesn't sound like a lot has happened, but when you narrow it down to the number of bodies on site, it's actually quite a lot of work!!!

As its the railways Spring Gala next weekend, us hardy folks in the Wagon Group will have our sales stand on the dock platform at Medstead, selling all sorts of railway related stuff, that you didn't know you needed, to help raise monies for our fighting fund to carry on trying to tame the troublesome trucks......... plus, I believe the world famous (?) yard tours are also on the agenda......... so why not break your journey atop the hill and witness steam loco's working hard up Medstead bank, whilst visiting our sales stand!

Some pics from the last two weekends........

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53653371574/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53667570532/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53653371884/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53668795404/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53653484635/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53668656408/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/53653024266/in/dateposted-public/

The prep work continues on the steel Highfit - before and after pictures of the London end section of the frames, after the jet wash had done its job!




The LMS van, starting to come on a treat.

 

Can someone give me more details of what is happening with the signalling at Medstead?
I am new to this announcement. One source tells me the new panel box is temporary while the mechanical signalling is refurbished.
But this source makes it sound very permanent:

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.u...amall-opens-signal-box-heritage-railway-line/

One other report says that the mechanical box will be turned into a museum while it is refurbished. How would that work?

The same report also suggests that the new panel box gives increased safety and easier physical work for the signalmen. So if the old box is reinstated, does that mean less safety and increased physical work?

I find it difficult to believe that the mechanical box is at the end of its life after 40 years. Some boxes are more than 100 years old and still going strong.

I am an enthusiast for heritage signalling and i really can't believe what I am reading here. I did think it was an April Fool to begin with.

What is the real story?

 

https://watercressline.co.uk/building-department-january-2024-update/

The blog certainly states it's temporary, but none of the recent announcements mention that fact. The box was originally from Wilton South, but what exactly is life expired it doesn't say. Is it the structure itself, or the mechanical parts of it? A shame that all the semaphores have been replaced by colour light signals as well. Hopefully as it's a portacabin it is just a temporary solution.

 

There's only one new colour light (the Down Home) - the signals in the station are all still semaphore, but now motor controlled.

 

It just seems a very permanent "temporary" solution. Quite how long should it take to renew the frame? Sounds like it ought to take a few winter months. The work spent building the new box and installing the colour light seems like it might have taken longer than replacing the old frame.
I guess there's more to this then I know.
It just seems a sad thing for a heritage line to do.
I didn't actually know that mechanical frames could wear out, certainly not lightly used heritage line ones. They are so heavily engineered, they should last for ever. Blue anchor frame was installed in 1904 and still going strong after 120 years.

 

Maybe a few answers here?

 

The problem was not the signalbox, (ex Wilton South) but the actual problem was the lever frame which was not in a very good condition when installed, perhaps someone from the S&T can update on that, but I seem to recall that it had to be installed in a hurry in 1984, as M&4M was required as a passing loop.
Certainly No 1 signal reading from Alton direction into the up platform was signed OOU some 25 to 30 years ago and Shunt Signals 13 and 14 leading to and from the down (Bennet's) siding were also OOU.
A replacement lever frame ex Farnham (I think A Box?) was acquired a few years ago as a replacement frame for Medstead.
I would hazard a guess that the new panel box will remain in situ for the foreseeable future, Perhaps in the interim period the original box could be turned into a museum like Romsey box.

 

Heavens only knows what you make of the signalling at Alton, then! (Award winning, BTW.)
Pat

 

Some good news.

Photographs are now appearing on Facebook of the frames, including the wheels and cab, of Canadian Pacific being transported (today) from Eastleigh to the Mid-Hants Railway courtesy of Allelys. <BJ>

 

That’s great news.

 

It's still going to be some time though. before she's finished, the boiler isn't far off its hydraulic test, then, there's the steam test, before the boiler can be dropped in the frames, then everything has to be plumbed up, and finished, i still think you're talking at least 6 months before she turns a wheel, entry into service at the October gala, i would say, if i was a betting man, make it a Bullield gala with 35005, 35006, 34070 and 34081

 

Nice idea but remember there's a big Bulleid gala coming up at Swanage this year featuring 3 of those locos. Do we need another one?

 

Stevens lever frames of the age of M&4M and Romsey are not really suitable for just swapping standard components. Swapping a "few levers" at Romsey to reinstate full height levers was fraught with problems. First of all some had forged levers which included the lever tails to operate the outside equipment but others had a large casting into which the lever and operating lever tails were bolted. The bolted together construction was a later adaptation. The pivots were of different sizes and degrees of wear and lastly the levers varied in thickness by up to 3/16th of an inch.
These frames were modified on site as they were installed by apparently the use of mobile blacksmiths forges. The drilled holes for the locking drive rods varied in size and position. Opening out holes or drilling new holes in wrought iron was a slow process.

I suspect that M&4M will b a work site for many years to come. Taking something like a locking frame apart may be interesting to signalling enthusiasts but it's not really a spectator sport for the public. On top of rebuilding the frame all the interlocking will need to be checked and refurbished as well. There isn't the commercial or operational pressure of getting a 10 year locking exam done on a SB like Dorking on Minster over a bank holiday weekend. In that way , the Mid Hants have done the correct thing for safety and ease of engineering and operation by creating a parallel modern installation.

In conclusion, it's not like refurbishing a 1930's Westinghouse or RCH frame largely made of mild steel with factory precision tolerances. Each component will need to be fitted individually in the old meaning of the term - hand crafted to make it fit and work.

Cheers, Neil

 

She has arrived safely at Alresford.

 

Nunquam satis Bulleids

 

Neil,
I'm not familiar with a Stevens frame. Are there locking bars within the frame, or external to it? If part of it, and the frame was being changed, then that's also a lot of (safety-critical) work as well.

 

35005 back at home by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

35005 On Mid Hants metals again