Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Part of the issue is that whilst we are very lucky with the amount of undercover storage there is (with a large part of this down to hard work and fundraising by volunteers), OP3 is still being used to store several engines, which it was never intended to be used for. That’s one of the reasons why the eventual construction of an OP5 is so important.

 

Convert as yet unrefurbished SOBT 4227 into a RMB and use the double doors for wheelchair entry……..two bird with one stone!

 

An old
post of mine!

 

Isn't 4227 unique though because of its coupe? I know very little about it as I have never seen it. I wasn't around when 2515 and 4279 were still running, but have heard from a guard that they weren't popular to work from!

 

Presumably because 4/5 is both double-sided and curved, which makes dispatch a lot trickier?

Operationally, down through 2 and up through 3 is easiest, if a bit odd crossing to the right, because 3 doesn't have an overlap at the southern end, so you can't have both trains arriving simultaneously. IIRC from talking to the DI last time I was there, that means holding the up at the outer home until the down is at a stand - wheras if the down comes into 2, you can set the points for the Ardingly route to give a non-conflicting overlap.

 

On the first point, yes, 4/5 is now avoided as much as possible, due to its curvature, being double sided, and plat 5 not being long enough for a 6 set.

On the second point, this is exactly what confused me. I'd always understood that 3 was not used on the down when passing because, as you say, in 2 you can route a train towards Ardingly, and in 4 you can route a train into the down yard. Therefore, an up train can simultaneously arrive.

The train planning rules from a few years back state (from memory, not word-for-word) "Up trains should use platform 3. Down trains should use platforms 4/5, or platform 2 if neccecary." (As I said, 4/5 is no longer in regular use.)

A more recent version, which I won't quote or directly describe, also says that up trains should use 3, and down trains in 2. There is mention of what to do if down trains are longer than 6 coaches, but there haven't been any of these lately.

EDIT BEFORE PRESSING POST: I've come to the realisation of why this is being done. The down starting signal for 2 road is right at the bottom of the platform ramp. This means that if it's a 6 set with a long engine, or a slight stop short, the rear portion of the train could be off the end of the platform. That door will always be kept locked, so there is very little if any risk of passengers attempting to alight from a non-platformed door, but the last coach could foul the barrow crossing. Converesely, on 3 road, there is a much greater distance from the end of the platform to the down starting signal. This means the train should not ever stop short.

The platform swap has clearly been done to reduce risk further, and this obviously takes precedence over signalling ease. In this case, I reckon it is likely to remain in the long-term. However, set A is apparently soon t0 be reduced to 5 coaches, so platform 2 may revert to being the down platform.

 

Set A will be 5 coaches from tomorrow, with 25728 being removed from the set. Set A can easily be extended up to 6 coaches on the day if required, with the Observation Car being kept as a “hot spare” in the carriage shed.

 

I think one of the reason for sending up trains through 3 and down trains through 2 (which I agree, looks odd) is because of the permanent speed restrictions north of Horsted in the station area.

An up train departing from Platform 3 and going via the "main" (more easterly of the two running lines) can run at 25mph as soon as it is clear of the platform, whereas an up train departing from Platform 2 and running via the "loop" (the more westerly line) is restricted to 10mph until it is clear of Leamland Junction. So effectively up trains can accelerate to line speed immediately if they go through Platform 3, and that helps a lot with time keeping. If you leave from Platform 2 going up, it probably costs you a minute or two in timekeeping relative to leaving from 3.

(An up train leaving from 3 but crossing over to the loop line is restricted to 5mph across the crossover, and then 10 out to Leamland - so that is absolutely the worst for getting up to speed quickly / timekeeping).

Down trains arriving at any platform are restricted to 10mph, but that is of lesser concern. Down trains continuing to Sheffield Park can accelerate quickly once clear of the up inner home because they are doing so down a 1 in 75 gradient.

Tom

 

Yes, 25728 is in need of work - it had the structural pillars done when it first arrived 30 years ago, and cosmetic work, but needs more now. As our last remaining SK, it's considered an important vehicle in heritage terms, and the company are keen, due to the use of side-corridor stock for the Christmas trains.
Yes, we need to get back to using the carriage shed at Sheffield Park for carriages! Once we have seven-coach platforms at SP, having three carriages of a 7-car train set aside for catering use on some trips would both avoid steaming an additional loco specifically for a single round trip, would seem a good option.

 

I believe as part of the work to make platforms 1 and 2 connect to the Ardingly spur as double track, with a cross-over, both the point and the signal at the south end of platform 2 are also to move further South.

 

As SECR 65 said, we would prefer to keep 4227 as original when restored; the Mid Hants have one as well, with the Coupe Compartment, but theirs is stripped out to provide wheelchair access.
The current thinking is to use our second RMB in the Bulleid set, once that's overhaul is completed.
The Bulleid brakes are less popular with guards because they have outward-opening doors, and a cramped guards compartment if you're trying to train a new guard. They are good operationally with significantly higher seating capacity, since they have six compartments (compared to 4 in our Mk.1 BSKs or 5 in a BCK).

 

What loco is out tomorrow?

Sent from my SM-A556B using Tapatalk

 

2999 Lady of Legend - subject to usual caveats.

 

Ah, fair enough - doors off platforms being something of a hot topic lately...

 

Same reason we usually cross trains "wrong way round" at Alton - the loop has a 10mph limit all the way, so it's better to bring the arriving train in that way (which has to stop anyway), then send the departing train out on the main where it can get up to line speed quicker.

 

Heading back to the rolling stock discussion, is there any operational reason why the Wealden Rambler has two BSK's in the middle of the set? Are the compartments used for passengers, or the luggage vans used as a food preparation area?

 

Yes - the two brake vans on 34556 and 35207 are kitted out with kitchen equipment for use on dining services.