If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The PW team would be right to ignore that suggestion.
    All you will get is series of rail breaks due to you having instigated a stress raiser in the rail.
    Never ever damage the rail by using an angle grinder or other similar tool.
     
  2. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    Messages:
    10,440
    Likes Received:
    17,937
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cheltenham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Indeed, hence the smiley face.
     
  3. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Do they operate over the full length of the WSR or just that bit from the Main line to the triangle?
    Also the track conditions that the machines are designed to work over are far worse than normal running line conditions.
     
  4. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2014
    Messages:
    4,486
    Likes Received:
    5,045
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Comfy chair occupant!
    Location:
    No moaners please!
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Faulty logic. That is jus a very short section of the whole line. Much of the rest does need extensive repairs and maintenance. Think culverts and bridges as well as trackbed. This is not something that has happened suddenly. AIUI there is a serious backlog of R&M to be caught up with as well as ongoing work.
     
    Triumph 2500S and jnc like this.
  5. brennan

    brennan Member

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2016
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    294
    Location:
    Gloucester
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
  6. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Messages:
    11,246
    Likes Received:
    17,946
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    Barrister
    Location:
    Stogumber
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2019
  7. 61624

    61624 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2006
    Messages:
    5,294
    Likes Received:
    3,596
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Let's imagine for a moment that you are right and there's perhaps just a mile of track in need of relaying - that's £1M or thereabouts for starters. I think you need to remove your head from the sand! The WSR has no history of relaying its track in the same way as the NYMR or SVR has, around a mile a year and yet it has run heavy trains and locos year in and year out.. Just because trains have been running over it doesn't mean it isn't close to being life-expired.
     
    Triumph 2500S likes this.
  8. burmister

    burmister Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2008
    Messages:
    283
    Likes Received:
    281
    Some years ago the then WSR Civil Engineer ( ex BR Western Region) brought in a rail grinder to eek out the remaining life of the rails. Yes a (big) mistake was made in not following up and removing any burrs caused by the grinder but the intent was sound to buy time to allow rerailing in a phased manner. Since then next to zero rails have been renewed just sleeper replacement with second hand concretes so it should surprise nobody a lot of money now needs to be spent in a short time. Seems like the then board and directors concentrated on the mistake and forgot about why it was done in the first place. A lot of years have passed since the stone trains when ever larger locos have been used on a longer and more frequent basis.

    I think Myth 3 is a Fact not Myth.
     
    Triumph 2500S, michaelh and Greenway like this.
  9. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2012
    Messages:
    1,658
    Likes Received:
    3,891
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Out there somewhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Thanks for the link. Finally - Lots of clear information about what's going on.

    However... I still can't understand why these details are revealed to the general public in a magazine article rather than in a comprehensive statement on he WSR website. The WSR has repeatedly been 'behind the curve' in releasing news about events - usually after things have happened. Put this together with a complete lack of information about current events (apart from that meeting attended by the 'lucky' 350) from the company and I have to wonder if anyone in the higher echelons of the WSR is capable of getting news out on time, or do they think there is no need because no one would be interested?
     
  10. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2014
    Messages:
    11,246
    Likes Received:
    17,946
    Gender:
    Female
    Occupation:
    Barrister
    Location:
    Stogumber
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
  11. 6960 Raveningham Hall

    6960 Raveningham Hall Member Friend

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2016
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    1,033
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired.
    Location:
    Near St. Austell, Cornwall.
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Maybe you can explain to me. What is the difference between the 'general public' reading the information in a magazine, which they can purchase at their local newsagent, and reading it from the official website, which anybody with an Internet connection can freely access.
     
  12. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    Messages:
    3,906
    Likes Received:
    3,704
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    South Hams
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Triumph 2500S and malcolm imps like this.
  13. Forestpines

    Forestpines Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2009
    Messages:
    1,681
    Likes Received:
    2,438
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Somewhere in the UK
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The chap organising that organises a steampunk festival roughly every other weekend somewhere in the UK, if my Facebook feed is anything to go by - he's been blocked by more than one FB steampunk group for spamming adverts for his never-ending festivals. I think this one was going to be in Llandudno until he had venue problems.
     
  14. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,164
    In general yes, but the particular quotation concerning the state of the WSR's track is very relevant to the present discussion.
     
  15. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2014
    Messages:
    4,486
    Likes Received:
    5,045
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Comfy chair occupant!
    Location:
    No moaners please!
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Have you read the other thread in detail? The discussion has been picked over in detail. The costs are far more than just track repairs. The moderators split it off into a separate thread with good reason. Most people have respected this action.
     
  16. Greenway

    Greenway Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2008
    Messages:
    3,906
    Likes Received:
    3,704
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    South Hams
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I have not seen the SVR or NYMR lines for a while so have no reason to doubt that thy are maintained at a high standard. You don't have to travel too far from Somerset to see a well maintained line - just follow 4110's journey to its new home. Accepted that the Paignton line is a shorter line to maintain, but it has its areas (coastal) needing high maintenance and a tunnel. The WSR length, is its Achilles heel in my view.
     
    Triumph 2500S and paulhitch like this.
  17. Athelwulf

    Athelwulf New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    39
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Mill historian
    Location:
    Devon
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
  18. Bean-counter

    Bean-counter Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2007
    Messages:
    5,844
    Likes Received:
    7,688
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Former NP Member
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    The relevance of the comment here surely is that recent revelations appear to undermine MRLG's claim - yes, perhaps also relevant elsewhere but also to the discussion here that many (not just MRLG) assumed all was well but now we are told it wasn't.

    Steven
     
    michaelh, ghost and Greenway like this.
  19. threelinkdave

    threelinkdave Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2013
    Messages:
    2,065
    Likes Received:
    1,240
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Stratford-upon-Avon or in a brake KD to BH
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The SVR has relaid many sections of track but still finds a need to enforce tempoary speed limits prior to certain lengths being placedd in the programme. Relaying is done mainly in flat bottom on concrete or steel sleepers and welded where necessary.

    The WSR is not alonee in deferred maintenance. The Bluebell having concentrated on the extension are now working their way through track replacement
     
    Greenway likes this.
  20. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2005
    Messages:
    5,283
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired Rolls-Royce engineer
    Location:
    Bath Green Park / Mangotsfield
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    .
    .
    upload_2019-3-15_17-12-52.jpeg
     

Share This Page