Peak Rail General Discussion

Also there's the issue of an apparently quite controlling managing director, been told she always likes control over everything & considers peak rail "her railway". This came from a message I received from andrew goodman a week or so ago after posting in the wnxx forum about current status of 14901.

Came to light after a court hearing of some description about consumables used on 14901. Don't know the exact details of the whole story but alls he's said is that PR apparently refuse to allow any of his locos to be used on their services, anybody able to shed more light on this please???

Heard rumours etc that PR management wasn't too great, however this could all be complete twoddle.

 

Let's hope she's controlling DCC and the Haddon Estate then..

 

Probably the best thing to do is to become a member of Peak Rail if not already and volunteer and then it will become very clear in short time as to what are or not the facts.

 

Do you mean Andrew Briddon, not Mr Goodman? There is a public statement on AB's website about the court decision, which was in his favour.

 

This was back in February, and I'm pretty sure it was talked about to death a few pages back

 

It was

 

The issues concerning the controlling managing director are getting to such a level that there is fast becoming a risk of Peak Rail imploding into terminal insolvency.

As I see it PR's biggest difficulty is a lack of visitors actually traveling on PR. There was a known severe drop in passengers numbers carried between 2014 and 2015. This year so far the numbers appear to be falling even further; though I doubt that the management will admit this fact to PR supporters and shareholders. Currently PR's only operating loco seems to be the Ribble Class 14 which is known from time to time have some mechanical problems with its brakes.

I believe that the Briddons may own working locomotives that could overcome PR's immediate locomotive shortage. However, following their recent small claims spat with PR over locomotive consumables, I'm sure that they would be reluctant to permit PR to have a loan of any Briddon locomotive.

In a nut shell the PR management team (if team is the correct word to use?) is skillfully converting 2014's modest profit into a significant loss.

Knowing the PR management's usual approach to PR suffering a cash shortfall. The management will probably once again puts aspects of their notorious plan "B" into operation.

The plan might include some of these elements:

1. Appealing to share holders for additional funds to cover locomotive repairs and probably the replacement of the Station Road Darley Dale level crossing. An urgent appeal in the region of fifty to sixty thousand pounds funding wouldn't surprise me.
2. Flogging off any PR artifacts of value, that are saleable, without consulting PR members first. Note:Some time ago this was the fate of the goods shed stone that was going to be used for the Matlock shelter. Poor old Zebedee met a similar fate; reduced to a kit of parts for an overhaul and then sold off when the promised overhaul never happened.
3. Desperately searching the heritage railway world for some kind person or organisation who will either lend or hire out a locomotive for use on PR. On this front the management has little chance of success. The PR management's record on the locomotive maintenance front is considered by locomotive owners to be on a par with the skills found at Bird's scrap yard.

Friends with big ears at another nearby railway have advised me of rumours that Peak Rail is becoming something of serious concern to the Railway Inspectorate. Apparently, so the story goes, the inspectors are concerned about safety management systems.......or rather the lack of them. Safety management documents at Peak Rail are said to be scarcer than copies of the Gutenberg Bible.

Things have now got to such a state that Ian Bertram himself is taking the trouble to travel down from his Newcastle office next Wednesday with the declared aim of examining PR's safety management system amongst other things. Could it be that come next week PR suffers the same fate as West Coast Railways?

Jamie.

Edited...spelling error.

 

Just when we thought the WSRA thread was getting run of the mill perhaps we have it's successor..

 

Lack of visitors? Not what I've seen, there are odd days off quiet but then who wants to travel on a sunny bank holiday inside a train when there's a beach to go too, wet days are traditional railway days,something to do inside.

Every day I've been down there's a steady volume of passengers from the first to last train of the day, I've heard folks say there's no one on board,but then counted 50 to 100 folks myself , so have the folks observed quiet days.?, who knows, let's not forget were in a major tourist area,in a major tourist town,running to the edge of two major historic houses,the edge of the Peak District, and alongside a major road into said district that never stops flowing with traffic, I was pleasantly surprised that the last incoming charter attracted as many locals as it did,they may not be riding bums on seats but from the queues at church lane and getting in to rowsley were not complaining profile wise it did good, the bus event is another example as is the warring forties of how things not normally associated with railways do us good, this weekends the heritage shunters event and il be seeing more pictures from the folks on other forums later on who I know will be attending .
On the subject of ORR ,I'd heard they regularly attend many heritage lines to check up on things,there's another railway in the area also having a visit soon and thats to be expected,there's also new folks in charge at ORR incoming so they must do their rounds,not forgetting they now also have to justify their jobs as do everybody else now they also have the role of roads as well as rail and were recently asked in parliament what they do that justifies the government paying them,all in all if we didn't have a visit from them sooner or later I'd also be asking the same questions?

Anyway that's just my thoughts ,il leave the conspiracy theorists to their own

 

Big respect for you kestreleyes, it must be quite an inviting prospect to just jack in the regular updates on here when this kind of negativity gets thrown around. The doomsayers seem to pop up on this thread every few months and give the regular volunteers a good kick in the morale, it's very sad. Especially in a time of great future promise and excitement for peak rail.

 

Ian Bertram ORR Newcastle? Surely ORR is in York, Foss House to be exact

When people start quoting hearsay, I like to check things out

One of the problems (IMHO) for PR is the claims published in the Beano that they have an agreement to run to Bakewell, Buxton or wherever; it just builds up people's expectations without there being anything publicly available to back the claims up

 

never one to jack in something,me , anyhow been around too long to know the same happens at nearly every railway in the land, been around long enough to see these sort of discussions held at many from the biggest to the smallest, id rather crack on with things meself and get building, anyhow speaking to colleagues yesterday elsewhere they've had their inspection by the ORR,so theyre doing the visits as to be expected.

 

My last professional interaction with the ORR was way back in 2007. At that time Ian Bertram was located in Newcastle if I remember correctly?

If the ORR is now located in York then I happily stand corrected. However, a work colleague has also sent me an Email this evening telling me that the ORR Head Office is now located in London.

Wherever the gentleman has his office? I am sure that two ORR inspectors can find themselves at Peak Rail next Wednesday.

 

I've no doubt so,there were three inspectors giving my colleagues line a once over the other day,wel await Wednesday which will come in good time

 

A little update on some of the recent rowsley work in the locomotive shed and the works of the Ashover light way folks who have started groundworks outside their new shed which they think has also uncovered a small bit of the old coaling stage ,the Wickham trolley is.making good progress as is the education coach,the dmu and also one of our own coaches and penyghent. View attachment 20788

 

6201 Princess Elizabeth is now listed to haul the SD trip to Peak Rail on the 28th August 2016.

Will that be too heavy for the bridge across the Derwent at Matlock Riverside ? I recall reading that there was a restriction on that bridge.

 

What is the length of the wheel base? I think it's about 67 foot. The LMS had 70 foot turntables for the Stanier Pacifics.

 

Wikipedia is your friend

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Princess_Royal_Class

 

Seems to state the overall length, but I can't see the wheel base length.
Do you know of any other friends?