FR & WHR & WHHR News

Worked OK for me - blamed it on weather conditions. Some interesting reports elsewhere about the park and ride for the Festival No 6 with cars stuck in mud overnight etc

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/festival-no-6-drivers-given-11847931

 

Must be all the extra 'hits' that have cause server issues...
...caused by my link, Dork's et al!

 

I have heard from elsewhere that a maintenance train derailed in section, blocking the line.

 

It's not that reliable. There has been some complete nonsense posted on that website over the years.

 

Moving on. Are Superpower tickets available on the day? rover tickets for the specials? The booking form etc is unclear. By the way it's this weekend.


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Agree, but when the line was being rebuilt I didn't notice anything like the volume of updates from an 'official' source...
Anyway, onwards to Superpower!!!

 

They were beginning to suffer similar issues in the W&L car park at Welshpool by Saturday evening!
Doesn't take much traffic concentrated in one area to turn a soft field into that kind of mess.
Chris

 

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/eight-hours-misery-festival-no-11843355

 

The irony of getting trapped at a festival taking it's name from a programme called the Prisoner!.

 

Yes bought mine today for Sunday. £3 for brochure. Looking like a good event.

 

A very enjoyable day in Wales today. A good timetable, with lots going on at Dinas and the photo run pasts at Tryfan Junction were a nice touch. A few pictures for now attached with video & full gallery to follow later in the week.

 

My video from last Sunday now online.

 

Than

Thanks for a lovely video. I do prefer action videos to those which give us 30 seconds of sheep in the landscape to set the context! It struck me what wonderful machines the little Englands are with a fair turn of speed on a light load and apparently quite stable for a 0-4-0. If I remember rightly Blanche and Linda were converted to 2-4-0s for stability reasons. Might Welsh Pony, as a larger England, be permitted one coach more when it runs again?

 

Forgive me if I am raising a topic that may have been discussed at length elsewhere. I came across an article in "Rail Engineer" about the use of plastic sleepers:
http://www.railengineer.uk/2016/09/22/landfill-journeys/ citing the FR/WHR as an exemplar. How did this come about? Is this primarily a technology demonstrator for the manufacturer? Are the sleepers easier to handle/install than those made of more conventional materials? Do they have a longer life cycle than conventional sleepers? Are they cheaper than conventional alternatives.
Looking at the picture on the Sicut web site - they do appear to have been installed in a relatively exposed location? Was that by intention or happenstance?
http://www.sicut.co.uk/projects/ecotrax-railway-sleepers/mainline-sleeper/.
If by chance you can only tell me the details on the condition that you then have to eat me - I am somewhat mature and should therefore be subject to somewhat prolonged stewing, braising or casseroling and served with a robust Shiraz.
Cheers

 

After watching endless level crossing timber renewals on Barrie Hughes' website, I wonder why the FfR/WHR don't use plastic for that purpose.

 

A plastic sleeper is about 20% more expensive than a hardwood equivalent, and has almost identical mechanical properties, however it doesn't rot. Wales isn't known for it's dry climate, and some of the sections of the FR through the woods in cuttings are almost permanently damp. It's the same stuff you see picnic benches made from, and is a melted mix of recycled plastics which is then extruded. You probably wouldn't notice the difference between this and a creosoted wooden sleeper unless you were looking closely

 

Plastic sleepers have been used experimentally on the Fairbourne Railway, for all the reasons put in the preceding post but I don't think any more will be used. The finding has been that the ballast doesn't seem to grip them as well as wood and the track is consequently more prone to move - at least that's my understanding!

 

I believe the life span of the plastic sleepers could be anything from 30 to 80 years depending on the design. Obviously they are impervious to rot, fungus, insects and moisture. They won't split or splinter and they aren't soaked in toxic creosote. They are also made from recycled materials and can themselves be recycled into more sleepers at the end of life. There are other positives such as vibration damping. They are a similar weight to a hardwood sleeper and can be used as a like for like replacement with them.

The ones the Festiniog use have dimples on the side which stop the problems with lateral movement and seem to perform just as well as wooden ones. They are also in use on the Ravenglass and Eskdale as well.

Tim

 

I don't think that Welsh Pony is any more powerful than the older ones. After rebuilding the only difference was wheelbase and wheel diameter.

 

I will be watching the developments closely. My experience with plastics in technical applications is that creep is a significant issue. This may require regular maintenance to minimise the impact.