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West Somerset Railway General Discussion

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

  1. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    7802, 7828 and 9351 did last year as well as 53808.
     
  2. Hemerdon

    Hemerdon Member Friend

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    Thank you. I’ve sent you a PM
     
  3. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    And enthusiasts are looking for lines that are open. Ffestiniog Rly now, from 20th July.
     
  4. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    The end game, if there is one , is very unclear, it could be total control , owning everything, running it as your 12" to the foot Model railway, with a compliant supporting group, who you can control, you shout jump, they ask how high sir, Or it could be that the task is just un beatable, the situation has you over your own head , and you don't know how to get out, but your ego won't let you say so, So you blunder on making mistake after mistake blaming everyone to try to hide the truth.
     
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  5. nanstallon

    nanstallon Part of the furniture

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    Something positive; glad to hear it.
     
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  6. 6960 Raveningham Hall

    6960 Raveningham Hall Member Friend

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    A gang spent the whole day here Thursday strimming the lineside between the holiday park and the end of the up platform.
     
  7. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

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    I worked in a school once when the headteacher's assembly went "our school" for things he was proud of or pleased him and "your school" for things that didn't. I never spotted it until one of the sixth form told me. They knew and the message sunk home. But this is the WSR and we are not talking about children here.... I'll just leave that one hanging.
     
  8. AnthonyTrains2017

    AnthonyTrains2017 Well-Known Member

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    Whats in steam on the £5 openday please
     
  9. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    That first possibility, total control, may or may not be what anyone would like to achieve, but anyway it would not work. If the WSR was struggling to make ends meet and suffering a serious backlog of maintenance when it was being run more or less according to the liking of the volunteers, it would certainly be far worse with a lot of the volunteers either sacked for disagreeing with the management or just voting with their feet.
    Survival depends on keeping enough volunteers happy and on bringing in a lot of cash, which in turn depends on keeping the volunteers and a lot of other stakeholders a lot happier than they are at present.
    Forgive me if I am stating the obvious, but it may not be obvious to all.
     
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  10. D7076

    D7076 Well-Known Member

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    How much was the rose tinting on your glasses ?
    7802 until it’s cylinder issue ...
     
  11. Snifter

    Snifter Well-Known Member

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    I'll wager it's a small overweight hired in loco.
     
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  12. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    The last few days in my social media feeds has been one of hope , Railways reopening , footage of railways running again , announcements of reopening, Dates to look forward too . Chinnor was running ex WSR stalwart 6412 on crew refresher trains .

    Its the contrast that hits home , volunteers of their own volition organising groups to go weed pulling . No prospect of a proper reopening for the foreseeable future . Fair play to them and I hope their efforts provoke the WSR to reconsider . What we forget all too often is the railway is nothing without its volunteers
     
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  13. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    The Minehead branch was there before 53808 you know.
     
  14. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

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    And what line is 7802 a resident on?
     
  15. JBTEvans

    JBTEvans Well-Known Member

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    The SVR yes, but we know it was there as a swap for 6960.
     
  16. Alan Kebby

    Alan Kebby Well-Known Member

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    It was yes. But isn’t 6960 now going to remain at the SVR?
     
  17. Robin Moira White

    Robin Moira White Resident of Nat Pres

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    Maybe.

    But its very dear to some of us with long service.

    My first WSR volunteering, over 41 years ago now, was needle gunning the underside of one of 53808’s running plates at Washford at Easter 1979 when I was 15.

    I don’t think I am alone in feeling like that.

    Robin
     
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  18. SebWelsh

    SebWelsh New Member

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    I echo Robin's comments and despite not having such a long personal history with the locomotive, 88 will always have a place in my heart and that is coming from a firm GW man! Many other volunteers are the same, even those like me with GW preferences love the engine for something different from the norm.

    @JBTEvans 88 is by far the most useful and versatile locomotive currently on the line, the only loco that can haul incoming mainline charters up to load 12, so incredibly useful. When 88 hasn't been available for these in the not too distant past, 6960 has been used with assistance from a diesel, eating into profit margins for the railway to cover extra hire fee for the diesel etc etc....
    Also from Guarding experience, 88 is by far the best loco (on the line currently) suited to our gradients and keeping to time on those in my opinion. I am told from footplate crews she can be more economical on coal and water than other locomotives but I would appreciate clarity on this...
    The loco is doing a job extremely similar to what she would have been doing 'back in the day' on Summer Saturdays on the S&D, and not far from her old home ground. What's the alternative? Taking the loco away to another railway not in Somerset or Dorset and working there? Or moving it to Midsomer Norton where it could trundle up and down perhaps 30 days a year? (No disrespect intended to the guys there)
    Personally I don't see what's not to like her being at the WSR!
     
  19. WSR_6960

    WSR_6960 New Member

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    Pretty much spot on Seb !

    An excellent performer and a very versatile engine for WSR work (also coming from another firm GWR man). Provided that she isn't too close to washout then she steams extremely well, particularly when we're running with hard coal as apposed to Welsh.

    Complaints only seem to come from fireman that aren't particularly familiar with the required technique. It's also fair to say that the footplaye layout is antiquated even by GWR standards and so from the the drivers perspective sitting down for 20 miles is not an option.

    In my experience the harder she's worked the better she steams. When there is sufficient draught through the fire you can keep the back end filled and it draws the fire forward as intended. Conversely when operating the 4 coach QB set at 5/10mph with very little draught she needs constant care and attention to make sure that coal is applied in exactly the right spot across a very long and narrow grate.

    Under normal circumstances coal and water consumption is not high provided that she is being fired correctly. Unless things are going horribly wrong then she doesn't require any more firing than a good condition Western engine. The only thing to be aware of is the large parallel boiler which requires you to run with a fairly high water level when working smoke box first which also brings its complications ie. priming. All good fun though and very satisfying when you get it right !

    There is no doubt that 53808 isn't the right tool for the job when it comes to short lines with light loadings at low speed and could be considered overkill on 90% of other heritage railways ... Infact she often needs reining in on some of the WSR gradients !

    Hang on, does this post constitute a WSR Operational matter ? Possibly not, but it must be the closest this forum has come for a little while now ... ;)
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2020
  20. aldfort

    aldfort Well-Known Member

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    I cvan echo all of WSR 6960's comments about 53808. A lovely engine to work with a decent load.
     
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