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Swanage Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Rumpole, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    And a Merchant Navy
     
  2. free2grice

    free2grice Part of the furniture Friend

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    But not through Midsomer Norton. <BJ>
     
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  3. Flying Phil

    Flying Phil Part of the furniture

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    It was good to see this running at Swanage....
    DSC00719.JPG
     
  4. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    The SWR Weymouth - London services are now being reported as overcrowded and not social distanced.
    https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/19428969.we-now-inadequate-train-service-london/
    Looks like SWR may need to do a mainline timetable change or increase lengths of trains.
    However bodes well that a limited SR Wareham DMU service may be viable in the peak August month, with training having taken place every Friday (assuming safety procedures and paperwork will be approved).
     
  5. WishIHadAName

    WishIHadAName New Member

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    Over crowded with free loaders unfortunately.
     
  6. Rumpole

    Rumpole Part of the furniture

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    I'm not surprised Weymouth trains are busy, bearing in mind their number has effectively halved through the main part of the day from pre-COVID times. There is no option to extend trains due to the Weymouth electrification being done on the cheap.

    As for a Wareham service this summer, you'd be bloody mad to try something like that this year, with the government's endless u-turns, caveats and flip-flopping over announcements (personal opinion and not representing the railway, obviously!).
     
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  7. LC2

    LC2 Member

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    I tend to disagree. This year will be another year of Staycation (in the main).
    Next year, hopefully 99% of restrictions will be gone. In which case, their will almost certainly be a a move back towards holidaying in sunnier climes.
    2021 ought to be a year where UK attractions should try to make hay. I fear 2022 will be leaner, even if Covid is over.
     
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  8. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    While there will be many desperate to get away, I suggest that we are a long way from the end of COVID & foreign travel may well be both complicated and/or risky next year (ie rapid rule changes, cancellation, quarantine etc)
     
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  9. LC2

    LC2 Member

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    I doubt we'll see an end to Covid in our lifetimes.
    But once the first world have fully vaccinated populations (with annual boosters probably), I suspect we'll have to learn to live with a mortality rate probably in excess of that of seasonal flu, but not on the scale of 2019.

    Whilst no one can foresee the future with any real degree of certainty, history has shown that once foreign holidays became available (60s?) the UK based holiday industry died on it's feet, so if I were the GM of a UK attractions I would be doing everything I could to bring in as much of the UK discretional spend as I could this year.
     
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  10. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Whilst I can understand your point of maximising things this year there is also a need I believe to focus on core business to minimise expenditure risk.
    As Rumpole said nobody knows what will happen post July 19. The so called "Freedom Day" many may, like me, may see the sharp rise in cases to not align with an environment where more people are going to be maskless and not social distancing, who knows if it will make some more reclusive than now. Despite the predictions of waves of people desperate to rush to the coast, many days the car park here in Swanage seems less busy than normal years.
    On an operational note Set B has seen an extra coach added (the missing coach A mentioned a while back) and as some may have seen on the webcam is a Restaurant Car from the dining set. Looked very nice behind the Standard 2 today.
     
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  11. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    If masks are no longer required in some places, the risk of passing on an infection (especially an unsymptomatic one) goes up, so some of us will indeed be more reluctant to venture out. My next railtour is next month but I am strongly considering transferring my booking to a later date.
     
  12. Paul Grant

    Paul Grant Well-Known Member

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    Right up to the point that they **** the bed and realise staff are taken down either temporarily or permanently. Or an outbreak is linked to a railway. I'd recommend caution through the end of the year but as always, money trumps people.
     
  13. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    I also noticed that the Swanage camping sites are not as busy as I would expect, but schools have not started the summer break.

    Today "Nadim Zahawi said there would still be "an expectation" for people to wear masks in crowded spaces such as trains".
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57795409
    To be confirmed by the PM tomorrow. But to many "an expectation" may not be good enough.
    Good to see Swanage Railway now has a 2 train timetable which should help distancing.
    The SR management do seem to step with caution and no timetable yet for July 20, so looks like no decision yet on dining or Wareham trains.
    Hopefully by then SWR will have updated the Weymouth capacity.

    Would at least be good to get a Wareham to Corfe train service for the Roads to Rail event, it does say there will be an evening heritage diesel service. I expect the similar event at the Bluebell line on July 17/18 will give some indication of how busy it may be?
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2021
  14. Wenlock

    Wenlock Well-Known Member Friend

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    I hear what you say.

    I have done a few signalbox duties since the start of the pandemic, but have not done any guard turns for over a year. **

    As a signalman I am mainly alone, and have control over who I interact with. I can sanitise my working environment as much (or as little) as I wish. I seldom need to "mask up" while doing so. An important point for me as my glasses do tend to mist up while masked, which I consider a risk within the railway environment.

    As a guard I would be mingling with unknown members of the public, with exposure to unknown contacts. I shall need to "bite the bullet" soon, or decide to resign from that competency.

    ** refers to KESR, but I have done a guard duty at BRC, a smaller and more controllable situation.
     
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  15. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    When I recently travelled on the SWR, Swanage and MH railways the guard after checking all was OK for departure stayed in the guards area, and did not check tickets and minimised public contact, But the tickets were checked on entrance to the platforms.
     
  16. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    If you are suggesting that absence of foreign travel has a significant effect on the heritage railway movement, just stop and think how many heritage railways existed at the end of the sixties. The movement has always lived alongside foreign holidays and having them or not having them will make little difference to their fortunes.
     
  17. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

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    AFAIK the collapse of the Welsh tourist trade at the end of the 60's as a result of the growth of the package holiday hit the Welsh Narrow Gauge lines.

    You only have to look at the passenger figures for the Tallylyn.
     
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  18. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    I am unaware of the status of the Swanage application to the ORR at present or what would be needed in the terms of training to allow the service to operate. There will be those who understand the rules, but I am unaware if the route can be learned from a DVD, and if not then the DMU has yet to venture further than Frome Bridge as far as I am aware.
    When WCRC operated the trial service they also needed to sign for the road to Wool as a diversion point if there as a points failure at Worgret. I assume even in an emergency with the crossing issues at Wareham the siding there is still a no go.
    The Swanage website gives not details of a planned Wareham service for the Roads to Rails event which is after all only 7 weeks away so I would be surprised if anything is planned for then.
     
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  19. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    IIRC, the TR's figures continued to increase until well into the 70's. (They only started to go down once I stopped volunteering but I doubt the two are connected;)) I don't think the FR's followed the same trend as the TR.
     
  20. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    The revised set B. Nice mix with a blood and custard MK1, a Bulleid coach and then 2 Green Mk1's.
    Not a service departure but the ECS being moved from Platform 2 into Platform 1 at the end of a two train service day yesterday. IMG_6721.JPG
     
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