Fire Risk and Preserved Lines

Swanage has gone diesel hauled today with strong winds and bone dry lineside (we have not had any rain for weeks) it does not make for a good combination. We had a weedkilling train a few weeks ago which got rid of the weeds and replaced them with hay.

 

Was that all day Steve, thought I heard the U this morning, but maybe that was yesterday, everything sort of merges at the moment.

 

The Facebook message was just after lunch, so it may have been the U Boat first thing.

 

This is NOT good.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74wrg12n12o

 

In many ways, I'm amazed that Swanage has been able to keep going with steam (predominantly) for so long. My last visits were back in the Spring, for the gala followed by a second trip to get a run heind (and some photos of) 4953. Even back then, there were worries about lineside fires.

Still, let's take heart. Today is St Swithun's Day and even here in parched Sussex we've had some rain - albeit not much. For anyone not familiar with the legend. Swithun (or Swithin) was a bishop of Winchester who died in 863AD. He was buried outsoide the Cathedral at his own request, but a century later, when it was rebuilt, the powers-that-be decided he should be interred within its walls. When they tried to exhume him, it tipped down with rain and this was interpreted as the dead saint expressing his displeasure at this move. One version of the story says that they tried to move him for 40 consecutive days and on each occasion, the heavens opened.

Make of this what you will, but it does seem to be true that the weather on the feast of St Swithun often sets the general pattern for the next few weeks, so hopefully this means no more heatwaves and even if the Met Office doesn't currently suggest that either Swanage or my neck of the woods are scheduled for much more rain in the next few days, there could well be some wetter weather before too long.

 

No it's not and it demonstrates a reckless attitude on the part of the railway's management. Apart from environmental and crop damage and the negative effect on public perception it just pushes up insurance costs. It is irresponsible and wastes the emergency services time.

 

Indeed. I recollect a line in 2022; within Wessex switching to diesel haulage and during my visit the General Manager said to me a lineside fire had cost them 60k in their insurance excess and he was worrying how they’d cover off that cost.

Much as I love steam haulage, as a lifelong railwayman, I happily settle for a diesel if weather conditions dictate that pragmatism is required, as well as respect for lineside communities and the environment.

 

RH&DR running a limited diesel service today, timetable appeared to go to 5H17 yesterday afternoon due (I believe) to a fire caused by one of the steam locos out at Dungeness.

If Dungeness can be set on fire, anywhere can.

 

Isn't JB Snell the only diesel there that can operate passenger services? I'm under the impression that Sheleigh of Eskdale's brakes aren't compatible with the RHDR coach's (air versus vacuum?).

 

I have this bridge for sale...

 

If you believe all that you read.
One of those incidents booked to the railway was on the 4th April.
Was advised when leaving Corfe that there was a lineside fire at Afflington with fire brigade in attendance.
We proceeded with extra staff and fire beaters etc.
Nothing at Afflington but smoke was certainly seen further on.
Approaching Woodyhyde the fire was in an adjacent field. When level with the field, there was the farmer with his bonfire throwing pallets etc on his blaze.
Nothing to do with us.
We proceeded on to Swanage, a fire engine was noted on Haycrafts Lane bridge, a good mile of so from Afflington.

 

I believe so. Shelagh was toddling about with a few carriages up the Dungeness end today, but it didn't look like a passenger service. I'm not sure what the story is with Captain Howey, the other diesel, but it seems to have been irretrievably reduced to various parts strewn around New Romney shed and yard. I wonder why JBS has survived as (clearly) a mainstay of the line, but CH hasn't?

 

Unfortunately there is the issue of perception, especially in the social media age.

People see fire breathing monster, people see seperate fire, they put two and two together and don't always make four. And once the infallibly knowledgeable social media mob is on to it (I saw it on social media, therefore it must be true - the living embodiment of the saying 'the empty vessel always makes the loudest noise'), the mud sticks, however untrue or unfair it might be.

If I was a railway's PR/marketing department, I'd be asking management to be very, very cautious nowadays of anything that might be deemed as risky... like mixing steam locomotives with very dry weather.

 

I don't want to be quoted on it, but I'm under the impression that Captain Howey's engine had a catastrophic explosion and it will need both a new engine and a serious amount of money.

Somebody in the know will correct me.

 

Trouble is of course, in these trying financial times, it's also very very risky to not be running steam - especially if it's not actually you causing the fires in some instance, it's just a wrong impression that people have got.

 

RHDR have said it's a two train service today and posted the timetable on Facebook, along with a photo of SoE with a vacuum pipe on the front.

 

What coal/ovoids are railways using these days as with it all now having to be imported and sometimes of variable quality is that increasing the risk of lineside fires?

 

Although doesn't the RHDR does have a unique selling point that goes a tiny bit further than just steam haulage? A bit of a mouthful now though as it was once the world's smallest public passenger railway, and is now the world's longest (miles) and by far the longest operating (years since starting) small public passenger railways! Although I guess it could call itself the World's smallest purpose built public passenger railway.

Enough there to get all the rivet counters etc swarming all over my words!

Bryan

 

Having been diesel-hauled on the RH&D, the disappointment to a train fan is the lack of thrash.
Steam-hauled you can hear the engine going fast enough that the exhaust almost merges into one. With a diesel it barely seems to get above tickover...