Swanage Railway General Discussion

At sunrise The Rail 200 Exhibition Train arrives at Corfe Castle behind GBRF Class 66710 with 66719 on the rear.

 

The Corfe Norden shuttle is formed of 33053 London end, Class 117 DMMU and 08436 Country end. as seen on Corfe Castle webcam.
The 350 worked up to CC yesterday evening to shunt the stock on display in the down platform. All good fun!

 

The DMU issues have certainly thrown up some different workings the last couple of days.
Yesterday the 33 hauling the 117, and a very wet guard who had not expected to be operating the ground frame at Norden, today I see from the webcam the 117 is T & T with the 33 & 08 on the Corfe Norden shuttle. I guess that may need a trip out for a "novelty ride" even if it is only 2 minutes each way. Especially as my 08 haulage consists of Swan Book signal to the bay platform at Swanage.
Edit
Sorry Andy posted this earlier then never uploaded it.

 

A little late, but perhaps one of the more unusual consists I have seen at Swanage.

 

Why is a dmu being used as a double ender? Why are engines being used

 

I understand there was a power failure on the DMU which meant it needed power from elsewhere. T & T because wit the Rail 200 train in the down platform at Corfe nowhere to run round. Not that you would want to be doing that on what was only a 2 minute journey.

 

T

The Swanage end Power car failed last weekend, 55028 is in the Goods shed at Swanage, being repainted.
08436 which worked up to Corfe to shunt the bulleid coach and work the crane back to Norden that had been on display . It was used over the next three days as explained above, However it had a slight failure on Wednesday as it was unable to create vacuum.
Therefore the Green timetable had to be introduced and 08436 worked back to Swanage Light engine after the last service train.

 

News that I hope many on this forum will be excited about.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GL1mBavbp/

Any assistance to bring this wonderful machine back into steam would hugely appreciated.

The Race is On - Help the Greyhound Return to Steam!

The 563 Locomotive Group are delighted to announce, in the Swanage Railway’s 50th anniversary year, the next major milestone for Project 120 after an agreement with the National Railway Museum has been reached to overhaul the T9!

Engineering work is already underway, with the overhaul being split between the Swanage Railway's Herston Works and the Flour Mill in the Forest of Dean. The race is now on with the aim of returning No.120 to steam over the next three years - in time for its 130th birthday in 2029.

The extensive overhaul will require the combined engineering effort and expertise from both sites to undertake the restoration work which includes:

Complete engine overhaul at Swanage Railway's Herston Works, including the replacement of the previously repaired cylinder block.
Boiler overhaul and full refurbishment of the only surviving LSWR watercart tender by the Flour Mill.

The project is estimated to cost around £750,000 and thanks to the generous support from our donors and a substantial bequest, we already have around half of that sum. This gives us a very strong foundation that allows work to begin immediately, but we still need your help in order to keep up project’s long term progress.

To learn more about Project 120 for the T9's overhaul and find out how your donation could help us bring 120 and 563 together in steam for the first time in preservation, please visit our newly updated website!

www.563locomotivegroup.co.uk​

 

Excited? I am absolutley moist!

 

Fantastic news with the T9! And a ringing endorsement of the work that the 563 Group has done so far.

The idea of seeing the T3 and T9 in operation at the same time is very appealing!

 

My donation for the T9 is on it's way - a worthy cause. Can't wait to see the results. <BJ>

 

Is the use of the up platform at Corfe in the down direction due to some issue, or (as I have often thought) a better passenger proposition, especially in bad weather. Since the Community Weekend and the Rail 200 train being parked in the down platform meaning the up had to be used, it appears to have continued. I guess the big loser is the person manning the box who has more bridge climbing to do.
Does also give a different departure angle if the sun is not out.

 

YES, Especially if it is pouring down with rain all day, Lile it was a couple of Wednesdays ago (Feb 18th) Then after dispatching the Rail 200 train to Alton, There was the little matter of having to drive through the quite deep
pond that had formed on the A351 underneath the Castle, plus another one close to where the S&D line crossed the A31 at Corfe Mullen.
Afraid I don't know why the down platform was out of use, Speculation alert here But it could have been a track circuit failure preventing clearance of signals or there was a special request on the day.

 

Both my two recent trips (clocking up Manston mileage, Saturday and the previous Saturday) plus webcam observations showed usage the up platform plus it appears from the rails that everything has for a while, so maybe a long term issue.

 

I’m pretty sure orange timetable has trains booked to use the up platform in both directions.

 

Thanks, what is special about this timetable, as on a normal day nothing is due to pass there whatever timetable is in operation?

 

I can only surmise that it is about customer care. No need to use the footbridge or foot crossing, No need to get wet waiting for trains, customers can stay warm by the fire in the booking hall. The toilets are on the up side.

 

OH YES! I should have known that!
I don't do the orange timetable very often.