FR & WHR & WHHR News

if the whhr pickering, that's very interesting, providing a new phase in whhr/fr co-operation. i believe that the vor van is currently being worked on quite extensively, so that'd have to be complete for g's farm services for this to happen. james apologies for no caps - one-hand typing!

 

The plan is the Pickering Brake is only in the set from the end of April until the event in June. The new Ashbury van 2 will be used after that. I expect this train is supposed to run with a double engine if one is available.

 

yes - understand. it'll make a very good addition to what is now a very nice rake. however, my concern was with the effect of its absence on whhr services. the other whhr passenger brake is under restoration. years ago the four-wheeled coach was converted to become, if necessary, an emergency passenger brake - if that is still possible, that may be a solution. i am sure that all this has been carefully considered by both organisations - my original post was designed to congratulate fr and whhr on this further co-operation. james

 

I hadn't realised it was dual braked! Definitely good to see the two railways working together, though. Let's hope it could pave the way for similiar collaborations in future. Russell on the Aberglaslyn trains, anyone?

 

IIRC the dual braking and able to be used on both railways was a condition of the sponsor.

 

i guess it may be an impossible dream - but imagine a future where both whhr and the soon-to-be-launched fr (nwngr) rakes were also dual-braked! the baldwin already is, of course, and i understand that gowrie will be as well.
and as far as russell on the aberglaslyn is concerned (above) - i believe that the main purpose of the siding at beddgelert when built was to accommodate such at-that-time-planned heritage services - though it's been out of use for several years, it could presumably be sorted out with little effort russell has been dual-braked in the past, although it was hard to find room for all the extra pipework (and such a course remains, of course, controversial) james (usual apologies for lack of caps)

 

Given that none of those locos actually work at the moment it really does seem like an impossible dream.

None of the FR NWNGR coaches are dual braked and there are no plans to do so either.

The siding at Beddgelert is not closed according to the rule book or weekly notice. It doesn't currently have a ground frame though. I'm not sure you would need to use it anyway.

What really needs to happen is a banging together of heads over Pen-y-mount junction to come up with a plan that could actually be implemented this century. The existing proposal is so complicated it just gets pushed into the too difficult pile.

 

yes - absolutely agree. having been involved in the original negotiations in the late noughties, i have been trying to get that moving (including on this forum, and with both railways) many many times. no real interest from anyone, tbh.
so i then tried to promote the idea of having pym platform 3 as a request stop on the main line, which would be some sort of start - in the right direction. as a request stop: then if there's no traffic - no need for main line train to stop. not hard to adjust whhr train times to suit - ticketing not a problem with goodwill (was not at those galas) and so on and so on. i wrote an entire protocol for it - advantages to both railways, and hardly any disadvantages. imagine turning up at tremadog road and being offered an alternative to the short run and shed tour - a chance to go to beddgelert! more passengers in the intermediate stations carriage will always be welcome.
so why, i hear you cry, not just start at harbour? well, the package includes the gelert's farm museum....
but again, frankly no real interest. does seem a pity if a pressure group for this - has to be on both railways - were to be set up, i'd be happy to help from a distance james as usual, apologies for one-handed typing j

 

Coverage of The Snowdonian on Saturday 25th April - with locomotives Blanche and David Lloyd George (on the Ffestiniog) and Linda, Prince and Lyd on the Welsh Highland.

 

Why is the WHHR air braked or was the WHR originally air braked?

 

It was originally air braked when it was the NWNGR

 

The NWNGR was air braked however this equipment seems to be increasingly removed during the WHR era.

The Festiniog was vacuum braked and of course the preservationists inherited a lot of vacuum braked stock.

When what is now the WHHR started they didn't have any ex WHR stock so they had to build coaches and convert a Ruston diesel for passenger operation. Single pipe air brakes were the easiest solution to that.

 

There was a changeover period in 1923 when both types of brakes were used - and at least one brake van was dual-braked to take account of that. There is also a photo of the Gladstone Car air braked but with what looks like a through-pipe for vacuum.
In the late 70s, air brake equipment was cheaper, easier to find and much less bulky than vacuum. And not long after that was introduced the rule that all "new railways" had to be air braked, anyway. The first few WHR/RhE (Winson) carriages were designed to be air brake fitted for that reason.
This was the same time that WHR/RhE had a stipulation that there would not be regular coal-fired locomotives on trains. How things change!
Historically it's accurate for "Russell" - in NWNGR non-cut-down form to be air braked, just as it is appropriate for the Baldwin to be vacuum (but luckily now with air as well). However, I doubt that most passengers care very much!
Just pleased to see the Pickering on that beautiful NWNGR rake for a while. - and (according to YouTube) that the early 2000s conversion of Coach 6 into a temporary passenger brake, taking the place of the Pickering, has not been allowed to become unusable.
James

 

Where is this 'rule' that all new railways have to be air braked? That's a new one on me. AFAIK the Regulations simply state "The operator of a vehicle shall ensure that a suitable and sufficient braking system is provided and maintained for that vehicle and, where the vehicle is part of a train of vehicles, for that train of vehicles." and nothing more.