Avon Valley Railway Updates and Videos

I would say with a lot of hard work, some cash and a bit of luck and skill it’s perfectly plausible to turn things around both loco wise and generally. Plenty of examples of lines that have been in the shadows for many a year but have enjoyed a renaissance on the last few years (Embsay for example).

 

Good points. I volunteered on the Avon Valley for over 30 years, brilliant people in the engineering department, but only a few of them, and because of their skills, they'd get called onto other work, distracting from loco repairs and restoration to go and sort other things. For example a new ground frame configuration and facing point lock assembly as happened in the 1990s when I was Ops Manager there, distracting the CME from restoration work on the RSH side tank loco and running repairs to Littleton No. 5

 

Yes, it is. Do donate if you can!

 

Thanks, that'd be great! Can you DM me your email address?

 

No, Littleton needs the most work of the AVRHT engines. We are hoping to finish the Avonside first - details here about how far we've got : Avonside — Avon Valley Railway Heritage Trust

 

Me too! But it can only grow with more volunteers. We've had a good influx in engineering and operations in recent years to the point where it looks like the engineers might be able to get back on with engineering! The railway has struggled extending in the past - it took 15 years just to get to Oldland Common (neighbours!) and then another 12 to get to Avon Riverside. After that attention was diverted to the buffet, but we lost momentum with extending. It's more difficult now than it was with environmental regulations about tree loss and the busy cycle path to contend with. However extending to Kelston river bridge with push-pull operations could be quite straightforward. Then work to overhaul the river bridge (it was replaced in 1935 and is in reasonable condition) and recreate a station with loop at Kelston-for-Saltford where run round, running line, platform, and cycle path can all be accommodated alongside each other thanks to a wide formation.

Kelston-for-Saltford would make a great destination, it's only another mile beyond Riverside but has a pretty village, pubs, a muesum, a marina, and lovely riverside walks. The ultimate destination could be Newbridge on the edge of Bath which would be transformational (a la the Gwili's Camarthen link but with an international tourist market on the doorstep) but that's just an aspiration.

But come and join and you can make it happen! DM your email address?

 

Yes, that still happens. Too few volunteers and too many challenges!

 

I disagree. There is a financial crisis albeit mostly due to criminal activity so you need to cut costs and increase revenues. Extending the line to Kelston/Saltford is a good ambition but realistically most visitors aren't going to pay much more for another 2 or 3 minutes ride each way. But its going to cost a ferocious amount of money to complete and be more expensive than the current line to maintain. Far better surely to focus the next development on covered workshop and storage space - no-one wants to faff about in a rainstorm trying to work on rolling stock so progress gets restricted to the dry days, which in turn means that instead of gaining tens of thousands of £ worth of donated volunteer time overhauling things, the railway is handing out tens of thousands of £ overhauling things under contract elsewhere. I take the point about ESR not having their own locos, but if a line can maintain and overhaul they're not going to be paying the significant portion of a hire fee that the owner puts aside for the next contract overhaul. Plus if you've got a nice Ivatt 2 loco, do you want it stored in a shed or out in the open at Bitton. The ideal would be to have a workshop space and running shed as minimum, but even better if carriages can also be kept out of the elements to reduce the need for frequent repaints. Having that space means you can add machinery, and find it easier to attract skilled engineers who want vaguely decent working conditions but most importantly it will be a financial advantage in saved external work and reduced maintenance.

After that think about extensions because if you go the other way round you'll have a longer line to maintain and still have people working on stock standing in the rain.

I may well get involved at some stage but at present I've got some responsibilities that are taking up too much time to add anything new without causing me more stress!

 

Yes; everyone might want to note that many of the more successful lines have in-house covered spaces.

I was going to say that if there are two smaller lines close together, they might share a common facility for that - although I suppose they'd have to pay to move units back and forth, and that would probably cost enough to kill any savings from having a shared facility. So, back to everyone having their own.

Noel

 

I believe the ESR model works because they link running the locos to contracted overhaul work and some of the borrowed locos seem to have cleverly built into the equation a significant time for running in !!! Plus the Ivatt is on a long term care and running contract tied into other work done for IOWR. So hire costs are offset by income from overhaul for which certainly some volunteer effort is used. Plus they have a nice shed to keep them in.

 

The very best of luck to you and your fellow Trustees and volunteers. It must have been a devastating blow to get caught up in financial shenanigans. It sounds like you're facing the future with a good plan, hopefully one that is flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunities that arise. Covered accommodation though does make a big difference to volunteer wellbeing and general maintenance progress. A basic, modular maintenance shed would be a good short-medium term ambition. Carriage sheds by definition cover a huge square meterage, are eye wateringly expensive and unlikely to be justifiable initially. It's interesting to hear the opinions of others but unless backed by practical or financial support that's all they are, opinions (like mine!). It's important after a period of turbulence to restore confidence amongst volunteers and supporters. A renewed sense of direction and some early, tangible improvements provide a morale boost.

 

buffet at track?

 

Brain dead post of the year...

https://www.facebook.com/share/1JZGxnxMGn/

 

The railway got a lucrative filming contract out of this and the carriage will be restored.

 

I hope it will be lucrative enough to pay for the repaints of the rest of their stock when the local "artists" decide what a good idea this is.

 

That's beside the point. Heritage railways are constantly suffering from vandalism and graffiti attacks - the GCR had an attack three days ago that made the news. Yet the AVR have authorised this, and are putting it on display for the public to see indefinitely. It's just an invitation for more problems. I know the railway is struggling financially after the fraud and have an appeal to raise funds, but surely there must be better ways of generating income than this?

 

It's not really beside the point. Yes, there are risks involved - principally that it would encourage copycat activity. However, I live in Bedminster South Bristol, home to 'Upfest', Europe's largest festival of street art. Every May, new murals appear (i attach a pic of a particularly good one just up the road that appeared last week) and they are rarely, if ever, tagged. There is no evidence that Upfest has resulted in increased vandalism.

The AVR's financial issues are well documented, and here was an opportunity for generating revenue from a disused asset. Some people will come to see it, too, and it will generate publicity. Part of the deal is for the carriage to be restored, to a better state than it was pre-filming. Everyone wins.

It's not my cup of tea either but the benefits outweigh the risks.

 

The fact is, the industry isn't the same place it used to be. Railways have to start looking to alternative revenue streams in order to make their money so that they can keep the lights on, let alone cover the cost of actually running the trains! A nice bit of income, and as @Kingscross says, a deal for the carriage to be restored to a better condition than it was in before. Seems like pretty good business to me! Love it or loathe it, a vital bit of income.