Fire Risk

Understood, but it does demonstrate the long term costs of cutting that maintenance activity - which is why I'm with @Britfoamer in despairing of the long term future.

NR scythed an embankment near me a few years ago, and it's now starting to look as though they'd never done the work - yet the growth of trees and shrubs means there's not only a risk to the stability of the earthworks but also fouling of the overhead.

 

From my limited (no railway but similar) experience as much as anything the big issue will be the change in which maintenance is managed and staffed, not meaning to teach anyone to suck eggs, but in the 'good old days' railway (And other owners of massive infrastructure estates) employed large direct work forces who often had time when they were not doing job 'x' and thus would be directed towards things like veg clearance, painting etc etc just basically to keep their actively occupied as you were paying them.

Move to the latter 20th century and suddenly everything is outsourced in packages to external contractors and thus yes they may set a contract to clear veg off an embankment, but once that is done there is no contract in place to continue to maintain it so nature just takes its course, where I worked it was plan odd insofar as they still had a fair bit of direct labour but what they were allowed to do seemed to diminish year on year (possibly as an excuse to eventually get rid I don't know I haven't worked there for years), so for instance at one stage if I happened to see some vegetation damaging a heritage asset I could ring the local manager (or TBH circumvent that and just ring the local guy I knew who worked that patch) and they would pop out with their van and ladders and remove, it later changed to having to report via the online system (which it was generally accepted was not fit for purpose), it then going to a contracts manager down south somewhere and being gathered up into the next work package on that stretch which could be in years time, if at all.

 

It's certainly not back to normal in the SE of England.

4 mm of rain in mid-Kent so far this September and very little in the forecast for the next two weeks.

From the BBC 5 September news website, updaated earlier today. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvl1r1080go

The Met Office's Fire Severity Index, external shows that if a wildfire was to occur, it would have a "high" fire severity in most of south-east England and some of the Midlands.

The fire severity is "exceptional", the highest level on the index, in some parts of London including Heathrow, as well as on the Essex and Suffolk coasts.

But at least the Bluebell Railway are running one of the first Autumn Galas this weekend. It's their Diesel Gala!

Bryan

 

Network rail reduced the risk to Red on Friday 4th nationwide

 

Please correct me if wrong but in previous years I recall each rail division making their own decision on fire risk. [BJ]

 

Interesting Neil.

As on the 5th the lines between Paddington and Heathrow & Reading were shut due to a grass fire. 6 fire engines and 40 fire crew.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvl1r1080go

Bryan

 

A welcome move, but if this has now evolved to a national level decision rather than a regional one it is a worrying development.

 

I’m not sure it is, the Jacobite has been steam hauled for some time

 

If you count England as a nation then it is. Personally with the disparity in rainfall between the north and south if the north is red I cannot see how the south is as well.

 

Having a national, single fire risk status is clearly farcical. There can be, and are, huge risk differences between, for example, northern areas which have been receiving a lot of rain recently and the south-east which has seen some, but not enough, plus drying sun and wind. Recent fires, both on and off the railway, in the SE shows the real, more local, risk.

 

Tornado was in light steam hauled by a 66 this morning, up to Friday last week it was thought it would be hauled with rods off, and with SNG working on Saturday on a tour, things look to be relaxing a bit.
i am unsure if its a national or regional discretion regarding steam working, as lots of rain up north not so much down south.

 

You can't treat 'up north' as a single entity either. As often happens, there has been much more rainfall in the north west than on the eastern side of the Pennines recently, which is why the current fire risk map shows areas of moderate to high risk as far north as Newcastle: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/328554206f114fc98c707bfc1b880cf7

 

I'm not convinced that the map is giving a true picture of the situation. As an example, for today it gives Gloucestershire and Somerset in the fire risk area. I can assure you that both areas have had periods of steady rain for days on end. The grass in my garden has returned from straw to normal green. Ironically, our hosepipe ban came into effect the day after the rain returned. [BJ]

 

Agree with both the above posts; see my #683 and #686

I can see a change back to Black just for the SE returning rather quickly unless an un-forecasted and prolonged deluge arrives very soon.

Bryan

 

30 miles north of Newcastle, and I'm looking out of my window at a green lawn that's never been watered and green pasture fields.

 

Same here, 10 miles south of Newcastle, the almost daily downpour came at dusk last night, and lasted a good time.
It is amazing how quickly grass recovers from drought, would assume the daily showers, downpours have had the desired effect lineside.

 

News from the Railway Touring Company. <BJ>

STEAM IS BACK!
The steam ban has now been lifted, so steam can return to our September tours!

 

No sooner said than done as rain started here in mid-Kent at 04.00 and from the rainfall radar (me projecting the recent actual flow) could last until late afternoon today.

Even yesterday evening Broadasting Bulls..t and Cr.p (only for their weather forecasts) were saying not mucn rain in the SE today, with occasional bursts of a forecast rainfall radar image on screen that was cut as it started to get interesting.

And there were two versions of forecasts that seemed to alternate depending on which BBC channel I was watching. One may have been more 'Live' than the other; ie playing out of date recordings to some extent. Or just playing the wrong one by mistake!

Anyway, the forward forecast for September is still not that good. But 12 hours of almost steady rain today may contribute to helping SE heritage lines be a bit more secure in planning for their vital Autumn Steam Galas.

Bryan - dinosaurs can feel when rain is coming - but are not so good at forecasting incoming asteroids - B

 

Steam status third hand from NR, applicable from Wednesday 9th September

Black = Southern region
Yellow = Scotland
RED = all other zones

With that it's been raining in southern Hampshire for some hours, but not really soaking into the ground....

Cheers, Neil

 

Still drizzling in Swanage.
Have no idea though how much fell overnight [BBC forecast showed 'wetness' throughout] but everywhere I can see looks quite wet and not much breeze to dry it quickly.
Here's hoping that NR will relax Southern Region to RED status [at least] in the not-too distant future as the Swanage Belle is due next Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

UPDATE - 13:20
Drizzle stopped but still wet conditions.