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Ravenglass Fire

Discussion in 'Narrow Gauge Railways' started by paulhitch, Mar 29, 2013.

  1. paulhitch

    paulhitch Guest

    I have seen a report in "another place" to the effect that the Ravenglass and Eskdale workshops have been destroyed by fire. Hopefully this will not be confirmed but if so...............

    P.H.
     
    paulhitch, Mar 29, 2013
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  2. lil Bear

    lil Bear Part of the furniture

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    lil Bear, Mar 29, 2013
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  3. paulhitch

    paulhitch Guest

    If the reports are accurate and I have a nasty feeling they are, it involves the destruction of machine tools and certain boiler fittings, if not the boilers themselves. The date given was yesterday.
     
    paulhitch, Mar 29, 2013
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  4. 5944

    5944 Resident of Nat Pres

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    5944, Mar 29, 2013
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  5. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    There is a picture on facebook and yes the workshop is burnt out

    "Fire crews in attendance at Ravenglass Thurs 28th March.
    The gutted engineers workshop is being damped down.
    The chassis and boiler of the almost complete River Mite was drawn clear as was the upturned chassis of Esk and the new engine unit for Lady Wakefield.
    However all machine tools hand tools and fittings off River Irt and Esk along with stores patterns and stores have been badly damaged by fire and subsequent water damage. The full extent of damage will be apparent over the next few weeks. The building itself is just four walls."

    was the text

    https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=472242326177079&set=o.385672148111486&type=1&theater

    not sure if the link will work
     
    Sidmouth, Mar 29, 2013
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  6. estwdjhn

    estwdjhn Member

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    Very sorry to hear this.

    I can confirm that the boilers of Esk and Irt are ok, as they are both offsite for repair at Israel Newtons at the moment (As one of their employees I've done quite a bit of work on both boilers recently).
     
    estwdjhn, Mar 29, 2013
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  7. ZBmer

    ZBmer New Member

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    The fire has indeed been pretty catastrophic. The building is gutted; roof and upstairs having fallen into the workshop ground floor. The fire brigade were using sea water to damp down, so machine tools and any steel have taken a corrosive soaking. Most drawings and documents stored in the upstairs office space seem to have been destroyed, though the building is not yet safe to investigate thoroughly.

    Details are being worked through for insurance, but brass fittings and bronze bearings have been melted, steel rods distorted or bent beyond repair. River Mite's boiler, which was on site, has been retrieved, seemingly without significant damage; though a return-to-service date is anyone's guess at present.

    A number of bits and pieces, together with some tools have been salvaged, but the engineering effectiveness of the railway has been very badly compromised. In the next few days, a major shopping expedition will have to happen before even basic maintenance can be efficiently undertaken.

    Roger
     
    ZBmer, Mar 31, 2013
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  8. Daniel Holbrook

    Daniel Holbrook New Member

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    Yes i can confirm that the workshops have been burnt down. The workshops were in a old furness railway good shed adjacent to the Barrow-Carlisle cumbrian coast line. This is a very dull time for the railway as you can imagine.
     
    Daniel Holbrook, Apr 7, 2013
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