Fire at Mid Hants

Seems the line is open in full again, but early predictions don't look good for what was inside:

http://www.watercressline.co.uk/News/Latest/View/211

 

This has been a horrible month for C&W people, so that is 5 items wiped off the face of the earth inc bluebells. As said above all railways should look and listen, we don't want a third!

 

Atleast there was a fire door on the Mid-Hants, saved some things!

 

All it says is extensive damage. This doesn't mean that everything inside has been destroyed beyond repair, surely it's better to wait for a report on the actual damage of each item of rolling stock?

I also thought with the Bluebells fire, 1 or 2 of the items of rolling stock would have required complete rebuilding anyway making use of new materials, and that the damage caused was on parts that would have been replaced?

 

Certainly that's true for the LBSCR Goods van, where pretty much all the original woodwork would have needed replacing, when re-built onto the other LBSCR Van underframe we have, using the surviving metal-work. In the case of the 1858-ish Craven coach, and 1882 LCDR Horsebox, the wooden underframes were in quite reasonable condition, and the bodies were in remarkable shape for vehicles of that age, certainly 80-90% of the timber would have been re-usable in their restorations. All the metalwork has been gathered together and labelled, so reconstruction in the future is not impossible, but in the case of the latter two vehicles will be a great deal harder (and so won't be considered for many years to come I expect) than it would have been.

If you look at all three of the Bluebell's 1850s Craven-era LBSCR carriages, we hadn't even decided whether we should keep them as historic artefacts as they now (or in the case of the Battle coach, did) exist, or restore them to operational use with a consequent loss of much historical material. Certainly the 4-compartment second we could probably do both! i.e. the operational vehicle would effectively be a replica, and the original material (currently stored in dismantled state) would also be retained for its historical interest, possibly re-assembled for display in a museum environment. I don't yet know what the insurance position is for those three Bluebell vehicles.

Anyway, my heart goes out to the guys at Ropley - having lost a vehicle I personally helped recover less than a year ago, and another I'd probably have helped restore in the next few years, I can imagine the pain; appalling bad luck in both cases, and a wake-up call to all carriage restorers to reconsider their fire precautions.

 

Looking at the picture in the Hampshire Cronicle I fear that the only thing to servive will be the U class tender, and even that might have been damaged beyond repair, all depends how hot it got in there. The class 11 is bound to be a write off, as will the two coaches. A real shame. I feel so sorry for all the volunteers and owners who have put so many hours into those items.
Jim

 

Thank goodness for the fire door, and that it was presumably closed. Looks to have saved the boiler shop.
I recall a few years ago a conducted tour of the SVR's immense carriage shed at Kidderminster. The SVR people were at pains to point out the sophisticated fire detection and warning equipment installed, and devices to prevent the spread of fire, with vents that would open in the roof in the area of a fire.
Insurance cannot necessarily replace some of the items lost, so condolences to all concerned.

46118

 

If you have the commitment that is in a heritage site like this most of the damage can be repaired.
On our railway we have graffiti damage on newly painted stock and on the platform, now this isn't a fire but its just a pain that its has to be repainted and taken off the glass.

Again full support for the staff to get it all back again.

 

So sorry to hear of this, especially as Ropley was really looking the part now with these great facilities. Best of luck in the coming weeks and lets hope spirits remain high in these such sad times

 

yes, devastating news for the boys and girls there.
Question one, how much is the dammage going to cost to put right?
Question two, are the mid-hants launching an appeal so those on here who have the cash to spare can assist with the repairs in some way?

 

Their first priority will be liasing with their insurers regarding the loss. As a prudent organisation they should have adequate insurance. Maybe even a strict requirement of the Lottery grant?

 

A picture of 31806`s damaged tender, has been posted up by Tony Wood here: http://steamtube.ning.com/photo/ropley-fire-26-july-2010?context=user

Lets hope its at least part salvageable.

 

I wonder what caused it, possibly electrical fault

 

The fire service investigation will discover the cause and MHR will be the first to know their conclusions/recommendations.

 

I really hope the Dining car is ok, I love anything that old, and I hope the U is put back too far!

 

A great shame for all the parites involved. I hope that there is not too much damage and that repairs can be implemented as soon as possible after the necessary insurance assessments etc.

The facilty looks truly fantastic and the Mid Hants were already showing signs of benefiting from it in the short space of time that it had been open. Only last week I saw some pictures of the restaurant car and the standard of work and the pace in which it had been done in was phenomenal.

It will be a shame if the restaurant car is destroyed. As someone else said, anything vintage looks great and it would have made a difference to a MK1 or Pullman. It's not like the Mid Hants has got an endless stock of vintage coaches available for restoration too. I think their fleet is quite small - I do stand to be corrected.

Finally I hope work in the boiler shop isn't affected too much. Although reports say this area suffered only fire damage, the building's structure may have been which might prevent access until repair work is complete.

Best of wishes to all the lads at the Mid Hants and keep your chin up. What's great about this whole preservation movement is when our backs are against the wall, we come out fighting and always prove the doubters wrong.

Matt

 

I see some people cannot wait...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_the_Watercress_Line

I'm not sure an article such as this is beneficial to the hobby. Maybe someone from the MHR should approach Wikipedia and request it taken down.

 

Yes. I'm also not entirely sure what the purpose of such a page on Wikipedia serves. Although I could take a guess.

Sadly, to me it seems part of the price we pay for freedom of speech.

Not sure what the policy of Wikipidea would be to such pages and removing them. Especially if everything on it is factually correct, (I have no idea if it is). I would certainly agree an approach by the Mid Hants to Wikipedia for it's removal would be a good idea.

 

See here.