MHR Autumn Steam Gala 2014.

Often easier said than done on a crowded gala day platform..., only been the MHR once some years ago and that was to ride so not really in a position to comment on linesiding/photting, was going to come until the Western Brit was off the menu and I got offered a load of overtime.

 

I think you can blame the current situation on a cranks gala some years back where the cranks literally invaded the track making it down right ruddy dangerous to run trains - with people being in the 4 foot - so the Rly had no choice to revoke all photo passes etc, which also meant that cranks gala's were also capped until two years ago................. so the few ruin it for the majority - again!

That said on Saturday apart from the Eijits spread alongside the 4 foot at Northside Lane crossing, I didn't see anyone in the usual places, though I'm told there were a few Eijits at the Alton end with a serious death wish........... then Waddaya Know, come Sunday, riding the freight, on the return from Alton, they'd come out of the woodwork - or should that be hedgerows?........................ in the usual places!

Rest assured, anyone reading this whether registered on here or not - you post footage on line from said places, you will be prosecuted by the Rly for trespass, and that goes expressly to the fat over grown shorts & T -shirt wearing lump just North of the Pines at Ropley - you were on the verge of teetering of the edge off the bank, oh, and you were caught on camera.........

I've said it once, if you have no right to be there - stay away from inside the fence, stay off the farmers lands - as that's the only way you can access the places you do - you are trespassing & railways are dangerous places....................................... I ask you, which would you rather have?......... your collar felt by the BTP & criminal record or a blast of shot from the farmers 12 bore up your backside?............. either way their both going to hurt...............

And no, I haven't been asked to write this post - its heartfelt, as I for one who is entitled to be lineside during a gala as well as in the course of my duties, don't like to have to challenge people who have no right to be there, and politely ask to go back from whence you've come, only to be met with a torrent of abuse just because you're somewhere you're not supposed to be and you know it!

Oh. and by the way, if you do not do as politely requested..................... I will have no qualms in taking your photo whilst phoning the BTP to have you arrested for trespass on railway property & that goes for those of you who think that sticking a video camera on a tripod over the wrong side isn't trespass, well yes it is and you by doing that are relinquishing your property to the Rly!

So, please people just how big do Neon signs have to be for you to take heed?...........

 

Perhaps the GCR methods of linesiding with a numbered high vis so anyone misbehaving is identifiable would be an idea ?, obv no vest or one without a number would indicate an intruder.

 

Personally, I don't think is "do-able"....... in theory it sounds like a good idea, but in reality not so!

If it were don't you think the MHR would have reintroduced it by now?.......

The SI's office at any of the stations during a gala can be "mayhem" at the best of times without adding photters into the mix, then you have the problem of actually getting people to police it....... those of us who are legally entitled to go lineside at gala's do a pretty good job ourselves, but its the verbal abuse that you can get from someone you've politely asked to vamoosh before you call the BTP!!

No, I think the situation as is, is the best solution for now - after all it was the mindless minority at "that" cranks gala which has ultimately ruined it for the innocent majority......

 

I see 6960 is down to work this Sunday...pity, I am not going to be around!
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/article.php/831/extra-chance-to-see-raveningham-hall-this-sunday

 

Why would BTP be interested in what goes on at MHR?

 

Interesting question - I don't know the answer. I'm not sure whether heritage railways fall under the remit of the BTP. My guess is that technically they do but whether they would actually be interested in a few trespassers at a Steam Gala is another matter.

 

Technically they do, but as you say whether they would turn out. As for a farmer shooting at people, I don't think the fact that they were standing on the edge of his field would be seen as mitigating circumstances.

 

If your are talking about the diesel gala some years ago when photographers were being silly at Wanders curve. Then your wrong. Lineside permits were revoked because of the branch line steam gala when photographers walked through the cutting at Alresford and the driver of a service train had to make emergency brake appreciate and stop the service train from running the photographers down. I don't see the MHR reinstating line side permits because of the two events that have happen at galas. Even vollnteers are not allowed to go lineside unless their work needs them to have a PTS card.

 

I only said "I Think", Lee........ and thanks for the correction, as I'd forgotten about the steam gala........ blame it on old age lol!

As for the PTS, yes you are quite correct.

 

A few photos from Sunday...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alts1985/sets/72157642180659624/

 

I'm sure we all get the message your making, but try not to damage the railway doing it ! the message is a bit OTT strong.
That said, if you've got pictures of some fat bloke wobbling off a cliff, and he's on the railway side of the fence, and you have authority to speak for the railway (as your posts indicate).. and MHR has the copyright..

then why not publish and shame the photographer, saves a 1000 words.. a much bigger message then reams of dictats on bad photographers where as the majority are good, but might be put off visiting by grim messages of policy...

It also seems like the congregation spots are well known, I'd suggest the railway has a responsibility, if not duty, to protect the public on it's land at crossings.. why not send a bod down there to maintain safety.. given a bucket he could earn the railway a few quid too, indeed the mere presence of the bucket could be a weapon to keep the contribution dodgers at bay.

 

Right, now that I've has time over the weekend to go through my images, a bijou galleria can be found Here.......

 

Here's one I took on the Saturday at Northside Lane.

 

I haven't been to a MHR gala since the T9 was running and the railway just went to Medstead.
This was a superb event that I just couldn't fault. I drove down from York in the early hours of Sunday morning to arrive at Alton in time for breakfast at 8.30am. Four hours and 20 mins with no stops at all, wonderful!
The Hall didn't disappoint for noise but the sounds made by 45379 getting away from the TSR at Butts Junction where the loudest I have heard from a Black 5 ever, those two trips alone made the journey worthwhile. There was so much to see that you really needed two days to do it all and that's not including lineside photography. Well done to all who were involved at the MHR this was a real treat and well worth the ticket price.

 

I believe that BTP are only responsible where there is an agreement with NR for through running- eg:- NYMR as far as I know were obliged to 'sign up' with BTP when Whitby came on board but for the full length of the line.
Certainly ELR, even with a through connection but no regular through running comes under GM Police, (2 different divisions) as well as Lancashire Police as the top end of the line. I know from past experience that the local police have tried in the past to refer incidents to BTP and it has on occasion wasted some time between requests and attendance.

 

I said technically because I think preserved railways (or the majority) are covered by ()but as you say they are unlikely to attend):

Under s.31 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, British Transport Police officers have "all the power and privileges of a constable" when:

• on track, (any land or other property comprising the permanent way of any railway, taken together with the ballast, sleepers and metals laid thereon, whether or not the land or other property is also used for other purposes, any level crossings, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, culverts, retaining walls, or other structures used or to be used for the support of, or otherwise in connection with, track; and any walls, fences or other structures bounding the railway or bounding any adjacent or adjoining property)[35]
• on network, (a railway line, or installations associated with a railway line)[35]
• in a station, (any land or other property which consists of premises used as, or for the purposes of, or otherwise in connection with, a railway passenger station or railway passenger terminal (including any approaches, forecourt, cycle store or car park), whether or not the land or other property is, or the premises are, also used for other purposes)[35]
• in a light maintenance depot,
• on other land used for purposes of or in relation to a railway,
• on other land in which a person who provides railway services has a freehold or leasehold interest, and
• throughout Great Britain for a purpose connected to a railway or to anything occurring on or in relation to a railway.

"Railway" means a system of transport employing parallel rails which provide support and guidance for vehicles carried on flanged wheels, and form a track which either is of a gauge of at least 350 millimetres or crosses a carriageway (whether or not on the same level).[36]

 

Legal definitions...
100 words to describe the spirit of the intention, then abused to death by people trying to divert the letter away from the spirit by looking for exceptions...

I found one:

What if there's no ballast... (ie. laid in concrete..).. does that make it not a railway ?... what about HS1.. not too much ballast in some parts..

 

When the Mid Hants issued lineside passes, the railway also provided you with a map of permitted and prohibited areas. It was a very sensible policy and a shame it was abused at the aforementioned gala. Being built as a single track line with very deep, steep sided cuttings, the prohibited areas are not the sort of places where you would wish to meet an oncoming train. Even if these restrictions had not applied, I don't think I would have had the nerve to walk through the cutting between Hampshire Hunt and Boyneswood bridges, nor through the cutting between Sun Lane and the bridge over the old A31 near Alresford - and certainly not during a gala when a pretty intensive service is usually in operation. It's just such a pity that there are so few publicly accessible locations for taking pictures, as by virtue of its superb locomotive fleet and steep gradients, the Mid Hants has so much to offer the enthusiast in other ways.

 

Whilst risking taking this thread further off course, the definition says it includes all those items not that all those items have to be present.