Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

Yesterday atop the hill saw a different combination of six like minded nutters assemble to carry on things from last week........ thankfully within the combo, there were some who were daft enough to be there last week, so at least continuity was maintained in terms of jobs on e the to-do list!

First up were the lads tssked with now getting 120 internal cladding planks for LMS van M517317 into first undercoat........ by the end of the day, a good two dozen had been done.

Next up were the meat van 'gang' who continued the clean up and then start getting into red oxide, the brake rigging for the north side of the meat van - the hangers and pins have been taken off site to be fettled, so that once they're refitted, any play will be within tolerance.....

That left Muggin's 'Ere and me Oppo to tackle the next job on the LMS van...... namely fixing the floor planks in the London end section in place...... after playing at being 'Pickfords' and removing all the accumulated stuff on top of them, the planks were lifted off one by one, dusted off and the chassis cleaned of all the crud deposited from all the drilling!

Next, it was the headache of working out just which plank goes where....... it would seem that the London end planks have become mixed up with the country end ones, as we ended up with a large gap that wasn't there when we first laid the planks down and fettled them to fit over bolt and rivet heads...... hardly surprising given the amount of times they've been lifted!!! So, next week means trying to find a home for all the timber inside the van so that we can sort the planks out on the ountry end........

Meat van brake rigging going into red oxide.



Meat van brake blocks going the same way.



London end floor planks laid out, but not drilled and bolted as we need to lift the country end ones - but its the most uncluttered this end has been for a very long time!!!

 

Firstly, let me echo @Matt37401 's point that the MHR have a gem in Will Stratford and his production team - I'm jealous.

The whole video is full on interesting stuff. There's been a lot of discussion (across several heritage railways) of late as to the extent to which a leader needs to be "home grown" or come "from outside". The interview here shows the benefit of an outsider, inasmuch as she sees the railway with outside eyes, and maybe picks up on points that those of us close to the coal face miss.

Three things of specific interest I picked up. One is that she seems very focused on the MHR as an exemplar of the 1940s - 1960s period - last generation of steam / first generation diesels. Undoubtedly that is one of the strengths of the MHR (in a somewhat crowded field). The MHR does have assets though (and aspirations, or at least former aspirations), outside that period, notably some LBSCR carriages. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

The second interesting point was geographical. The GM makes a point about a geographical ambiguity about where the MHR is. I'm not sure I agree fully with her point that "Hants" is not understood as "Hampshire", but I live nearby. What is true is that that the railway has a somewhat schizophrenic public identity. Some railways are explicit about their geographic location: the West Somerset, the South Devon, the Kent & East Sussex. Others have a decidedly non-geographic identity, or brand: the Bluebell, the Great Central, Rocks by Rail. The MHR is somewhat unusual in promoting both, somewhat interchangeably: It is the Mid Hants Railway, but its website is watercressline.co.uk. To a casual visitor, both names exist but there is little to necessarily link an online review of the Watercress Line with, say, a photo of the Mid Hants Railway. It will be interesting to see if she has further views about that, given what was a strong focus on marketing. In the interview the GM focused on the Watercress connection as telling a compelling story, yet earlier had been talking of the lack of geographic identity. (*)

The final point, which I think will be very interesting how it pans out, is that she seems to have a clear focus on data. My sense is that - unless there are unwelcome financial pressures round the corner - 2024 feels like it is going to be about really understanding the railway, its visitors and its footprint, with a focus on acting on those data thereafter.

(*) Edit to add: Worth noting that her previous job was at the Shuttleworth Collection - not at the "Mid Beds Aviation Museum". Strong brands don’t have to be geographical. Just sayin' ...

Tom

 

First, just to eho a previous comment, Rebecca has put in a lot of time on the railway, she was seen late at night on many an occassion during the Steam Illuminations season. She regularly appears during weekends on the railway. As for branding, I think the emphasis has been on the Watercress Line brand, coupled with developing Alresford as a destination with a big Watercress connection, with Ropley being the education/interpretation centre. Medstead is the "pretty lineside station" Alton is the mainline link, maybe also the more modern part of the 40s-60s period, with colour light signalling. The fact that Merchant Navies travelled the route when used as a diversionary route during the Bournemouth Line electrification.

 

So, if you have a divided train, is the front portion no longer a train, even when it is moving ?

 

Something about this is redolent of Samantha from I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue…

 

Well, I just thought I would post this as I did speak to a couple of Watercress Line people:

Apparently, so I heard, Manston is going to be appearing at the spring event in April, they wanted it to run alongside Can Pac but it still isn't finished yet [] so it looks like Manston, 506, 41312 + whatever will be operational.

Perhaps Thomas on some freight shuttles to bolster the line-up?

 

For the purposes of my Loco Database I only include self propelled vehicles that do not carry passengers onboard. Track plant are also not included. That still leave things like Wickham Trolleys as a bit of a grey area (but I don't include those either). It may be a arbitrary, but from a practical 'what can I reasonably keep track of' perspective it works for me as a definition of 'locomotive'.
PS. I do include HST power cars.

 

You might get up to such shenanigans on your coal-carrying Northern tramways, but down here we have operational standards to uphold

Tom

 

Remind me which driver once set off without coupling the loco to his train and another that didn’t take water and simply abandoned the loco (6619) when it ran out without doing anything to deaden the fire. Weren’t they star Bluebell drivers? I hope the standards are better today.

 

Tom

 

That escalated quickly…

 

Pass the popcorn...

 

It is not a complete train. The 'train' is not out of section until the tail lamp has arrived with the rear portion.

 

I can confirm Samantha's existence, having been to a recording of ISIHAC. I can also vouch for the reality of Rebecca as I have met and talked to her many times over the past year or so.

 

Considering her thoughts on the MHR representing a transitional period from steam through to diesel it would be interesting to hear if she has any plans for Hampshire Unit 1125. All has seemingly gone quiet on that front which is very disappointing.

 

It is the old, old story - money. The body sides need major reconstruction (personally I can see an argument for building a Mk1 bodyside jig and going for it). Being coaches they also need to get an appreciable amount of time in the carriage shop.
Pat

 

The problem is despite there being a lot of interest (me included) in donating money, I have heard nothing more from the talks of setting up the fundraising mentioned last year.

 

The other consideration, which unfortunately the MHR dont have the room for is a carriage storage shed. Providing long term protection for the carriages does pay dividends when overhauls come around.

 

There is a video from last year 4 mins 30 sec in and a facebook group

The video says how important 1125 is to MHR, but was built with only a 15 year life (by when the branch lines would have been electrified, if they survived). Guess with other rising costs, like fuel and overhauling steam locos, also when previously running was only out occasionally, the MHR has not made 1125 a priority?

 

It’s only gone a bit quiet publicly.
work continues to keep the unit safe, I lent it 50027s batteries last year and it is regularly run up (it was running last weekend).

The management are aware of its importance and things are going on in The background still.