http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-32167724
CCEers love trains... (esp steam)
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"Network Rail suspends West Coast Railway trains" (only slightly OT)
(17 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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It sounded from RAIL magazine that it wasn't the first offence. Still, they have six weeks or so to sort themselves out to remove the suspension by mid-May. Bad news for The Jacobite if they don't; tourist season starts on May 11th.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Some of us like Deltics and whistlers too.
Posted 10 years ago # -
This incident is more the straw that snapped the camels back for Network Rail, and the RAIB bulletin, announcing their intention to investigate highlights what is missing from the way we treat road crashes - (The Glasgow Bin Lorry crash would, by this standard have had a factual statement published by January 1sr 2015)
Here : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dangerous-occurrence-at-wootton-bassett-junction-wiltshire
But clearly the malaise goes much much deeper.
here is a listing of the 7 points that NR has had outstanding for West Coast Railways to address and remedy from, it would appear, January 2015.
Network Rail made the following recommendations which should be actioned by the 15th of May:
1. Introduce an effective, risk-based driver monitoring regime that includes proactively using analysis of On Train Data Recorder downloads for a representative and sufficient sample of diagrams;
2. Demonstrate there is in place an effective and secure system of tamper-evident seals for train protection isolator cocks on all relevant traction;
3. Implement arrangements to accurately record, monitor and manage all train protection activations (including Automatic Warning System and Train Protection and Warning System), and provide clear instructions to all train crew, including support crew, on the actions expected of them report and respond to train protection activation;
4. Establish a time-bound plan to recommence and complete implementation of the actions arising from Network Rail’s review of WCR’s Safety Management System in January 2015;
5. Review and implement appropriate changes to company processes to be able to demonstrate that all safety and operational information is received and positively acknowledged by train drivers;
6. Demonstrate by independent assurance that there is an effective system for managing access to traction footplates/cabs in traffic, with clear communication protocols; and
7. Clarify the safety accountabilities for each Director and independently review the effectiveness of the company’s safety assurance and governance arrangements to demonstrate that those accountabilities are discharged.
It is unlikely to result in immediate cancellation of contracted services, but may deliver some interesting developments as WCR has to pay others to deliver its contractual commitments.
A spokesperson from West Coast Railways said: "We are working hard to reverse the current suspension imposed by Network Rail by fully satisfying their concerns."
"Passengers booked to travel with West Coast Railways and on their associated trips should not be concerned, if necessary West Coast Railways will charter the service of another licensed operator using the same traditional carriages and trips will be unaffected, but West Coast Railways hope this won’t be necessary and trust any issues will be resolved to the satisfaction of network rail."
Posted 10 years ago # -
I like steam engines for the same reason I like bicycles: they wear their mechanical hearts on their sleeves, are relatively simple to understand (so long as you avoid the complexity of internally geared hubs or valve gear), and depend for optimum performance on physical effort and considerable skill.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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Posted 10 years ago #
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@chdot - one of the main reasons I avoid valve gear is that I can't spell Walschaerts...
Posted 10 years ago # -
Walschaerts - just make it up, google does the rest.
AND tells you he's another 'famous Belgian'!
Posted 10 years ago # -
Walschaerts is to derailleurs as Lentz rotary cam is to hubs.
I've always liked the steam engine : cyclist analogy. Both will chug happily along on the flat, but give them an incline and it's all about the head of steam in your boiler and how well stoked is the fire in your grate. It is inevitable that both'll soon begin to wane going uphill and either crawl puffing and panting, exhausted over the top or require a bit of a push to get there.
And if either run out of fuel or water, they'll grind to an embarrassing halt.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Equally (as the modernisation plan planners discovered to their cost) the continuous rating of a diesel prime mover is the limit of what you can get, but a steam engine can 'borrow' that little bit extra to get past a tough section of the route.
That said its largely that 94% of the energy that gets lost between the fire and the drawgear that makes them so attractive.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Going West is not a forte for Tangmere it dumped a con rod on the third rail near Winchfield - a really lucky fluke as the previous event of that type (in 1960 on the Long Drag) derailed 2 trains killing 5 people, when the detached con rod dug in to the track beneath the loco.
RAIB has already called in WCR about the conflict of interest for the checking of the locomotive by the owner's engineer and the operator's engineer, as they are in this case one and the same person.
I wonder if there's any potential work as an independent safety inspector for steam locomotives. I guess I'd be competing with Kaputnik and Arellcat for that job.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Tulyar you'd also be in competition with Mini-Greenroofer. We once went to the end of Bruce Street to watch from track level Oliver Cromwell come round the South Sub. 143 tons of loco and tender came by, and even though it was coasting down the grade to Craiglockhart, it still caused the ground to shake where we were standing. After the experience she was literally quivering with excitement, and was an instant convert to the big steam locomotive experience...
Posted 10 years ago # -
It's all about the chime whistle -
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(Walschaerts valve gear)
Posted 10 years ago # -
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/harry-potter-steam-train-suspension-revoked.125515561
"The Jacobite will steam out on schedule on Monday May 11 and all services thereafter remain unchanged."
Posted 10 years ago # -
If you get the 'please subscribe' Gaussian blur version of the story, you can read the full text of the article in the source code, lines 302-315.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Two locos passed through today -
http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t15/t0509p.htm
Unfortunately I didn't see them!
Posted 10 years ago #
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