Del Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/14507832.Blaze_destroys_vintage_train/?ref=rss A TRAIN valued at more than £100,000 was completely destroyed by fire at Blunsdon this evening. The vintage diesel Thumper unit owned by Swindon and Cricklade Railway was parked up near the Hayes Knoll end on the main line when the fire was discovered late in the afternoon. “It is completely beyond repair,” said a heartbroken trustee Dave Peacey.” He said he was returning to the railway between late this afternoon when a told him what had happened. “We don’t know when the fire started. I would imagine it has been burning most of the day so how nobody spotted it I don’t know.” “As far as I’m aware there are only three of these left in the country. It is a very rare train.” The most depressing thing, he said, was that volunteers had spent January and February completely refurbishing it. “We are all devastated to say the least,” he said. Three box wagons containing electrical equipment were also destroyed. Mr Peacey said it appeared the blaze may have started in the wagons and spread to the two-car unit. He added that the railway volunteers would have to find an alternative engine and crew if it was to run a service over the weekend. A spokesman for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire service said the alarm was raised just before 6pm. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 20, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 20, 2016 That is tragic Hope they manage to get some help from elsewhere in the preservation movement - there usually is mutual support Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Dreadful news. I volunteered at the railway until about 5 years ago. I had the pleasure of driving 1302 on many occasions. I really hope that it can be salvaged. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Oh, that is a shame. An incredibly mundane piece of railway history, it still had a deserved place in preservation. Millions of words are written about Flying Scotsman (for example), but hardly anybody seems to care about the ordinary. Well, I'm glad that some do, and they have my condolences. Maybe on closer inspection, it's not a total loss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kintbury jon Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I have seen a subsequent photo. Only one coach appears to have caught fire and it is the driving trailer. The motor coach appears to have survived. I would hope that something can be done, a quick search shows that there is a spare driving trailer from a class 205 at the Lavender line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2016 Was the entire driving trailer destroyed, or just part(s) of it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2016 A Very sad sight for the owners https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13263813_10154787700642004_7273552595027631141_n.jpg?oh=144b7d152054c6a2a029c3d2d7dad407&oe=57A024F1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2016 Very sad. That does indeed look like a complete write off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Trainshed Terry Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2016 A Very sad sight for the owners https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13263813_10154787700642004_7273552595027631141_n.jpg?oh=144b7d152054c6a2a029c3d2d7dad407&oe=57A024F1 That is a very sad sight. Ihope that it can be saved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Maybe the body can be designed with sheet metal if the main trusses and frames are not deformed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamperman36 Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 surely there are enough preserved railways around the country with spare parts from mk1 derived stock if not still some surviving scrap southern region slam door stock, it should be possible to replace if not rebuild. Hope its not a total loss and you can salvage something from the remains. I'm sure everyone on this site wishes you all the best in the future restoration efforts to return something from the wreckage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2016 Thats a real shame as before the fire it seems to have been in really good condition. As its a 207 any other vehicle with it would look odd,thats assuming the power car is salvageable. 207sare quite a bit narrower than standard mk1 stock Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitpick Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 As noted by Russ P, the class 207s are slightly narrower than standard (Restriction 1) coaching stock. But at the same time they are marginally wider than the slab sided Hastings (Restriction 0) stock. So using a class 205 driving trailer or dare I suggest it a 2EPB driving trailer would end up with something nearer a class 206 Tadpole - albeit the class 207 motor car would be wider than that of the Tadpoles. Odd looking - but a useable set. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Odd looking - but a useable set. Plenty of hybrid units in use over the years for one reason or another. I think whether correct or not, anything is better than nothing, so I do hope they can cobble something together. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 That's a great shame - I live 1 1/2 miles from blunsdon station and often heard this clattering about. I'd hate to think it's arson, but that area is fairly remote and there has been a couple of arson cases in north Swindon and surroundings recently Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 A quick apology to Del and all that spotted my fat finger (I was using a touch screen) and alerted me through PMs. You were right I don't find the subject of this topic funny at all and my sympathy is firmly with all those who devoted their time to restoring this icon of railway preservation. I click on those buttons so often that I never pay attention to what I click - in fact I was not even aware that it was possible to identify who has clicked what. It doesn't work for me (another failing of the software) but again thanks to those PM's I was alerted to my error. Perhaps the css layout could be changed to provide more of an air gap between the buttons? I was a little concerned that the report seemed to be offsetting the blame for the fire to the "appeared the blaze may have started in the wagons and spread to the two-car unit". It would be nice to hear here the outcome of the Fire Brigade investigation" especially if it turns out to be arson. I have no knowledge of the location but if it turns out to be arson then that has implications for security or the lack of. If it turns out to be electrical (seems highly improbable to me) or self combustion materials stored in a wagon, there are lessons to be learned to prevent a similar occurrence here and elsewhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 A Very sad sight for the owners https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13263813_10154787700642004_7273552595027631141_n.jpg?oh=144b7d152054c6a2a029c3d2d7dad407&oe=57A024F1 It's a tragic sight, my sympathy to the owners, but all may not be lost, the body and underframe appear still straight from this photo angle, so rebuild may be possible? BK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I'm so sorry to read this. To me it reads a bit like that coach that got accidentally burned by stray sparks from a bonfire at the Bluebell Unfortunately the report makes me think its an electrical fire (We had one just start in a bus at my garage in 1973) but best to wait for a proper report. Also unfortunately the heat might possibly have annealed the metal as well as distorting it so I'd be very surprised if it can be salvaged. Having said that if they can pretty much re-body a mk1 coach there's no reason a new body couldn't be built, It would be costly and difficult and the electrical equipment would be a nightmare among a whole host of other issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamperman36 Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Hope it wasn't arson as if it was it means that railway preservation is becoming a target as it would be the third attack on preserved stock in the last couple of months, also meaning that security could become an issue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Puzzled over why it was parked in the middle of nowhere with access only by a farm track and on the main running line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim Hall Posted May 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2016 Puzzled over why it was parked in the middle of nowhere with access only by a farm track and on the main running line. From my visit last month, it looked like all of it is in the middle of no where Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted May 22, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2016 I would hazard a guess and say that the doors on these units are probably a unique profile to these making a rebuild expensive as standard mk1 doors won't fit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_Lewis Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Puzzled over why it was parked in the middle of nowhere with access only by a farm track and on the main running line. Especially as they have recently had the shed at Heyes Knoll extended to provide additional storage space for stock. http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org/shed.php#top Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 It's very unlikely to be an electrical fault on the trailer coach. Providing the battery isolator was turned off in the motor coach there shouldn't be any feed to the trailer coach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Presumably a group/railway like this would have some sort of insurance? And if they do, would not this pay out? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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