South Devon Railway - unsafe toilet

[Pacific231G]

Might have been cheaper to buy a suitable piece of wood

and spend a few hours fitting it in the hole.

Fortunately, the incident didn't end in tragedy. Perhaps the cost of this particular lesson has been a lot less than it might have been and I'm not thinking in monetary terms. Does anyone know the SDR well enough to observe what effect this has had over what is now almost a year?

[jjb1970]

I hate to use that awful cliché but in this case I really do hope that lessons have been learned. And not just by this railways but by the heritage sector as a whole as I suspect some of the underlying cultural issues were not unique to this particular railways.

[Oldddudders]

Fortunately, the incident didn't end in tragedy. Perhaps the cost of this particular lesson has been a lot less than it might have been and I'm not thinking in monetary terms. Does anyone know the SDR well enough to observe what effect this has had over what is now almost a year?

 

The substantial fine, and having ORR breathing down their neck, will have been most unpleasant. Hopefully other societies will be looking to their mettle, too. There but for the grace of God, perhaps.....

 

Preserved railways are wonderful places for us all to go and fulfil our urge play trains, but the consequences of minor incompetence can be just as life-threatening as would be the case on the National Network. 

[decauville1126]

I hate to use that awful cliché but in this case I really do hope that lessons have been learned. And not just by this railways but by the heritage sector as a whole as I suspect some of the underlying cultural issues were not unique to this particular railways.

 

As one who is involved with Safety Management Systems (SMS) in a heritage environment, I can tell you that as soon as there is RAIB/ORR communication we always look at our own operation to see how it might apply to the work we do and what guidance/instruction to our volunteers might be required. Also there is the need to keep a record of work undertaken.

 

There are learning points from every 'incident'.