Will the NRM get a new workshop?

[Wheatley]

6 hours ago, Peak said:

I think the new workshop in South Yard will be more than just a conversation studio.

If anyone else is wondering where the Karen Harrison Building is, it's the lean-to offices on the north side alongside the ECML. I don't think they'll be conserving anything large in there. 

 

Page 22: https://planning.org.uk/docs/20220307/131/R6BD9SSJN2200/vnnizl2vwyw1vzmq.pdf

[adb968008]

3 hours ago, Matt37268 said:

Paperwork? I’d suggest you have a look at some of the hoops the GC and SVR have had to jump through to do when they do something similar with the higher speed testing on their respective approved sites. 

If you really want to see it happen I’d suggest you start playing the Euro Millions. 
Sorry to be negative but for what you want your going to need some serious bunce and it’s going to involve a hell of a lot of hard work and unsexy stuff before you can even think of marketing it and selling tickets. 
You might want to see/ride behind a Saint, pair of Rats or Hymek but you’re going to have to convince a lot of people to put their hands in their pockets. 
 

i wonder how the industry affords to use it for testing, if the cost is so prohibitive ?

Does it cost euro millions each time 47714 wandered up the line ?

 

I dont doubt theres paperwork but if it costs euro millions each time some unit was road tested on the line all the train manufacturers would be dead in the water and the place out of business… the 345 and 710s were tested there not too long ago, is that why Crossrail was so far over budget ? - they had it for months.

 

Are you sure your not over egging it ?

 

Agree paperwork will exist, but I dont see why it would be more onerous for it to be an old diesel versus a new one (47714 itself isnt a spring chicken),  but I could imagine the passenger element being a challenge, but at least one railtour operator overcame that.

 

Obviously loco groups have to be willing, and there may need to be a bit of industry good will etc… but i’m talking here of conceptually a one off event, not starting a high speed preserved railway.

 

i guess someone won the lottery for this trip ?

 

Flickr url / not mine.

 

clearly there was some paperwork and good will to make this trip happen, were just talking about a change in traction?

 

According to some sources 60163 will be at Old Dalby later this year for NR ECTS testing, so where theres a will theres a way.

Edited March 17 by adb968008

[Matt37268]

49 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

i wonder how the industry affords to use it for testing, if the cost is so prohibitive ?

Does it cost euro millions each time 47714 wandered up the line ?

 

I dont doubt theres paperwork but if it costs euro millions each time some unit was road tested on the line all the train manufacturers would be dead in the water and the place out of business… the 345 and 710s were tested there not too long ago, is that why Crossrail was so far over budget ? - they had it for months.

 

Are you sure your not over egging it ?

 

Agree paperwork will exist, but I dont see why it would be more onerous for it to be an old diesel versus a new one (47714 itself isnt a spring chicken),  but I could imagine the passenger element being a challenge, but at least one railtour operator overcame that.

 

Obviously loco groups have to be willing, and there may need to be a bit of industry good will etc… but i’m talking here of conceptually a one off event, not starting a high speed preserved railway.

 

i guess someone won the lottery for this trip ?

 

Flickr url / not mine.

 

clearly there was some paperwork and good will to make this trip happen, were just talking about a change in traction?

 

According to some sources 60163 will be at Old Dalby later this year for NR ECTS testing, so where theres a will theres a way.

The land slip needs to be sorted out there first before anything can be considered. 

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, Matt37268 said:

Paperwork? I’d suggest you have a look at some of the hoops the GC and SVR have had to jump through to do when they do something similar with the higher speed testing on their respective approved sites. 

If you really want to see it happen I’d suggest you start playing the Euro Millions. 
Sorry to be negative but for what you want your going to need some serious bunce and it’s going to involve a hell of a lot of hard work and unsexy stuff before you can even think of marketing it and selling tickets. 
You might want to see/ride behind a Saint, pair of Rats or Hymek but you’re going to have to convince a lot of people to put their hands in their pockets. 
 

The reason the GCR and SVR needed to do onerous paperwork is because they're public railways with old fashioned fencing (designed to keep animals, not people, out), plus path and road crossings on any of which, the public might intrude during high(er) speed operations.  When they are doing those operations, I would put money on every path crossing being manned (that's even if they have got temporary closure orders).  Old Dalby meanwhile, is an industrial site effectively sealed off from the public, who as I suggested earlier, could be catered for in specific, segregated locations within the boundaries of the site and under plenty of supervision.

 

Whether such an event would cover its costs I wouldn't like to guess - I'm sure for every enthusiast who paid to enter there would be two getting thrown off private land they were trespassing on to get photographs without paying (probably after driving 300 miles to do so) - but the paperwork is probably not an onerous as you think.  I work with the people who got a steam train to safely run through parts of the Underground fitted with signalling systems 100 years newer than the locomotive.  It's amazing what can be done if you start with a mindset that there will be a way of doing it safely.

[009 micro modeller]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

The reason the GCR and SVR needed to do onerous paperwork is because they're public railways with old fashioned fencing (designed to keep animals, not people, out), plus path and road crossings on any of which, the public might intrude during high(er) speed operations.  When they are doing those operations, I would put money on every path crossing being manned (that's even if they have got temporary closure orders).  Old Dalby meanwhile, is an industrial site effectively sealed off from the public, who as I suggested earlier, could be catered for in specific, segregated locations within the boundaries of the site and under plenty of supervision.

Apologies, I should never have mentioned Old Dalby (at least I think it was me that mentioned it)…

 

If we’re now talking about an event where people can watch and photograph the train then that might be easier to arrange, but will it have the same appeal if they can’t actually ride it?

[PhilH]

I didn't realise until recently that the NRM workshop contained that most valuable of tools for the maintenance of steam locomotives, a wheel drop. I hope that that at least remains available for use, unfortunately it's not something that can be moved very readily so if it were not to be available for use anymore it would be a crying shame.

[Wheatley]

58 minutes ago, PhilH said:

I didn't realise until recently that the NRM workshop contained that most valuable of tools for the maintenance of steam locomotives, a wheel drop. I hope that that at least remains available for use, unfortunately it's not something that can be moved very readily so if it were not to be available for use anymore it would be a crying shame.

Nope. The hole is still there, glassed over so you can walk over it. The only thing left from Billy's photo on page 1 is the yellow framework for the overhead crane, it's now green and supports what must be the world's biggest marble run (which is actually really good fun !).