Weymouth Quay

[phil-b259]

I wonder how this line was worked? There seem to be lots of potentially facing points: were they locked? Were they controlled from a signal box? Was there a tablet or staff or was it just done on line of sight and speed low enough to stop before an obstacle? I suppose that must have been the case in order to avoid stupidly parked cars.

 

I must declare an interest. In my imagination, Humber Dock is operated in the same way as the Weymouth tramway but I have no idea how!

 

Ian

 

Photos and videos suggest it was worked on a 'line of sight' basis - complete with a man waving a red flag as in the early days of motoring, though some sort of control must have been in place to prevent Mexican stand-offs - one engine in steam possibly?

 

As for the points, again photos suggest they were worked in a similar manor to tramway points, i.e. a large crowbar is put through a hole in the metal cover over a spring based mechanism which is then used to 'throw' the points (if you have ever seen those funny fish tail keys used to switch on lighting in public places you will understand what I mean). Obviously in later years there was a tendency to remove the mechanism when the points were redundant and fill the hole left with tarmac but leave the points themselves intact.

[phil-b259]

A nice view in 1976 of the station and a BR ferry:-

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rgadsdon/4256656272/

 

Curiously, when I was visiting Barcelona several years ago, a large white car ferry steamed into the busy port there; a reliable boat enthusiast contact of mine informed me that it was one of the former BR ferries from Weymouth purchased by a Spanish operator (I forget which name it was in BR times). When I saw it in Spain I had no idea that I'd seen the boat before in Dorset! Had I known I'd have taken more photos of it.

 

Thats not an unusual occurrence. For decades now the practice has been that when new ships are ordered for northern European waters (e.g. Dover - Calais) the older ships get bought buy Mediterranean operators who use them between the Greek islands and North Africa to Europe. Because the Med is a lot calmer weather wise than the north sea, regulations are not as strict and this combined with the practice of loading from the quayside without any fixed berthing equipment usually results in things like the bow doors being sealed and large non watertight drop ramps being fitted to the stern. The other interesting thing about these ferries is the operators frequently do nothing more than they have to in terms of refurbishment other than a new coat of paint on the outside and a few carefully positioned stickers to cover up the the previous owners logos. Thus you used to get the rather odd situation of say an ex P&O Dover based boat with a house style duty free shop not selling any alcohol if on the north African run for example.

 

Sadly what with the recession and the money troubles in Greece and elsewhere quite a lot of operators have gone to the wall a situation which, combined with the general over capacity in the Med has seen quite a lot of 'iconic' ex channel and BR built ferries go to the scrapyards.

 

For those interested in such things the following website may be of interest:

 

http://www.hhvferry.com/HHVFerry.html

http://www.doverferryphotosforums.co.uk/wordpress/category/pastandpresent/

[Cheekypaul]

Hasn't anyone got any photos of 1366 class panniers working this quay then. The opening bridge is the towns main attraction nowadays.

 

Using the google search images does come up with several pictures of the panniers on the quay - like this one:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil-seaford/5574544581/

 

Hopefully someone will have more similar photos

 

 

 

 

 

[Ceptic]

Weymouth Quay, alongside the Condor Ferries terminal, suffered a substantial collapse of it's foundations, just over a year ago. http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/9617058._Urgent__repairs_must_be_made_to_Weymouth_s_crumbling_harbour_walls/

Urgent repairs were instigated,  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-17595983

Hopefully, to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics..?......

...Reading between the lines...I'm guessing that the work is still 'in progress'. I.e, No update / news, and no mention of re-instating the Quay branch.

  

[petethemole]

There are usually a few photos and old postcards of the tramway for sale on ebay. Re Swanage, in 1965 the rails ran right through Playland; they're probably still present under the more recent floor.

Pete

[Guest oldlugger]

Thats not an unusual occurrence. For decades now the practice has been that when new ships are ordered for northern European waters (e.g. Dover - Calais) the older ships get bought buy Mediterranean operators who use them between the Greek islands and North Africa to Europe. Because the Med is a lot calmer weather wise than the north sea, regulations are not as strict and this combined with the practice of loading from the quayside without any fixed berthing equipment usually results in things like the bow doors being sealed and large non watertight drop ramps being fitted to the stern. The other interesting thing about these ferries is the operators frequently do nothing more than they have to in terms of refurbishment other than a new coat of paint on the outside and a few carefully positioned stickers to cover up the the previous owners logos. Thus you used to get the rather odd situation of say an ex P&O Dover based boat with a house style duty free shop not selling any alcohol if on the north African run for example.

 

Sadly what with the recession and the money troubles in Greece and elsewhere quite a lot of operators have gone to the wall a situation which, combined with the general over capacity in the Med has seen quite a lot of 'iconic' ex channel and BR built ferries go to the scrapyards.

 

For those interested in such things the following website may be of interest:

 

http://www.hhvferry.com/HHVFerry.html

http://www.doverferryphotosforums.co.uk/wordpress/category/pastandpresent/

Yes I know this; it's the same with tugs (probably more so) which change ownership frequently. Many of the Richard Dunston, Hessle built tugs, for example, ended up in places like Greece. "Northsider" is a classic example of a Dunston tug that went to several countries and changed names accordingly, last heard of in Isreal. No, what I found surprising with my encounter with the ferry in Spain, was that it was one I had seen lots of times in the UK under Sealink ownership, but it was unrecognisable in its new colours.

 

All the best

Simon

Edited May 22, 2013 by oldlugger

[Guest oldlugger]

Hasn't anyone got any photos of 1366 class panniers working this quay then. The opening bridge is the towns main attraction nowadays.

There's an excellent Wild Swan book written by Gerry Beale about the tramway in the steam era which shows loads of 1366 pannier tanks. I'm not sure if it's still in print.

 

Cheers

Simon

[Captain Kernow]

Reading through this most interesting thread, with all the various useful links, it just strikes me how sad it is, that we cannot find a railway-orientated use for this fascinating bit of infrastructure.

[andy stroud]

_{A couple of pictures taken in August 1987. This was the last year of timetabled trains along the line. In fact, it only ran as a service train on the return from Weymouth Quay, and although someone can be seen inside the train, these pictures actually show the empty stock working to Quay station.}

 

 

Edited May 22, 2013 by andy stroud

[bingley hall]

........

I did get to travel on the branch once in the mid 1960s en route to a scout camp in Guernsey ......

I wonder if its the same camp I went to in Guernsey during August 1967? My first ever mainline train journey was behind a Class 47 on the Channel Islands Boat Express in Bullied stock. Still numerous dumped steam locos to be seen at sheds along the way and Hymeks at Weymouth. Haulage of the branch from memory was by a Class 03 shunter.

[Gwiwer]

 

 

I wonder how the line was worked

A signal controlled entry to the tramway and another controlled exit from it onto the main line.  I believe those signals may still exist.  The rest was line of sight with all movements accompanied by a pilotman in possession of the train authority and walking ahead of it with assistants to ensure a clear way.

 

When two train were on the tramway together as has been illustrated above then neither may move without the pilotman present. 

 

In other words basic single line working arrangements.

[Dunsignalling]

Its a shame some sort of 'parry people mover' service couldn't be run down there in conjunction with the weymouth eye etc

 

We went to weymouth back in february and i wanted to have a look at the old line but it was so cold after our visit to the sealife centre we just got a bus back to the town centre and got the train back to the holiday camp!!

I think there was a proposal to try out the original PPM on the tramway some years back, but I don't know if it actually happened. 

 

Presumably, as a trial, it would not have carried fare-paying passengers, even if it did.

 

John

[cromptonnut]

I was thinking it would be fun to get hold of a Wickham Trolley or a road rail vehicle and have a run down the line in the middle of the night when there were few cars about!

 

I really fancy something like this...

[roundhouse]

Always fancied doing something like that on disused lines but I think the Quay might be just a little too busy to try that unless you were to do so in the wee hour!

[clecklewyke]

 

In other words basic single line working arrangements.

 

I think not - I don't remember pilotmen walking ahead of the trains along the S&DJR

[Pugsley]

A signal controlled entry to the tramway and another controlled exit from it onto the main line.  I believe those signals may still exist.

They were still there a couple of years ago, so presumably still there now.

[Horsetan]

They were still there a couple of years ago, so presumably still there now.

 

The signals are all still there. MInd you, the last pair controlling entry and exit (just after the level crossing) probably haven't shown a green aspect since May 1999...... and anyway the stretch that runs between the Esso petrol station and the retail park is now heavily overgrown.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Horsetan

[Pugsley]

Reading through this most interesting thread, with all the various useful links, it just strikes me how sad it is, that we cannot find a railway-orientated use for this fascinating bit of infrastructure.

It is indeed.  The UK needs more of this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alcophile/7918713998/

[Guest oldlugger]

It would be nice to find a video showing the class 03 shunters working the tramway; I remember eating at "The Seacow" restaurant on the quay (very nice by the way) and watching the 03s hauling boat trains. They had a loud bell ringing and flashing amber lights, with a guard holding a flag walking in front. Very atmospheric. Seeing the ferries moored up in the early evening was nice too with all their lights ablaze. Weymouth in those days had a real magic about it that no longer exists. There were lots of good characterful pubs too; mostly Devenish which have all gone. I agree with Captain Kernow; talk of ripping the tramway up is disgraceful. Here is one of the last surviving dock railways in the UK, virtually intact still, that should, by government heritage department decree, be saved for the country as a remarkable piece of industrial archaeology. Rather than pull it up, because a few whinging cyclists and motorists think it's "dangerous" (how hysterical is that?), spend money on preserving it and making good the trackwork, even if it means cementing in the flange ways. The nanny state in the UK is mind boggling ridiculous. If you're on a bike, just avoid the track, like any half intelligent person would. The tramway has been there for so long, why is it only now that people are complaining about the dangers associated with it? Surely it was more dangerous when trains were actually running on it?

Edited May 23, 2013 by oldlugger

[Horsetan]

.....talk of ripping the tramway up is disgraceful. ....

 

Ultimately it's what the local Weymouth & Portland council wants (and Notwork Rail don't really want the route back anyway). This is the same council which has recently closed the Tourist Information Centre at the Pavilion at a time when - arguably - the town needs that Centre, and which also has form for putting out confusing information about the future of the Pavilion itself.

[Ian J.]

I remember travelling on the PushPull Farewell railtour in 1988 over the tramway. Even then, not long after regular services ended, it was a pain to get cars moved off the route of the line to allow the train to pass.

 

I think the only way to 'preserve' the line would be to have some kind of regular running over it, so that the inhabitants of Weymouth keep a memory of how to interact with it. As things currently stand, new generations of people are growing up in the town not knowing how to cope with it.

[Mallard60022]

I feel that Weymouth was last 'atmospheric' in 1967..................and what happened to Huntsman Ales?

P

[jamie92208]

A great topic.

 

I was down that way last June and the signal controlling the exit onto the main line is still illuminated and the track is heavily overgrown.

Looking towards the quay it was still well visible.

On another tack altogether but the same day I was waiting for my train to Weymouth at Bournemouth and saw this notice on the bumper of the electric cart used for disabled passengers and their luggage.

During my wait it was used several times and I never once saw any of the long list of checks being performed. It just appealed to my sense of humour as a useless bit of OTT Health and safety nonsense.

 

On the way to Weymouth an orange clad gent got on the train wearing a white pilotman armband with red lettering. I was amused that though orange was now all the rage in 2012. the armband was exactly the same design as the one worn by a gent in a long black overcoat and a trilby who climbed on board the 9F that I was getting a cab ride on in 1966. Some things change but not others. In that case the pilotman gave the driver a long form which she had to and in at Weymouth. Nothing like that happened at Settle in 66.

 

Jamie

Edited August 17, 2022 by jamie92208

[lapford34102]

"I wonder how the line was worked ?"

 

There was a 4mph speed limit on the Tram which was largely adhered to so little likelihood of an actual collision. Although the original rules specified Pilotmen and the like in practise from the 50's on it was basically the yard phoning the quay and visa versa and a deal of common sense from the crew. The shunters were there to check clearances to badly parked cars and to stop enthralled visitors from throwing themselves under the wheels.

 

Stu

[talisman56]

Whilst in Dorset last week I took some photos of what's left of the Weymouth Quay branch. The road signs look surprisingly new though!

 

 

And one of the 'conserved' remains of the Swanage quayside horse-drawn tramway (not connected to the main system) which was once used to move locally quarried Purbeck stone to the harbour jetty, now almost all gone.

 

"The train now arriving at Playland comes as a complete surprise to us!"