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Steam Railmotor - something nice is coming to Cornwall!


Paul.Uni

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http://www.didcotrai...est.html#news01

The railmotor is operating on the Liskeard - Looe line on the 4th and 11th November. The provisional timetable is for departures from Liskeard at 08:30, 10:30, 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30. It's not possible to leave or join the train at Looe, so all journeys start and finish at Liskeard.

 

Tickets cost £25 plus pooking fee at http://www.ticketweb...l&month=11.2012

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A lot of planning work has gone into this, but everything seems to be coming together now. Please note that bookings are accepted 'subject to ORR acceptance', this refers to the derogation to run on NR metals. Most of the hard work here is also done, hopefully now just waiting for formal notification, although in the interests of advertising the runs, the GWS had no choice but to go public when they did.

 

I'd urge anyone with an interest in this to book for one of the two dates, it will be a great occasion. The railmotor will be hauled up 'in light steam' (one of the conditions of the ORR derogation) from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway on the previous Saturday evening by a WCR Class 37 and stabled in the yard at Liskeard overnight, in case someone was wondering how we got it up to Liskeard so early, what with Saturday night/Sunday morning possessions etc.

 

The Devon & Cornwall Community Rail Partnership will open their excellent little shop on Platform 3 at Liskeard on both dates, and hopefully the lady that runs the cafe in the main station building will be open as well.

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hopefully the lady that runs the cafe in the main station building will be open as well.

I believe this might be open to a degree of skoolboy sniggering misinterpretation!

 

That apart this is marvellous news. I'm not a GW fan, but this railmotor is an important item of British railway heritage - irrespective of however much of it is modern and reconstruction. As I always say in such comparisons - worth 10 Tornadoes to me. In my dreams I would be there to witness this. Hmm......

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A perusal of the GWS site indicates just how much careful planning has gone into this, with the NR authorities clearly in much sympathy with trying to bend as many of the modern rules as is reasonably feasible. My query is how the SRM is going to travel from Didcot to the south-west - does its 'NR permit' allow it to be hauled over normal NR lines?

 

I guess it's too much to ask that it travels from Didcot under its own steam! (But what a sight that would be.)

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My query is how the SRM is going to travel from Didcot to the south-west - does its 'NR permit' allow it to be hauled over normal NR lines?

 

I guess it's too much to ask that it travels from Didcot under its own steam! (But what a sight that would be.)

Hi Miss P - the SRM is going to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway fairly soon, now, by low-loader. Once there, it will be hauled to Liskeard, max speed when hauled is 25 mph, by a WCR Class 37.

 

Max speed under it's own power on any NR line is 25 mph.

 

Having rested the week in Liskeard Yard and made a further set of runs to Looe and back on the 11th, it will again be hauled down to Bodmin Parkway by the Class 37, although this will have to go via Lostwithiel (run round), due to there being no crossover at Bodmin Parkway.

 

When it's sojourn at the B&WR is over in the New Year, it will go, again by road, to the South Devon Railway for a few weeks, where hopefully more fun will be had. After that, it moves on to the West Somerset Railway and then back to Didcot for some planned maintenance. After that, the summer of 2013 and beyond is, I understand, still something of an 'open book'...

 

One of the conditions of the anticipated ORR derogation is that when running on it's own on NR metals, it must be 'locked in' to a semi-independant bit of railway, that has trapping arrangements. The SRM doesn't have many of the modern safety systems, such as TPWS, so this is one of a number of conditions that are required to ensure that any safety risk issues are minimised to 'as low as reasonably practical'.

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Echoing Miss Prism, I'd like to have seen it crossing the Medway viaduct on HS1, but there you go.

It is pretty amazing that it's getting permission for what it's doing, and equally amazing to read the story of its survival and rebuilding. It's going to be crowded in the river valley - just hope there aren't any September-type deluges to disrupt things.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Tickets for the runs on both dates are selling out fast. The 'middle three' trains on both dates are now fully sold out. There are still seats on the 0830 and 1630 departures from Liskeard on both 4th and 11th November. Tickets can be ordered via the link on the GWS website - link above in this thread.

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Echoing Miss Prism, I'd like to have seen it crossing the Medway viaduct on HS1, but there you go.

It is pretty amazing that it's getting permission for what it's doing, and equally amazing to read the story of its survival and rebuilding. It's going to be crowded in the river valley - just hope there aren't any September-type deluges to disrupt things.

 

or enthusiasts in hi-vis.

 

Stewart

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The Railmotor was running in Cornwall today.

 

http://DSCF5431.jpg

 

http://DSCF5439.jpg

 

http://DSCF5443.jpg

 

http://DSCF5448.jpghttp://DSCF5449.jpg

 

http://DSCF5450.jpghttp://DSCF5452.jpg

 

http://DSCF5455.jpg

 

http://DSCF5464.jpg

 

http://DSCF5465.jpg

 

http://DSCF5466.jpghttp://DSCF5469.jpg

 

Gauging tests were carried out to Parkway and Boscarne this afternoon, as you can see platform clearances are pretty tight at Parkway.

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Where can I place my order?

 

 

The Railmotor was running in Cornwall today.

 

 

Gauging tests were carried out to Parkway and Boscarne this afternoon, as you can see platform clearances are pretty tight at Parkway.

 

And some cracking photos, bubbles2.

Suberb shots of no. 93 enveloped in October flora: a must for modelling, surely.

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Nice shots bubbles although I'm not keen on the bunker first views.

 

Thanks, interesting comment Colin, from what I could see the bunker is under the control desk, if thats the correct name for it at the front (powered driving end).

 

A better picture of the driving end motion.

 

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/Debe2233/Bodmin%20Railmotor%2010%20october%202012/DSCF5435.jpg[/img]"]http://DSCF5435.jpg

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Was it taken by road to Bodmin? It looks really good - how about FGW painting a Class 153 in the same livery?

 

XF

 

Another illusion shattered - & I thought this was a repainted 153 with a smoky exhaust!

 

....getting my coat (well ALL GW engines look the same don't they?)

 

Stewart

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