Christmastide remindersOur ‘Santa Specials’ and Christmas Lunch Trains start on Sat 3 December. For details, visit www.swanagerailway.co.uk. Pre-booking essential: call at the Station or phone 01929 425800. Our ‘non-Santa’ customers will still have an amenity service between Norden and Swanage on Santa Days, mostly in our heritage diesel train, at a return fare of £3.00, £2.00 for children and seniors. From Boxing Day, we offer our basic 1-train steam service until Mon 2 January, after which we close down until ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ returns on 11 February. Purbeck Railway Circle - ‘1000 Eggs on a Bicycle’Our next meeting is on Friday 2 Dec, when Colin Boocock will explain his title for this slide-talk, which will include railway photos taken every year since he started railway photography in 1947. Colin is a renowned railway engineer, photographer and author and we are privileged to have him. He was a railway apprentice at Eastleigh and has worked in the Bournemouth area. Of some 15 books he has written, two have local relevance – “Bournemouth & Southampton Steam” and “Nine Elms and its Locomotives”. We meet in the Catholic Church Hall, Rempstone Road, Swanage, at 7.00 for 7.30 pm. All welcome. Michael Walshaw, Secretary PRC, Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB, phone 01929 421913. Telecom Department - Terry OtterVisitors to the Swanage Railway see engine drivers, firemen, guards, porters, ticket inspectors and signalmen. They do not generally see those who work behind the scenes, providing and maintaining the infrastructure required for the railway to operate. We in the Telecom Department are some of those invisible people, unless you happen to see one of us up a pole by the side of the track. It is our job to provide all the necessary communications so that the Railway can operate safely and efficiently. We are a small group of volunteers from various backgrounds, each with his own specialism. Most of us give a day a week, but more when required, and we’re willing to be called in to attend to urgent faults. The Railway’s communication systems are in three areas. Firstly, we have an Internal Telephone System - our heritage contribution to the Railway. This comprises three interconnected Strowger exchanges, at Swanage, Herston, and Corfe Castle. These provide railway-wide coverage, with 64 telephones connected at present, and still growing. We use proper telephones with dials from the time when BR closed the line. This is the primary system for calls within the Railway, with the bonus that as it is not connected to the public network all calls are free. We are rightly proud to have a working example of the type of equipment that provided the world’s telephone service for most of the 20th century. Secondly, we have an up-to-date Digital BT System within the Swanage station area for outside calls for all key personnel. Thirdly, we provide communications for the Signal Boxes. This allows the signalmen in our three boxes to be able to talk to each other and loco crew and signal technicians to talk to the signalmen from trackside phones. Also carried over our cables are the circuits for the single-line instruments in our signal boxes that allow trains to run in safety over single track between the stations. Signal & Telegraph Department looks after the instruments and we take care of the lines. This requires lots of wires to connect it all. We have an extensive cable network running the whole length of the Railway, much of it carried on poles, of which we have more than 100. Where possible, especially at Swanage and Corfe Castle, the poles are fitted with cross arms and insulators. As we use modern cables this is not technically necessary, but it does give a more period appearance to the trackside. There is always much to be done to maintain and improve the telecoms infrastructure. We have to deal with faults and problems as they arise and not allow a backlog to build up. We also need to adapt to changing requirements and look forward to the future so that as the railway grows we can increase our network to match its needs. All of this has grown from nothing since the Swanage Railway started in the 1970s, and it is due to the efforts of Frank Roberts, many volunteers and a lot of help from the Royal Signals that we have the impressive network that is here today. Finally – a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all readers from all the staff at The Swanage Railway, who with Santa, await to greet you in person this month. If you can help us in any area, such as on our telecom system, contact Volunteer Liaison Officer Mike Whitwam on 01202 430894, write to him at SRT, Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB or leave a note for him at Swanage Station Booking Office. |