The Swanage Railway Trust

Catering Department

Business continues to flourish as figures show and we look forward to a busy summer season. From 6th July we will be selling a new, limited edition, beer – 40, NOT GONE – and this may be purchased from the On-train Buffets and Royal Wessex Bar Car. The Cream Tea season is upon us and small groups of 25 can be booked in both the Norden and Birds Nests. Also a reminder that the Fish and Chip Suppers and Evening Meals will shortly be available at the Birds Nest Buffet at Swanage Station.

As many will be aware, The Birds Nest Buffet can become very busy and large queues form. To alleviate this pressure staff will soon be able to use a self-service facility (including Tea, Coffee and bottled water) in the Staff Room in Station House. However, staff will still be welcome to wait at the Birds Nest and receive the personal service they are used to.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Penny Jones,
Station Buffets Manager

Since Pat Welham’s departure we have striven to honour previous reservation and to maintain the Railway’s reputation. To date there have been six Wessex Belle evenings and one static lunch, the latter being a party of 60 which only came to our attention 48 hours beforehand. There has been a mix of ordinary Wessex Belle services and charters. The largest of the charters was 84 covers and since this occurred on only our third evening it very much tested the effectiveness of our new operational system of working. The relationship with the Red Lion appears to be working well and many of our customers have “complimented the chef”. I think that as time goes on the working relationship will develop further as both sides gain a better understanding of what is required. We are aiming for simplicity as well as striving for quality. There are number of rough edges to resolve particularly in terms of portion control and food wastage.

It would not have been possible to continue the Wessex Belle services without the support and assistance we have received from many on the Railway. Several have returned to work on the Belle after several years and a number of Directors and members of the Council of Management have rolled their sleeves up. We have even welcomed new volunteers all of whom have said they will come again. I am slightly worried that we might still be enjoying a “honeymoon” period when it is perhaps a bit of a novelty work the Belle as we have many more planned services to staff between now and October. However, in the meantime an enormous thank you to everyone who has helped up in whatever way.

Moving on to the future, the Belle is currently scheduled to operate on 8 evenings in July and also 8 occasions in August. Thoughts must now turn to Christmas services and, of course 2008. My greatest concern is that of staffing as we cannot expect the same people to be available week after week. Certainly I personally cannot undertake to do so! I do think that you, the Board, should keep it in your mind that if an intensive service is to be contemplated in 2008 it may well be necessary to employ someone to be responsible for rostering of staff and generally co-ordinating activities including cleaning, laying of tables and ordering of bar and other non food stocks.

Finally, please note that Andrew and I will be away on holiday from 6th to 19th July inclusive. During this time it seems likely that the Belle activities will be co-ordinated by the Trott family.

Linda Moore,
 Senior Train Manager
 

Retail

I estimate the June income will be over budget and expenditure below budget. Shop opening times are currently, Monday to Sunday 10.00 to 16.30; these times will change to 09.30 - 17.30 when the peak season arrives, with other adjustments as train time’s change.

Confirmation has been received from Video 125 that filming at the railway for a new DVD will commence on the 16th July for one week, James Cox is aware of the arrangements Video 125 are known in the industry as a very professional company, and I am sure when ready for sale the DVD will generate high profits for the railway.

Ralph Smith
Shop Manager
 

Operations

An incident occurred on at Norden on 13/06/07 when a child who was visiting the footplate fell between locomotive and platform.

The trial of Russian coal mentioned in last months report was very successful; the chemical analysis is very good with low Sulphur and Chlorine content, it did produce some clinker in the fire but it did not stick to the grate and was easy to remove. It also proved to be nearly smokeless once steam had been raised. Unfortunately a constant supply of this coal is unavailable at present; our coal merchant is working to ensure a continued supply, which should be available in August.

On the evening of Bank Holiday Monday (28th May) the windscreen of the Class 108 DMU was broken at Herston while in service, this was reported to the police who were in attendance at Herston when the train returned. As far as I am aware this incident is still being investigated. The service was unaffected as the driving cab concerned was not being used, the unit running as a three car with the 117 unit. The following weekend a lineside fire near Pondarosa Crossing burnt through some signalling cables, communication between Swanage and the other signal boxes being lost, Pilotman working was introduced until the cables were repaired on Monday afternoon.

On Monday 18th June the 12:30 service from Swanage comprising five coaches hauled by 80104 collided with a Link-Rider coach on Quarr Farm Crossing, the coach was turned through 90 degrees suffering substantial damage. The coach driver was taken to hospital by the air-ambulance where he is recovering; after discussion with the police it was decided that the best way to de-train the passengers was to return the rear four coaches to Swanage, 08 436 was used, returning the passengers to Swanage at 14:20. The 08 then returned to the accident to recover the locomotive and the remaining coach, returning to Swanage at 18:20, the Link-Rider coach was then recovered, the line finally being cleared at 21:00, the Class 33 which had been working at the other end of the railway then returned arriving at 21:20.

The Class 33 operated the following day’s service as no steam locomotive was available, 80104 returning to service on the 20th.

Preparation are well in hand for the End of Southern Steam event; locomotives will be arriving next week, the first being 76079 off the main line on Monday 25th.

Fares

Comparison figures to the end May.
 

A passenger increase of 2.5% and fare income increase of 3.4% over the same period.

Steve Dyer
Operations Manager
 

Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon

Locomotives

80078 – Reliably performing service trains and Driver Experience. Currently undergoing firebox maintenance; replacement of approx. 150 stay nuts, attention to leaking lap joints, rivets & patch screws. Before busy summer season.

80104 – Also used on service trains & Driving Experience. Was involved in a collision with a motor coach on Monday 18th June. Suffered damage to steps and brackets, and scratched paintwork. Loss adjuster agreed to extent of insured repairs. Both Standards are suffering damage to fire bars due to degradation in quality of our usual Coal. After successful trials of a Russian sourced coal, negotiations are underway to ensure a reliably supply of it.

6695 – Starred at the East Somerset Railway at the end of April. Returned to regular use at Swanage.

30053 – Since arriving back in April; Coupling rod nuts adjusted. Eccentric straps set up & fitted, All copper pipe work annealed; repaired as required and fitted. Brake Ejector overhauled and fitted. injectors serviced and fitted, brake rod pins and bushes checked for clearance and greased. Pistons bump-stopped. Big ends checked and fitted, small ends overhauled and fitted, con-rod centres set, - shims fitted as required. Reverser control linkage fitted and set up. New slide valve heads machined to fit cylinder block. Slide valves and carriers fitted. Water valves lapped in, new control rods fitted. Blower valve overhauled and fitted, hand rails fitted. Water tanks tested and leaks repaired. Vacuum system tested, cylinder neck ring replaced. Brick arch cast. Steam heat pipe lagged, Eccentric rods checked and fitted. Drain cocks overhauled and fitted. Ash pan spray fitted with new control valve and pipe work. Slacker pipe fitted. Steam test of all systems. Piston rod and valve spindle glands overhauled and fitted.

D8188 – Available for traffic

08436 – Available for traffic

108 DMU – In regular Friday & Saturday evening service. And Green timetable.

117 DMS – Returned from full body and interior overhaul at Midland Railway Butterley last week. The mechanical parts have been checked and some repairs carried out by a sub-contractor. Currently undergoing electrical fault-finding; a number of non-standard alterations are evident from its previous ownership.

D6515 – Failed for the first time since entering service in 1999 with a burst flexible coolant hose. Repaired the same day.

33108 – Has gone by road to Barrow Hill for collision damage repairs.

47635 – Brake system fault being identified and attended to

Carriages

• 9015 BSOB – General Overhaul complete at Butterley, due to be collected by Alleleys on Monday, delivery to Norden Tuesday.
• 4349 – In Goods Shed for Quarr Crossing collision damage repairs. Team from Rampart coming next week to carry out structural & sheeting repairs.

Wagons

• 1248 PMV - Currently outside Goods Shed, while 4349 is repaired. Allowing under frame work to be undertaken.
• Dogfish ballast wagon handed over the P. Way Dept.
• Queen Mary Brake Van will be returning to Swanage soon, now that funding has been released for its completion.

James Cox
LCW Manager
 

Infrastructure Department

General

Dennis Gregory, our Civil Engineer has now left the employ of Swanage Railway and will be moving away from the area in due course. He has stated that he may available later on in the year to carry out the Bridge inspections which are due in about 6 month’s time. I would like to thank Dennis for all his help and hard work during the last few years and hope he settles down in his new home.

There will be a need to appoint a new Civil Engineer although Geoff Card will be available for major consultancy work as required.

Permanent Way and Civil Engineering

General Maintenance

Weekly line inspections continue to be carried out on a Thursday.

Track Work

Fishplate lubrication has been completed for the whole line.
Joints have been jacked and packed from Dickers Crossing to Swanage Industrial Estate, and Corfe Castle station area.

Vegetation

Scrub clearance in the Corfe Common – Afflington area has been completed and treated.

On line weed killing has been carried out and backpack treatment of brambles and bracken is ongoing.

Strimming of vegetation at crossings and other selective trackside locations is ongoing. Howard Fry had a fortunate escape at Quarr Farm Crossing as he was strimming in the area minutes before the coach crash.

Fencing and drainage

Phillip Wycliffe – Jones’s gang have been clearing track side drain on the extension.

Fence repairs, ditch and drain clearance is ongoing.

Pondarosa Slip

Work has commenced but delays have occurred due to refinement of the work specification, ordering Tensar Geogrid mat and wet weather. It is hoped to complete the work before Mid July.

Other

Work is progressing on the fitting out of recently acquired P. Way huts at Corfe. These will be moved to various locations in the Autumn.

John Bull is continuing to instal gradient and mileage signs along the railway.

A letter of thanks has been received from the Secretary of the Permanent Way Institute to all involved in their recent visit to the railway on 5th June.

Tony Andrews
PW Manager
 

Signal & Telegraph and Telecom

General Maintenance

The oiling of points every 2 weeks has been delayed due to the repairs being carried out at Quarr Farm Crossing. Other maintenance is ongoing.

The 6 monthly servicing of the key token and tablet machines is in progress.

Annual Inspections

A start has been made on these inspections but they will probably take several months to complete.

Quarr Crossing

The recent incident between a train and a coach destroyed a wig wag light assembly and the drivers white light assembly. Although we had a lot of spares in stock we did not have any spare back boards for the wig wag lights. These have now been sourced and the replacement of the damaged parts should be completed and the whole system tested by Monday 2nd July.

Swanage Phase 2 Signalling Scheme

Work is progressing well on the construction of the new bracket signal for Swanage which will replace the Inner Home signal. The two signal dolls are now being fitted out.

Corfe Castle Down Platform Signal Repeater

The repeater has now been fixed to the underside of the footbridge and a cable duct has been laid from a new cabinet behind the down waiting shelter. Wiring of the repeater should be completed shortly.

Thefts

2 Ground Frames and other minor S&T equipment were stolen from Eldons siding in May by scrap metal thieves. They gained access down farmer Ramms farm track which crosses the railway at Eldons Crossing. Subsequent to this theft the crossing barrier pedestals have been moved from Eldons to Herston bank store and in September the remaining S&T equipment will be moved.

Faults

Track circuit G, in the platform at Swanage developed a fault whereby the track showed occupied with nothing on the track. The fault was discovered to be a broken wire which had fractured due to the movement of the track by the water tower.

Telecom

Internal Telephone System and Cable Network

On Sunday 3rd June at about 1.30pm all services were lost as a track fire at Pondarosa destroyed a section of our two main cables. The cables had been lowered ready for work to start on the land slip, and we left the cables safely tucked next to the chairs on the sleepers. They seem to have been moved onto the grass at some point, hence they got caught up in the fire. Two new pieces of cable were jointed in on Monday and full service was restored by 5.00. This repair means that the cables cannot be re-suspended as they are, and replacement will inevitably mean further disruption at the busiest time of the year, so it will probably be best to leave them where thy are until the autumn.

BCM & BT Lines

The re-organisation of our BT lines is now complete. We have a new package of mobile phones on BT Talk. This means that authorised users have a company mobile rather than having their own phone paid for by the Railway. We get a much better package this way, and with sensible use there could be savings of around £1000 per year.

The Station House broadband has been upgraded so should provide a better service.

By bringing these services together with BT we now qualify for BT Business One Plan. The main benefits are that all land line calls are capped at 5p for up to an hour, and 25p for calls to mobiles. There is also an annual rebate of 5% of our total spend.

Forecasted figures suggest savings in excess of £1000 in call costs.

A further line has been ordered for Corfe Castle station house so that the existing line can be exclusively for the signal box.

Signal Box Concentrators

Harmans Cross has both home signals connected to the concentrator, and a telephone has been installed adjacent to the down points.

Dave Cobb
Infrastructure Manager
 

Stations

No Report.
 

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Photographs

All photographs on this page by and copyright Andrew P.M. Wright,
Swanage Railway official photographer