March 2014 18/03/2014

NEWSLINES Thames Valley Section

CHAIRMAN

Jeremy Smith 01635 865256 / 07721 755745 [email protected]

VICE CHAIRMAN

Philip Holbourn 01793 431810 / 07801 334368 [email protected]

SECTION SECRETARY www.thepwi.org Malcolm Pearce 01635 550326 / 07967 667019 [email protected]

Dear Member, Proceedings: Technical Meeting No.6, Reading, 5 March 2014. Chairman: Philip Holbourn (Section Chairman Jeremy Smith was marooned at Theale by FGW and unable to get to the meeting). Present: 21 members, 4 visiting members Apologies: David Brace, RJ Brown, Peter Simmonds, Sean Murray, John Mercer, Tony Roberts and Bob Sanders. Preliminaries: Members and visitors gathered from 1700 for informal discourse and for refreshments kindly provided by our sponsor, Network Rail. Formal Meeting: The Chairman welcomed everyone to this second meeting in our new venue, and then asked the Secretary to report on the business of the Section. Secretary’s report Malcolm made brief reference to the following items: February 2014 edition of Newslines reviewed, Section members present agreed that this can stand as a true record of the proceedings. New venue: review of access arrangements and amenities, all present agreed that everything was satisfactory. Joint visit with Wessex Section to Progress Rail manufacturing facilities at Sandiacre and Beeston on 15 May. Please let Malcolm know if you wish to attend, details on cover letter to January Newslines. This meeting qualifies for CPD certification. An updated 2013/14 Session Programme was incorporated in the February Newslines; the PWI President will make his visit to the Section on 14 May and will also present his paper on the Thameslink Project.

The Section AGM will precede Technical Meeting No.7 on 2 April. Formal Notice will be included in the March Newslines.

Malcolm reminded everyone that the email address from which the Newslines is sent is not regularly monitored; routine communication with the Secretary should be to his email address shown in the header.

March 2014 18/03/2014

Presentation

The Chairman then introduced John Sreeves, who is a member of the Bristol & West of England Section and a regular visitor to our meetings, and invited him to present his paper on “Heritage Railways Infrastructure”.

John began by telling us that he is Associate Director, Bridges, with CH2M Hill, formerly Halcrow Group Ltd. He has been involved with various heritage railways for 40 years as a volunteer, currently providing professional advice to 7 such railways both in a voluntary capacity and as paid work through CH2M Hill. He said that much of his work is “conjectural planning”, but also involves some serious design work such as 9 bridges on the Welsh Highland Railway, which was the subject of his previous presentation to us in November 2011.

Facts about Heritage Railways (some from Heritage Railways Association report for 2011)

 There are 108 operating railways, tramways and rail cableways with a total route mileage of 536, carrying 7.1 million passengers and earning £92 million. There are 1,314 steam locomotives (80% operational), 1,367 diesel and other locomotives, 1,998 MUs and carriages, 3,701 wagons.  Most are run by volunteers – but virtually all have some paid staff in key operational, engineering and commercial roles.  Doubtful economic justification for the following reasons: a) Enthusiasts often go ahead without a business plan b) Lack of traffic was usually a reason for the line closing c) A continuous subsidy is required via volunteers’ time and/or money input d) Fare revenue covers operating but sometimes not full capital costs, hence many ongoing appeals for motive power, rolling stock and infrastructure restoration, maintenance and renewal. e) Proliferation, fewer members, ageing workforce may reduce volunteer numbers

BUT very often there is a large impact on the local economy, generally in rural areas, which can sometimes justify local authority help. An example was the flood damage to the Severn Valley in 2007.

 Most schemes are/were opportunistic depending on the track bed being ‘free’, i.e. free of obstruction and free or nearly free to purchase.  The easy re-openings have taken place, there are fewer lines remaining unobstructed that can be restored. Reinstatement of embankments (Rother Valley) cuttings (Bluebell) and bridges (Great Central) can blur the distinction between ‘preservation’ and ‘new build’ and sometimes there is opposition.  There are numerous route extension schemes – e.g. Lynton & Barnstaple (18 miles), Gloucestershire Warwickshire to Honeybourne (7 miles) and others of varying lengths on the Llangollen, GCR, RVR, Eden Valley, Somerset & Dorset, Bluebell and Peak Rail.  Some schemes more plausible than others – John left us to determine which, all are possible but long time durations of 20 years+ are likely.  All are expensive! Consequently, fundraising involves less traction engine rallies, second hand books, raffle tickets; more writing business plans for heritage lottery and local authority funding.

Infrastructure work does not have the same appeal and ‘glamour’ to the majority of volunteers compared with loco and rolling stock restoration and operation – despite it being the essential pre-requisite! John said that his involvement has several threads:

 Feasibility studies into trackbed extensions and bridge designs; some are conjectural planning  Annual inspections and six yearly detailed inspections March 2014 18/03/2014

 Repair schemes, drawings  Highly demanding and responsible work, not many want to take this on voluntarily  Professional Indemnity is provided by the railway’s insurers by extending their existing policy that covers operational staff such as train drivers and guards.  More work is going to have to be paid for with volunteers doing the fund raising  Much the same rules and regulations apply as for mainline railways, albeit with some relaxation allowed by using the Light Railways Act 1896 e.g. 25mph, no need for AWS – but it still has to be safe. By default Network Rail standards are used.  RAIB 2008 to 2012 accidents/incidents: NR 103, heritage railway 5, i.e. roughly proportional to route mileage, albeit running fewer trains and the seasonal nature of the latter.  John has enough to keep him busy forever when he retires in 4 years time!

John then took us on a fascinating slide show depicting features on many of the UK’s heritage railways, from which it soon became apparent the extent of his involvement with the infrastructure on each of these lines.

Typical of these is the Eden Valley Railway, for which John is the Civil Engineering Director. He described in detail the efforts being made to reopen the line between Appleby and Warcop, and, in conjunction with the Stainmore Railway Co., through to Kirkby Stephen East. John showed the many problems that are being tackled, mostly bridge repairs and partial reconstructions but also embankment and cutting slope failures. The national cycle way organisation, Sustrans, is delaying the efforts to reopen a portion of the line. Kirkby Stephen East station is being restored by the Stainmore Railway, which at one time also had a grandiose scheme to restore the line eastwards towards Barnard Castle, including a replacement for the famous Belah Viaduct demolished in 1964 just one year after closure of the line.

Next John moved on to Peak Rail, and its ambition to reopen the portion of the former Midland main line from St. Pancras to Manchester Central via Derby between Matlock and Millers Dale Junction, at which points it meets the existing Network Rail infrastructure. The line has been reopened and is operational between Matlock and Rowsley South; north from here the trackbed largely remains intact through dramatic countryside with a considerable number of impressive structures. Reinstatement of the A6 Bridge at Rowsley is a major hurdle to overcome and will present considerable engineering challenges as the local geography has changed over the years. Sustrans has opened up cycleways over considerable lengths of the trackbed, but by and large there will be room to reinstate a single line railway and the two modes may be able to co-exist on the former double track formation. Continued maintenance of the large wrought iron viaduct over the fast-flowing River Derwent at Matlock illustrates the difficulties and vulnerabilities faced by many heritage railways.

John then went on to show us structures on other heritage lines:  Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway  Teifi Valley Railway  Lynton & Barnstaple Railway  GWSR  Swindon & Cricklade Railway  Somerset & Dorset Railway  Rother Valley Railway  Bluebell Railway and discussed fully the work that has been carried out or is planned. In particular, John described the bridge work that has been carried on the GWSR, and in future the 5 bridges on the approaches to Broadway which require major work – and considerable financial outlay. Broadway Station is being restored, and is well on the way to regaining its former elegance. March 2014 18/03/2014

John then described his involvement in the procurement of bridge spans that had become available due to either layout changes or redundancy, but were not life expired. Bridge spans have been moved into storage on the Rother Valley and Bluebell Railways, with designs produced to re-use the spans on these lines.

Finally, John took us to the former GW line near Midford, close to where it passed under the S&D’s Bridge 18. This was the setting for many of the scenes in the early 1950s film “The Titfield Thunderbolt”, which poked fun at “railway enthusiasts”; at that time, the only ‘heritage’ railway in existence was the Talyllyn in Wales. John posed the question “Who could have predicted at that time how the railway map of the UK would change over the next 60 years, and how the heritage railway movement would grow?” John had taken questions and comments throughout his talk, which had generated much discussion. On completion, the Chairman invited further questions, with which John dealt ably and fully.

The Chairman then asked Rodney Pinchen to propose the Vote of Thanks to John. Rodney remarked on the wealth of knowledge that John had amassed over many years of a wide variety of structures on virtually all of the UK’s heritage railways. He had demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for providing effective, economical and often very innovative solutions to restore structures in poor condition to be fit again for their intended purpose. Rodney then asked everyone present to support his motion to John, this was carried with acclamation.

Next Meeting

Technical Meeting No.7 of the 2013/14 Session, which will take place at our now-regular venue, Network Rail’s Davidson House offices, Reading on Wednesday 2 April 2014. Our Speaker will be Barnaby Temple, L B Foster Rail Technologies UK, and a member of the Nottingham & Derby Section, who will present his paper “High Speed Track through the Alps”. See attached flyer for details. The Chairman formally closed the meeting at 1946.

Further information about your Section, and the activities of other Sections which you may wish to visit, can be found on the PWI website: www.thepwi.org

Will everyone please note the following arrangements for access to our meeting venue at Reading which apply from 5 February 2014: Unless otherwise notified, future technical meetings will be held in Network Rail’s Davidson House offices, Forbury Square, The Forbury, Reading RG1 3EU. The offices are about 7 minutes walk from Reading Station forecourt. From Reading Station South side, turn left and walk past the Rail/Air coach stop, then turn right into Blagrave Street. Continue past the Museum on the left, and on approaching Marks & Spencer bear left. The main Post Office will be ahead, St.Laurence Church on the left; keep left and enter The Forbury. After c.150m you will reach Forbury Square on the right; turn right to face the entrance to Davidson House. Enter through the main doors, past the ground floor reception and through the security barriers (no sign-in or swipecard needed), then via the lift to the 4th floor. Approach the doors labelled “Reception” and follow the instructions on the PWI notice on the door to gain access to Meeting Room No.1 and the facilities. The person giving you access will ask you to sign the PWI Register at this point. The meeting room is open from 1700, tea and coffee is provided courtesy of our sponsor, Network Rail. Meetings commence promptly at 1745. Please note that visitor car parking at Davidson House is restricted to 3 cars, see cover letter for conditions of use. There are public car parks nearby. A non-smoking policy operates in the building, and the consumption of alcohol is not permitted anywhere on the premises.

Committee Members: Mark Howells (07740 783466), Rodney Pinchen (07985 062299), Ray Pocock (07789 900108), Tony Roberts (07766 695796), and Matthew Savastano (07909 905584).

National Secretary (all financial matters): Kate Hatwell, 5 Mount Crescent, Warley, Brentwood, CM14 5DB (Registered Office). Other contact details in footer. March 2014 18/03/2014

Application forms for membership and information on the PWI are available from the Section Secretary, or online at www.thepwi.org. Please notify the Section Secretary of any changes in your personal details, and the National Secretary if you change your bank account, so that you can continue to receive information from the PWI and your subscription can be properly administered.

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Thames Valley Newslines & Section Administration is supported by H J Skelton & Co Ltd, Thames Valley Network Rail and Balfour Beatty Rail.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Thames Valley Section of the Permanent Way Institution will take place on Wednesday 2 April 2014 in Network Rail’s Davidson House office at Reading, commencing at 1745, prior to Technical Meeting No.7.

The main business of the AGM is to elect the Officers and Committee for the July 2014 to June 2015 session of the Section. Members are invited to submit any other items of business to the Secretary prior to the meeting; any such items will be added to the Agenda either to be dealt with at the AGM or delegated to the Committee for subsequent response.

Officers and Committee

Chair

Current: Jeremy Smith. Seeks re-election, to be proposed and seconded from the floor.

Vice-Chair

Current: Philip Holbourn. Seeks re-election, to be proposed and seconded from the floor.

Secretary

Current: Malcolm Pearce. Seeks re-election, to be proposed and seconded from the floor.

Committee

Current: The Officers, plus Mark Howells, Rodney Pinchen, Ray Pocock, Tony Roberts and Matthew Savastano. All seek re-election, to be proposed and seconded from the floor. Pat Parker has offered his services to the Committee. The Secretary will propose that Pat is elected as an additional Committee member, this proposal to be seconded from the floor.

If Members wish to make alternative nominations for any of the Officer posts, or additional nominations for the Committee, please communicate with the Secretary prior to the AGM.

Malcolm Pearce Secretary March 2014.