That is a shame, for everyone involved, yet again your coverage is great and I am thankful for the watch. Especially liked seeing the angle of the banked curve at Ashurst you were able to capture. 👌🏻 Hopefully the passenger that fell ill is okay, and 44871 returns to service again soon. 💭 All the best, M
Well done for getting this lovely video very good camera work as usual I am really looking forward to seeing your next video I hope you get a nice video next time also when is your next video going to be on TH-cam. Pity for all those people who have paid all that money just to have 44871 on London to Swanage part and then they have just had a dirty diesel on return it's ridiculous isn't it.
Now I'm nervous to go out and see Clan Line tomorrow 😅 in all seriousness, why are there seemingly more issues now with lineside fires for steam on the mainline? I'm sure there were at least some prolonged heatwaves or hot and dry spells in decades past during the days of steam itself, were lineside fires an issue back then? Is the vegetation at lineside far more overgrown and prone to catching fire now? Genuine question, & I don't want to spark (no pun intended!) a big argument - just seems strange to me.
In decades past, there were Platelayers stationed frequently on the mainline, in charge of looking after 'their' section of track. Without such a workforce, and with a severly reduced budget for lineside clearance, everywhere has become much more overgrown. And without Platelayers, there is rarely anyone in the immediate vicinity to be able to sort any fires as soon as they start.
@@TheSouthernerYTChannelAhhh, that makes a lot of sense! I did wonder if that had something to do with it. Thanks for the clarification, and it goes without saying - excellent shots as always even while dealing with such logistical issues!
The other factor is that steam engines always threw cinders and it tended to keep vegetation down automatically before it got too extensive. You would get minor lineside fires that burnt themselves out quickly. After 80 years of diesels and electrics, there are way more bushes, saplings and full grown trees. Another consequence is that views from the train have become much more restricted in summer. Nowadays I reckon the best time to go railtouring is March and April when there is reasonable daylight but no leaves on the trees and you see so much more. Even in the 1980s I was surprised how much tree growth obstructed views on the West Highland Line compared to the photos from steam days.
@jerrydowse5061 Lineside vegetation clearance costs well over 100K per mile. Why and who will pay that sort of money just to satisfy a few enthusiast steam tours per year? Leaf fall is entirely different issue which is being controlled to some extent but keeping lineside clear of anything combustible is entirely different proposition.
My argument would be NR know the risks associated with steam on the main line. Ensure the network is clear of potential sparking points (eg clearing lineside vegetation ect) and or be more proactive on fire risk and impose a steam ban before a tour leaves. Another point is I see more sparks off of the 3rd rail system (my house backs onto the SWML) although I imagine this wasn’t the cause yesterday but could easily cause a similar problem if the lineside is that prone to fire.
@@MamodFan01 Unfortunately the steam ban is the more likely option. It's a shock that this happened so soon after such a wet and cold winter and spring. Network Rail hire lots of people to cut back vegetation for an occasional steam train, ha ha? The sparks from the third rail don't carry more than a foot or two - unfortunately cinders can travel a lot further. In steam days companies often had to face claims from farmers for crop damage by fire in adjacent fields - many genuine, some "convenient".
It doesn't take long for a bit of sunshine to cause a ripple effect, a bit of a disaster trip all round. Thanks Matthew for your fully loaded "gossip column" keeping all informed as to what's occuring out there. So there's a fine Black 5 to be viewed at Swanage until the powers that be say otherwise??!! It's always good to throw a Bulleid into the proceedings😂😂
@HeyItsAJOmega While it can, I suspect WCR will want to avoid the additional pathing costs of getting another loco down to Swanage. There's also the owners preference to consider.
Dear lord, one following train was only 12 minutes late at Brockenhurst, but FOUR AND A HALF HOURS late into Bournemouth. I hope some of the passengers on that and other trains, or anyone trying to get anywhere, hires a good lawyer and sues the pants off West Coast Railways.
@@tobes1989in what way exactly? Because I feel that the public might have a right to be angry? Would you like to be stuck in a train for 250-odd minutes just so that linesiders aren't deprived of a steam locomotive? Please answer, I'd like to hear your reasoning
@@AndreiTupolev is it directly West Coasts fault cables are left exposed without the cable trough lids being left on? Network rail obviously assessed it to be safe to run steam and got it wrong. Steam runs all the time on the network mostly without incident. Why are you so desperate to see a company fail?
Not gonna lie, it seems pretty irresponsible to be running steam-hauled tours during a prolonged dry spell like this. Is 44871 fitted with a spark arrestor? It really doesn't take much to start a serious fire, having personally witnessed a similarly serious fire at the Strathspey Railway last year at a time when it was much cooler, and the ground was still damp. Still, at least no-one was harmed.
I would agree with this comment completely. Running steam through the new forest was just asking for trouble today. Feel sorry for those thousands of passengers travelling on SWR and Cross Country who had there journeys disrupted.
In their defense, the only way to know when there's a real fire risk is when one happens. Otherwise they'd have to have a permanent steam ban between the months of June and September every year, even on days where it would be fine to run them. All they can do is act on lineside fires as they happen, and it's pretty normal for this to happen at this time of year.
@@Matty_1843 Not necessarily - in this case, it could have been avoided by simply checking MetOffice records. Steam bans would not be neccessary, just much more active monitoring of weather/land conditions. At the end of the day, heritage rail as a movement has a duty to protect the environment in which it operates - especially with the presence of hardcore environmentalist groups who are more than happy to damage/vandalise our country's history and heritage for their publicity.
@@GrrMeister The point isn't so much prolonged heating, but dry conditions (one day with some rainfall isn't enough to break this). Elaborating on my story from the Strathspey; we had much cooler weather, with even a bit of rainfall here and there. However, most of the time it was dry and crucially, we had quite gusty winds on the weekend this incident happened (in fact several fires happened). A steam service powering out of Broomhill lead by the Ivatt mogul (not fitted with a spark arrestor at the time) caused a large bank of gorse to go up in flames very rapidly, which was fanned by the high winds. Thankfully, the fire was didn't spread beyond this gorse bank and services were able to be restored later in the day.
That is a shame, for everyone involved, yet again your coverage is great and I am thankful for the watch. Especially liked seeing the angle of the banked curve at Ashurst you were able to capture. 👌🏻
Hopefully the passenger that fell ill is okay, and 44871 returns to service again soon. 💭
All the best, M
enjoyed watching your awesome TH-cam video today.
Do these engines have spark arrestors fitted? Here in NSW Australia all engines have arrestors but steam is banned during the summer months .
Well done for getting this lovely video very good camera work as usual I am really looking forward to seeing your next video I hope you get a nice video next time also when is your next video going to be on TH-cam.
Pity for all those people who have paid all that money just to have 44871 on London to Swanage part and then they have just had a dirty diesel on return it's ridiculous isn't it.
Now I'm nervous to go out and see Clan Line tomorrow 😅 in all seriousness, why are there seemingly more issues now with lineside fires for steam on the mainline? I'm sure there were at least some prolonged heatwaves or hot and dry spells in decades past during the days of steam itself, were lineside fires an issue back then? Is the vegetation at lineside far more overgrown and prone to catching fire now? Genuine question, & I don't want to spark (no pun intended!) a big argument - just seems strange to me.
In decades past, there were Platelayers stationed frequently on the mainline, in charge of looking after 'their' section of track. Without such a workforce, and with a severly reduced budget for lineside clearance, everywhere has become much more overgrown. And without Platelayers, there is rarely anyone in the immediate vicinity to be able to sort any fires as soon as they start.
@@TheSouthernerYTChannelAhhh, that makes a lot of sense! I did wonder if that had something to do with it. Thanks for the clarification, and it goes without saying - excellent shots as always even while dealing with such logistical issues!
Penny pinching,will those in charge ever learn.
The other factor is that steam engines always threw cinders and it tended to keep vegetation down automatically before it got too extensive. You would get minor lineside fires that burnt themselves out quickly. After 80 years of diesels and electrics, there are way more bushes, saplings and full grown trees. Another consequence is that views from the train have become much more restricted in summer. Nowadays I reckon the best time to go railtouring is March and April when there is reasonable daylight but no leaves on the trees and you see so much more. Even in the 1980s I was surprised how much tree growth obstructed views on the West Highland Line compared to the photos from steam days.
@jerrydowse5061 Lineside vegetation clearance costs well over 100K per mile. Why and who will pay that sort of money just to satisfy a few enthusiast steam tours per year? Leaf fall is entirely different issue which is being controlled to some extent but keeping lineside clear of anything combustible is entirely different proposition.
Nice video :)
So how long will 44871 be there for? 🤔
I saw this at Woking yesterday, picking up passengers. When it left, it wasn't steaming, all the work being done by the diesel pushing at the rear. 😢
Oh, is that what it was. I saw that services were disrupted due to a fault with the signalling system, but this was the reason then.
The joy of steam in the 21st century. Never mind, let's hope there were plenty of punters on the SR itself today.
glad i got it going though southampton then if it didnt go back. i think it mite go back tomarrow but just have to wait and see
What's happening with the black 5 then
Does WCR or RTC have to pay compensation to NR for the disruption?
My argument would be NR know the risks associated with steam on the main line. Ensure the network is clear of potential sparking points (eg clearing lineside vegetation ect) and or be more proactive on fire risk and impose a steam ban before a tour leaves. Another point is I see more sparks off of the 3rd rail system (my house backs onto the SWML) although I imagine this wasn’t the cause yesterday but could easily cause a similar problem if the lineside is that prone to fire.
@@MamodFan01 Unfortunately the steam ban is the more likely option. It's a shock that this happened so soon after such a wet and cold winter and spring. Network Rail hire lots of people to cut back vegetation for an occasional steam train, ha ha? The sparks from the third rail don't carry more than a foot or two - unfortunately cinders can travel a lot further. In steam days companies often had to face claims from farmers for crop damage by fire in adjacent fields - many genuine, some "convenient".
Feel bad for the people who payed a bunch if money only to have their steam engine cause a fire and forced to stop operating
When will 44871 go back up to Southall?
By assumption, when Network Rail say it can leave
Can it not be towed by another loco?
It doesn't take long for a bit of sunshine to cause a ripple effect, a bit of a disaster trip all round. Thanks Matthew for your fully loaded "gossip column" keeping all informed as to what's occuring out there. So there's a fine Black 5 to be viewed at Swanage until the powers that be say otherwise??!! It's always good to throw a Bulleid into the proceedings😂😂
@HeyItsAJOmega While it can, I suspect WCR will want to avoid the additional pathing costs of getting another loco down to Swanage. There's also the owners preference to consider.
Dear lord, one following train was only 12 minutes late at Brockenhurst, but FOUR AND A HALF HOURS late into Bournemouth. I hope some of the passengers on that and other trains, or anyone trying to get anywhere, hires a good lawyer and sues the pants off West Coast Railways.
What a bell end you are!
@@tobes1989in what way exactly? Because I feel that the public might have a right to be angry? Would you like to be stuck in a train for 250-odd minutes just so that linesiders aren't deprived of a steam locomotive? Please answer, I'd like to hear your reasoning
@@AndreiTupolev is it directly West Coasts fault cables are left exposed without the cable trough lids being left on? Network rail obviously assessed it to be safe to run steam and got it wrong. Steam runs all the time on the network mostly without incident. Why are you so desperate to see a company fail?
Interesting heatwave mayhem
What happened?
Have you tried reading the description?
Thanks
Not gonna lie, it seems pretty irresponsible to be running steam-hauled tours during a prolonged dry spell like this. Is 44871 fitted with a spark arrestor? It really doesn't take much to start a serious fire, having personally witnessed a similarly serious fire at the Strathspey Railway last year at a time when it was much cooler, and the ground was still damp. Still, at least no-one was harmed.
Prolonged ? I had my Ski Jacket on last week !
I would agree with this comment completely. Running steam through the new forest was just asking for trouble today. Feel sorry for those thousands of passengers travelling on SWR and Cross Country who had there journeys disrupted.
In their defense, the only way to know when there's a real fire risk is when one happens. Otherwise they'd have to have a permanent steam ban between the months of June and September every year, even on days where it would be fine to run them. All they can do is act on lineside fires as they happen, and it's pretty normal for this to happen at this time of year.
@@Matty_1843 Not necessarily - in this case, it could have been avoided by simply checking MetOffice records. Steam bans would not be neccessary, just much more active monitoring of weather/land conditions. At the end of the day, heritage rail as a movement has a duty to protect the environment in which it operates - especially with the presence of hardcore environmentalist groups who are more than happy to damage/vandalise our country's history and heritage for their publicity.
@@GrrMeister The point isn't so much prolonged heating, but dry conditions (one day with some rainfall isn't enough to break this). Elaborating on my story from the Strathspey; we had much cooler weather, with even a bit of rainfall here and there. However, most of the time it was dry and crucially, we had quite gusty winds on the weekend this incident happened (in fact several fires happened). A steam service powering out of Broomhill lead by the Ivatt mogul (not fitted with a spark arrestor at the time) caused a large bank of gorse to go up in flames very rapidly, which was fanned by the high winds. Thankfully, the fire was didn't spread beyond this gorse bank and services were able to be restored later in the day.