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Title: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Kernow Otter on March 09, 2013, 13:55:57 A conversation last night alluded to Network Rail actively considering the future of the turntable at St Blazey yard, with options being considered being either scrapping it, or relocating it to Penzance.
Can anyone shed any more light on this ? Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: smokey on March 10, 2013, 15:03:09 IIRC BR was going to get rid of St Blazey T/T but plans derailled after it was Listed.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Kernow Otter on May 25, 2014, 13:40:27 This has just come to my attention.
Seems the last turntable in Cornwall has been locked out of use, as it is in need of substantial repairs. Article says it all really, petition link on the article for those minded to support. http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Turntable-closure-end-line-steam/story-21101248-detail/story.html (http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Turntable-closure-end-line-steam/story-21101248-detail/story.html) Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: LiskeardRich on May 26, 2014, 13:17:46 How did the recent steam trains cope that visited Falmouth, it says the two steam tours this year have been cancelled,
Maybe my eyes and photos were imagining this only 2 weeks ago. (https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/14052138173_ccaa342ece_s.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/npJT7n)The Great Britain vii Railtour (https://flic.kr/p/npJT7n) by Rich.W. (https://www.flickr.com/people/82289286@N06/), on Flickr Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: The Tall Controller on May 26, 2014, 17:23:00 The engines were turned via the triangle at Laira and then worked light engine down to St Blazey where they stabled overnight.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: PhilWakely on May 26, 2014, 17:24:23 IIRC the Great Britain railtour was diesel hauled from Exeter to Truro with Bodmin running tender first from Exeter and the Hall also running light to laira and turning on the triangle before continuing tender first to Truro to bring the tour back the following day.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: grahame on June 18, 2014, 11:04:56 Article in the Cornish Guardian:
http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/Save-Steam/story-21254016-detail/story.html? Quote Ours is now the only county in the UK which is inaccessible by steam train, and tour operators have been forced to cancel their services here. Which is questioned for its accuracy (on the grounds that they are turning at Laira). I question it on the grounds that County Tyrone and County Fernmanagh cannot be accessed by steam trains either Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: ChrisB on June 18, 2014, 11:43:25 Quote More than that, we believe that every week it remains inoperative represents lost revenue for Cornish businesses ^ revenue Cornwall can ill afford to lose. It's blindingly obvious who ought to be chipping in to a fund to restore it.... Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Pb_devon on June 18, 2014, 11:52:47 Is there any info on exactly what needs doing, and the estimates for such work?
and are there associated issues, e.g. access through the depot. Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Red Squirrel on June 18, 2014, 12:02:07 If you'd told me back in 1970 that in 44 years time people would be complaining because their part of the country could not be accessed by steam trains, I'd have thought you were stark staring bonkers. Funny old world, isn't it?
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: bobm on June 23, 2014, 08:44:27 According to uksteam a steam loco will make it to Par next Sunday (29th June) by running tender first from Plymouth.
Quote THE ROYAL DUCHY Bristol Temple Meads-Par [wcrc] 34067/70013: Bristol-Plymouth Friary-Par-Bristol [Reverses at Plymouth Friary on outward leg, then tender first to Par] More also on the Railway Touring Company's website - http://www.railwaytouring.net/uk-day-trips/royal-duchy (http://www.railwaytouring.net/uk-day-trips/royal-duchy) Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: bobm on June 29, 2014, 08:07:29 According to UK Steam the turntable has been brought back into use for today's railtour.
Quote THE ROYAL DUCHY Bristol Temple Meads-Par [wcrc] 45407: Bristol-Plymouth Friary-Par-Bristol [St Blazey turntable now reinstated for this trip] http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t14/t0629a.htm (http://www.uksteam.info/tours/t14/t0629a.htm) Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: molinnis on June 29, 2014, 21:21:53 Turntable was used successfully today for the steam tour. Apparently it has dropped by 3" on the works side so cannot be used as a through road but can be used for turning if approached from the Par Docks end.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Chris from Nailsea on June 29, 2014, 22:33:01 Steam tour has just passed through Nailsea & Backwell, with a cheery whistle ;)
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Kernow Otter on June 30, 2014, 22:30:16 Turntable was used successfully today for the steam tour. Apparently it has dropped by 3" on the works side so cannot be used as a through road but can be used for turning if approached from the Par Docks end. Photos http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/newspage---latest-news-reports-and-photographs (http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/newspage---latest-news-reports-and-photographs) Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Chris from Nailsea on September 07, 2014, 01:40:58 From the Cornish Guardian (http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/Campaigners-vow-continue-fight-St-Blazey-rail/story-22882633-detail/story.html?):
Quote Campaigners vow to continue fight to see St Blazey's rail turntable restored (http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276349/Article/images/22882633/6865342-large.jpg) DETERMINED: Rail campaigners Ben Harding and Sam Hooper at the St Blazey turntable with their petition After four months spent battling to have a railway turntable in St Blazey restored to full working order, campaigners say they are disappointed the century-old structure remains in such a dilapidated state. Railway volunteers Ben Harding and Sam Hooper started a petition to have the turntable at St Blazey engine shed restored after rail operator DB Schenker (DBS) declared it unsafe earlier this year. The Frankfurt-based company, which runs china clay operations in the area, said it no longer used the turntable, and refused to foot the six figure repair bill. But steam train tours entering Cornwall rely on it to turn their engines around. With the turntable out of action, tour operators were left in the bizarre position of being forced to run their trains through the county backwards ^ a situation diplomatically described as ^not ideal^ by Nigel Dobbing, managing director of the Railway Touring Company. After a brief impasse which threatened to see the end of steam tours through the Duchy, DBS allowed tour operators full use of the turntable providing they sign an indemnity agreement making them financially liable if it suffers further damage. The company also announced it had entered into talks with tour operator West Coast Railways to discuss a plan of action which would eventually see it repaired. That was in July, and since then little appears to have happened. Ben and Sam^s online petition continues to gather signatures, and the turntable continues to gather rust. Ben said: ^It^s all very disappointing. Whether DB Schenker are planning something for the winter I don^t know. We^ve certainly not heard anything. Whatever happens it^s going to need more than a lick of paint and some grease to restore it to good working order. We want to see it properly repaired.^ He added: ^People have continued to sign the petition, but we left it for a while because we thought we might see something done. Obviously that hasn^t happened. All we can do now is carry on.^ A spokesperson for DB Schenker said talks with West Coast Rail were ongoing, but stressed that finding a solution would take time. ^West Coast Rail has commissioned their own structural survey to establish the turntable^s condition,^ they said. ^They have also been offered guidelines about how to use it safely, but they cannot use it in its full capacity. It^s the best solution we can find at the moment. We are open to discussions about how to accommodate everyone^s wishes for the turntable.^ Last month Cornwall councillors announced the formation of a cross-party group which aimed to ^see Cornwall once again known as 'The Land of Steam'.^ The group, led by Cornwall Councillor for Redruth South, Ian Thomas, gave the campaign their backing. But Mr Thomas told the Cornish Guardian it was a complicated issue to resolve. ^My understanding is there are several organisations who have expressed an interest in maintaining the turntable, but nothing has been guaranteed,^ he said. ^But we have a great passion for steam in Cornwall. It^s part of our heritage, and an incredible magnet in terms of attracting tourism, so clearly something needs to be resolved so that can develop and continue.^ To sign Ben and Sam's petition, visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/st-blazey-turntable Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: LiskeardRich on September 07, 2014, 09:04:55 I'm guessing it's seen plenty of use this weekend, Braunton, Nunney Castle and tangmere are all in Cornwall over the weekend.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: old original on December 11, 2015, 14:52:24 Looks like it could be getting some government funding....
http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/8203-Seven-iconic-coastal-heritage-sites-Cornwall/story-28346329-detail/story.html Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Andy on December 11, 2015, 17:00:07 I'm relieved to read that there are signs that all is not lost in the long term with this turntable. If there were the possibility of a roundhouse + turntable preservation deal, I think the best solution would be for it to be operated and used as a maintenance/storage base by the Bodmin & Wenford preserved railway. This would enable it to house their non-operational locos in the form of a museum exhibition - rather like the Engine House which exists on the SVR - and turn mainline steam locos as and when needed.
A relocation to Penzance would also be a good solution if the money's there. With no need for a visiting steamie to do an up and back to St Blazey, there might be increased possibilities for more railtours. With the Laira triangle just beyond the other end of the Cornwall main line, it might even be possible to do Plymouth-Penzance and back - twice - in the summer months. If wishes were horses.... While writing this, I got carried away and had a fantasy of an entire day given over to steam from Plymouth-Penzance - or hydraulics. How wonderful that would be! Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Chris from Nailsea on December 13, 2015, 21:42:01 While writing this, I got carried away and had a fantasy of an entire day given over to steam from Plymouth-Penzance - or hydraulics. How wonderful that would be! I think 'you really ought to get out a bit more', Andy! :o ::) ;D Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Kernow Otter on December 14, 2015, 21:32:55 Seems the turntable is to be awarded ^ 15k for a mechanical refurb, not to include the vacuum mechanisms. This is subject to a transfer of ownership from DBS to a not for profit organisation.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: ellendune on December 14, 2015, 21:41:54 This is subject to a transfer of ownership from DBS to a not for profit organisation. You mean an organisation like Network Rail?Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Kernow Otter on March 27, 2016, 23:13:04 More like this http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/50-000-lifeline-St-Blazey-roundhouse-turntable/story-28341111-detail/story.html (http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/50-000-lifeline-St-Blazey-roundhouse-turntable/story-28341111-detail/story.html)
Good progress has been made, and a not for profit charitable trust has been established to move the project forward. Seems the turntable was independently inspected last week by an expert in turntables who pronounced as being in better condition than he had been led to expect. Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: LiskeardRich on August 20, 2016, 23:46:13 About 3/4 way down there is photos. http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/headlines---latest-reports-and-photographs/archives/08-2016
The duchess of Sutherland was turned on the St Blazey turn table a couple of weeks back. She will be the biggest steam train turned as it's believed she's the biggest steam train to have entered Cornwall- previous weight restrictions, now removed on the Tamar Bridge prevented such heavy steam trains entering Cornwall. Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Gordon the Blue Engine on August 21, 2016, 18:27:47 Please do a hundred lines of:
"The Duchess of Sutherland is a steam locomotive, not a steam train." Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Chris from Nailsea on August 21, 2016, 19:55:04 (http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/fighting/dope-slap.gif) ;) :D ;D Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: LiskeardRich on August 21, 2016, 20:21:03 Please do a hundred lines of: "The Duchess of Sutherland is a steam locomotive, not a steam train." As requested. 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Simples Code: perl -e 'for (1..100) {print ("The Duchess of Sutherland is a steam locomotive, not a steam train.\n")}'Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: bobm on August 21, 2016, 21:39:40 What a shame computers were not readily available when I was at school!
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: bobm on August 29, 2016, 12:32:31 Duchess of Sutherland didn't make it to St Blazey on Sunday with diesel 47580 taking over from Plymouth to Par and back. It was a planned change so not sure what the issue was.
Loco was in fine form passing the seawall (http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/tgm2908.jpg) It carried the Royal Duchy headboard going down. From other photos I have seen it carried The Cornish Riviera Express for the return trip. Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: LiskeardRich on August 29, 2016, 12:57:26 Apparently they didn't want to go through the effort of removing the fences again, and even with the fences removed apparently she only had millimetres to spare, loco too big being the issue.
Title: Re: St Blazey Turntable Post by: Andy on September 12, 2016, 13:49:03 This story about the refurbishment of Aberdeen turntable may prove an inspiration to those trying to save St Blazey.
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