SVR-Online Forum (Secure)

[oliver]

Ah right, thanks for the info

[oliver]

Bad news: just heard that 5164 is now out of service due to wheel flats.

[Clarke_T]

Spent this afternoon removing the brake rigging, eccentric straps, cylinder cock linkage, vac/steam heat pipes etc ready for its trip to the wheeldrop tomorrow.
Wheels have got to come out and be turned down. And an Investigation as to what the front Firemans side crankpin is scraping on required.

[oliver]

Work appears to be making rapid progress. The loco is now on the jacks with all wheels removed ready for transportation to south devon for tyre turning.

[sharpo]

I thought there was a wheel lathe at Bridgnorth, why are the wheels going to South Devon?
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Sharpo (happily avoiding fakebook & twitter)

Check the blog for all the latest sightings, photos or videos:-
http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/blog/

Or links from calendar -
http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/blog/?page_id=5050

[oliver]

As far as i'm aware this is because a key member of staff left last year who used to use the wheel lathe and whilst there are other staff trained to use it, they are already upto their eyes with other work/repairs (remember we have just 2 working loco's!) so the wheels are going else where.

[Derby4]

But we have had consultants in to "define the issues and opportunities", we have a project plan, with "goals, actions and timelines, milestones at 30 days, 100 days, 2years" etc etc

So surely we have someone to use the wheel lathe, paint the engines, maintain the wheeldrop etc etc....

[sharpo]

Something just doesn't seem right. I'd better not say anything else on this matter!
_________________
Sharpo (happily avoiding fakebook & twitter)

Check the blog for all the latest sightings, photos or videos:-
http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/blog/

Or links from calendar -
http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/blog/?page_id=5050

[Bryan Clarke]

I think we must all hope that the current loco situation improves with time. The current paid staff are working flat out in very difficult circumstances.

[J-Green]

If sending the wheels to the SDR is clearly the cheaper and faster option than holding up work elsewhere, so be it.
_________________
doing nothing in particular but doing it very well.

all opinions are very much my own.

http://www.youtube.com/user/edwardianeccentric

[bradleyman]

[terry-moore]

What is so sad about the loco situation is that it was forecast time and time again by the loco department. Dire warnings about shortages used to appear quite regularly in the SVR news. It seems that these warnings fell on deaf ears and the chickens are now coming home to roost as they say.

What a missed opportunity it was, when instead of expanding the locomotive department to create a thriving business as the Rileys and Watermans of this world have done so successfully, the SVR did the opposite and ran down the department so that it it didn't even have the capability to keep on top of it's own fleet. Michael Draper was absolutely right when he pushed so hard for the department to take in work for other Railways. Extra staff, paid at the right rate, with the right planning, would have created a business that made good profits for the railway and also keep a good home 'fleet' running.
This had to be the way forward.

What is so surprising is that the decline set in whilst an engineer was in charge.
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"Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"

[J-Green]

That's some pretty strong words Terry. Don't forget that the SVR has a thriving contract business, with highly respected abilities in both boiler and mechanical work. A Bridgnorth boiler is on what was the first preserved operating steam locomotive in the world. This may well be the source of some of the current difficulties, but to suggest that Bridgnorth is inferior to Rileys and LNWR Crewe is to do it a disservice.
_________________
doing nothing in particular but doing it very well.

all opinions are very much my own.

http://www.youtube.com/user/edwardianeccentric

[sharpo]

[J-Green]

I've read it again and I still find myself inferring that.
_________________
doing nothing in particular but doing it very well.

all opinions are very much my own.

http://www.youtube.com/user/edwardianeccentric