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Station Report |
Station
Report June 2005
Despite
the fact that it is twelve months since the last report there have been
relatively few changes on the station. Most notable, of course, is that the
work being carried out by contractors to which I referred in that report has
long since been completed.
Chaz
Butterworth
Chaz’s death last August was not, of course,
unexpected. However, this did not make it any easier to accept when it came.
Chaz was such a character on the station that his absence has been felt every
day since. Known to many and liked by just about all, he was often to be found
taking the air and the sun sitting on a platform bench, shouting appropriate
(or sometimes inappropriate) comments at characters hanging out of windows of
passing trains. He was, of course, well known in the Railway’s taverns and he
had a wide range of friends and acquaintances. Very few of us have the
privilege of being able to visit the Railway everyday; Chaz was in this
fortunate position and he was therefore able to be a presence on the station
when otherwise there would have been none. We may console ourselves, perhaps,
knowing that Chaz was able to spend his last active days experiencing the
railway that he loved so much and that he had the sound of steam ringing in his
ears to the last.
John Frodsham Memorial Bench
This arrived in May and is to be installed at the
south end of platform 1 with a suitable plaque attached. This, together with
other benches installed during the year, completes the bench replacement
programme. All our platform benches (barring the one just outside the kiosk)
are now of the cast “shirt-button” type and we now have more seating
accommodation for our passengers than at any time in the past.
The Cycle Path
Part-the-umpteenth of the never-ending saga of
same. In the last issue I was concerned to point out “to all our readers”
(which, incidentally, includes non-members of HL station staff) that Steve
Dockerty and myself were in no way to be thought in favour of the cycle path.
That much has not changed in the year since that report. What has changed, of
course, is that construction of the path has begun.
Where to start? Well, for a kick-off the thing
was supposed to be completed and opened to the public last Easter. It is
nowhere near complete as I write this at the beginning of June. Shropshire
County Council now tell us that it will be opened in September (no date specified,
but I would bet that it will not be the 1st!) Here is the catalogue
of disasters which is the cycle path construction fiasco:
ö The contractors have been
trying to cut corners to save money: B & Q style lamp columns delivered
instead of the correct GWR pattern ones; the requested rewiring of the Upside
has not been completed (and cheap, low-wattage lighting installed); incorrect
fencing delivered.
ö The attempt to save money appears to have
backfired; the contractors will be (or, in the case of the fencing, already
have been) required to put all the above right before being allowed off the
hook by the Company.
ö Spear fencing has been installed at the
top of the bank, not at the bottom as originally requested. It wobbles, by the
way, lacking the adequate support required for such a fence and is a poor
imitation of the real thing.
ö The path at the so-called pinch point down
the railway has not, as I write this, been completed (and it is not at all
clear how the contractors will be able to do so, short of the invocation of
some sort of black magic).
There was another meeting of the Cycle Path
Committee on June 5th last during which a review was made of
outstanding points requiring attention. A walk down the path was instructive;
persons unknown had wrenched the access gate at the south end off its supports.
Given the ease with which this appears to have been done a request is now to be
made to Shropshire County Council to install further security gates south of
the station in an attempt to prevent unauthorised access by quad bikes and the
like.
Various relatively minor problems have been
identified relating to the items supplied by the contractors. A note has been
made and there will be a requirement that the outstanding items are dealt with
to the satisfaction of the Company. However, there is absolutely no guarantee
that we will be able to require SCC to rewire the Upside drive, or to replace
the inadequate lamp tops that have been installed, together with their ugly,
and highly inappropriate, fluorescent lighting. I therefore intend to place
before the Company the urgent need to replace all wiring on this side of the
station and will ask for it to be placed in next financial year’s budget. The
difficulties that we face in the kiosk as a result of this inadequate wiring
will place revenue in jeopardy if this does not happen.
Annual General
Meeting of Hampton Loade Station Staff
The AGM took place on June 5th last. Once
again, the serving Committee was re-elected unopposed and the annual financial
report delivered by Treasurer Steve Wood. Well over £7000 was passed to SVR(H)
in income generated in the kiosk, certainly a record to date. It is to be hoped
that the staffing contribution, which HLSF members make to the income of the
Holdings Company, is valued and appreciated at Head Office.
The issue of replacement staff accommodation
was again raised at the meeting. I need to impress upon all of our members the
actuality of the need, in the medium to long term, to replace our current staff
coach. This is now in the care and ownership of the SVR Rolling Stock Trust.
Ultimately (though possibly not in my lifetime!) this will see service in
traffic. The replacement vehicle will not be cheap; it is likely to be a Mark 1
of some description, hopefully with access to all doors leading to sleeping
accommodation. The Station Fund is currently in a healthy state but, bear in
mind, we have been husbanding our resources against the eventuality of having
to replace our current staff coach, possibly at fairly short notice. Sometimes
this husbandry of the Fund is taken for parsimony. Far from it; we are
protecting the long-term interests of all our members and will, be assured,
continue to do so.
The Paddock Railway
The most significant change since the last
report is that all the fencing along the Up drive has been replaced. A
contractor undertook this task last November; he has done a splendid job and,
as a result, has been hired again (see below). The agreed opening arrangements
mentioned in the last report appear to have worked well. I must put on record
our thanks to Malcolm Whittaker for agreeing to be “Paddock Railway Rep”; this
arrangement has brought some welcome order to the working of the whole
operation. The railway has again made a significant contribution to the Station
Fund over the course of the year (exceeding £1000 for the first time) and has
continued in its popularity with the public. Again we extend our thanks to
Malcolm; he seems to be able to charm donations from visitors! (I am avoiding
making detailed mention of changes to the railway itself, hoping that there
will be a contribution from a member of the Paddock staff to describe these).
Loch
Dockerty
Another never-ending saga. The issue of funding for
the project has now been satisfactorily resolved by negotiation between Steve
and your Committee. Steve has agreed to fund anything in excess of that already
paid by HLSF; the latter will fund the fencing around the pond. The same
contractor who attended to the Paddock fence will carry out this job; it is
likely that it will be completed by the end of the summer. There is to be a
low, white-painted picket fence complete with rose arbour over the access gate.
Ducks were recently in residence, giving the feeling that there is a bit of
life about over there. The thing is actually full of water; with any luck,
wildlife will thrive in there.
Other
Jobs
We still await the installation of the spear wicket
gate at the north end of platform 1 and associated additional fencing to fill
in the gap; the contractor carrying out this job appears to be doing so in
between other jobs. Maybe I will be reporting on its completion in these notes
in the next issue (but, then again, maybe not). The repair and painting of the
ceiling in the waiting room has not taken place. Again, watch this space for
future developments.
The ever-industrious Jim Bladen has, as ever, been
working behind the scenes and is responsible for most of the painting that
takes place these days. He has been giving attention to the signal posts in
recent months, a job that has been pressing for some years now. In the past,
however, the S & T people did not seem happy to allow station staff near
their signal posts. In reality that department is now so short of staff that I
assume that they are grateful for whatever help they can obtain. Our collective
thanks, once again, are due to Jim for his unstinting efforts on Thursdays.
The barrow crossing at the north end of the station is
now in a parlous state; it is only a matter of time before there is a serious
trip incident on what is now an extremely uneven surface. The matter has been
placed before the Chief Engineer; it is to be hoped that we see a new crossing
installed sooner rather than later. While on the subject of crossings I should
mention that the signalman’s walkway at the south end had to removed late last
season on safety grounds: there are no plans to replace it. However, any
signalmen who are also competent carpenters might like to volunteer for the
job….
New heating arrangements for the workshop are being
discussed. The faithful old Romesse stove is just about knackered, having
served its time in here for several years and several years before that in the
staff coach. Mind you, it has been through the mill; on occasion, it has been
seen to glow red- hot during the winter as a consequence of over-enthusiastic
stoking, not something that its designers had foreseen, I suspect.
The project to provide a stove in the signal box has
been abandoned, at least for the foreseeable future. This was always going to
be a difficult task, given the location of the token instruments and various
cupboards. In any case there is a feeling that this is not simply a Station
Staff issue; any installation must await the cooperation of the Signalling and
S & T departments.
You will, perhaps, remember the big project to remove
a corrugated hut from Kingham (Oxfordshire) many years ago. It is to be hoped
that this will be installed in the work area (though exactly where is still to
be resolved). Repair of the fabric will be essential before this can happen,
however.
And
Finally…
So a year has passed and another summer upon us; as
you read this, the annual Station Gala will be a reality. For the first time we
will not be making a charge on the gate and we will be expected to work around
the rubbish associated with cycle path construction. All being well (?) the
latter will open before the end of the season so that at least things can be
tidied up. We will soon be looking to appoint a “cycle track monitor”. Out will
come that old bike in the storage shed. Put on your helmet and your cycle
shorts; get your rear-end in trim. Head south, old man….
Richard
June 2005