European Railroad Discussion > WCRC Suspended....Again

Day old news, but I'm actually not surprised by this news. It's still a real shame to see, especially during the Christmas excursion season. I was stationed in England when the first suspension screwed things up, especially for me since I was on the clock seeing steam on the main line. I see a clean sweep in the company coming.

https://www.facebook.com/Railmagazine/posts/935212579904898Just in from the Office of Rail and Road.“The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has temporarily prohibited West Coast Railway Company Ltd from operating steam trains on the mainline rail network, to protect the safety of its staff, volunteers, passengers and members of the public.“The enforcement action follows an initial investigation into an incident near Doncaster on 2 October 2015, which found staff on-board locomotive 45231 had turned-off its Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) isolation equipment, designed to apply an emergency brake if the driver makes an error.“ORR will not allow the company to run trains where there are not effective controls in place for key safety systems. The regulator is working with the company to make the required improvements before services resume.”

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/15 12:16 by wheelnrail.

This company needs to get it's act together or Network Rail will end up banning ALL steam from the mainlines permanently. This subject has dominated the pages of Steam Railway Magazine for the past months since the original SPAD incident.

It isn't good news for WCRC but it does only affect steam, and then only some steam. At least two locomotives WCRC operate are exempt, including B1 460 Mayflower, on which the TPWS cannot be isolated.

And case in point - here is Mayflower on an excursion on 11/26/15, and I rode behind it last Sunday on a WCRC excursion.

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