monasqueen Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 It's far worse than I thought. The consultants who have condemned the track are the same ones that the Government took on to manage the renewals programme - in 2003/04. If they are responsible for not having managed the renewals so that the track can continue in use throughout, they should be hung, drawn and quartered, and whowever is responsible for checking that their work is being done to standard should be birched. See their web page in relation to the MER. CDL Consultants MER Project Oh, and by the way, they've only been going for 5 years, so they had only one years experience as a firm when they were taken on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 From what I gather, the track was in worse repair than they thought, so they needed more track, which wasn't budgeted for. Also metals are, like, totally expensive these days. Apparently there is plenty of track available to be bought in Wales... so says nutter on the radio... Metal is expensive, but on the same token i'd imagine they'll get a good scrap value for the old track, also there is no reason whatsover there can't be one track instead of the 2 tracks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Maybe the limited funds available to the MER should have been spent on maintaining the track instead of hiring expensive consultants Earnshaw was on the radio saying that we need to have the same standards as the UK, but I don't think 20mph MER trams need the same standards as an Intercity Express Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ushtey Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I worked for Railtrack for several years in the UK, I have to agree that the tamping and general live engineering standards are definitely not up to acceptable rail standards in the UK, irrespective of gauge or line speed. A number of my rail engineering friends who've been to the Island loved the rail systems we have here (electric and steam) but were at a loss to explain why we hadn't done more to keep standards to an acceptable level. Even simple things like putting the tops back on the supporting poles for the overhead lines (the older poles still have them but the more modern ones seem to be open, allowing water down the inside to corrode the metal), that and having one of the older tram chassis adopted to allow various line maintenance machines to be installed (tamping and sleeper relaying for one). Sleeper replacement is becoming more expensive, as is the basic cost of line, but with better maintenance standards the assets you have will last a lot longer. Growing up next to the line in Laxey, I can't once remember seeing any track walks or even points inspections. I've done plenty of those in my time around the North West railways though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 they should lift all the track and make the coast road one way to ramsey and tarmac the track bed and make it one way to douglas. that should avoid a few head on crashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blixo Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I worked for Railtrack for several years in the UK, I have to agree that the tamping and general live engineering standards are definitely not up to acceptable rail standards in the UK, irrespective of gauge or line speed. A number of my rail engineering friends who've been to the Island loved the rail systems we have here (electric and steam) but were at a loss to explain why we hadn't done more to keep standards to an acceptable level. Even simple things like putting the tops back on the supporting poles for the overhead lines (the older poles still have them but the more modern ones seem to be open, allowing water down the inside to corrode the metal), that and having one of the older tram chassis adopted to allow various line maintenance machines to be installed (tamping and sleeper relaying for one). Sleeper replacement is becoming more expensive, as is the basic cost of line, but with better maintenance standards the assets you have will last a lot longer. Growing up next to the line in Laxey, I can't once remember seeing any track walks or even points inspections. I've done plenty of those in my time around the North West railways though. The guys I see driving around in yellow vans & sitting in that yellow hut near Groudle.... what are they being paid for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcCann Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 The guys I see driving around in yellow vans & sitting in that yellow hut near Groudle.... what are they being paid for? Quality control for PG Tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ushtey Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 If they're just sitting around, then not much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 they should lift all the track and make the coast road one way to ramsey and tarmac the track bed and make it one way to douglas. that should avoid a few head on crashes. Yes it would make a great cycle lane. But the honourable MHK for Douglas, erm sorry, Ramsey who's in charge of the dollars wouldn't budget for that, as it's in the North of the Island and it would seem northerners are not worthy of having any money spent on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Yes it would make a great cycle lane. But the honourable MHK for Douglas, erm sorry, Ramsey who's in charge of the dollars wouldn't budget for that, as it's in the North of the Island and it would seem northerners are not worthy of having any money spent on them. If and when it does finally get scrapped I hope they don't allow any of the route to be broken up. A cycles and horses route would be excellent. It's a great pity that small sections of the old steam railway route between Ramsey and Sulby were lost (probably in murky shenanigans). What a pity that the missing sections probably can't now be bought / brought back into public ownership. Even without the steam trains the surviving bits of the Ramsey to Peel route are a fantastic resource for cyclists and people on horses. It was a big mistake that the Govt ever gave up any sections of that route. Whatever finally happens to the old MER - personally I think it's much more important that the route itself isn't lost or broken into sections. You can't get that kind of thing back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 It's a great pity that small sections of the old steam railway route between Ramsey and Sulby were lost (probably in murky shenanigans). What a pity that the missing sections probably can't now be bought / brought back into public ownership. Even without the steam trains the surviving bits of the Ramsey to Peel route are a fantastic resource for cyclists and people on horses. It was a big mistake that the Govt ever gave up any sections of that route. I was quite surprised that they took down the old red bridge that crossed the Sulby river when they did, I was only a young fella and remember it totally screwed the fishing access up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart746 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm going to spend my second holiday in the IOM this summer (I can hardly wait!). Actually I had deliberately chosen a date within the "tram season" because I enjoyed the ride from Douglas to Ramsey very much. I was looking forward to doing the complete way again just because of the wonderful view. It's a pity for me as a tourist from abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ushtey Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I wonder if the MER society has considered applying for a lottery grant to help pay for the repairs and upkeep as part of a charitable concern. The Govt could grant them use of the land for 99 years at peppercorn rent, then they could request a heritage grant from the Govt locally for annual maintenance costs. That way, if it really is popular, the Govt could give them a lump sum and audit them each year, cutting out the cost of the civil servants needed to manage the excess paperwork of a Govt operated enterprise, the MER society could keep it's tram routes, the UK lottery could have a nice place to film some good news stories and we all get to have an exciting ride to ramsey and back from laxey. Not to mention the prospect of the MER society deciding to hire a minibus on the Douglas prom and offer commuter trips in the mornings and afternoons to make some more money. Sailing for the Disabled got over £100k of lottery money, so there is funding available on the Island from the lottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossils Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Just in case you've missed it, you can read the report and see photos of the badly corroded track here: http://www.gov.im/cso/cdl_report.xml It certainly seems to me that maintenance is a forgotten word in the MER and DTL offices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueberrypocket548 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 So is it still definately going to be running from Douglas to Laxey? And what about Snaefell? ....Never mind, I just read the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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