doc.fixit Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 5 hours ago, foxdaleliberationfront said: I'm hearing they're going to pull the plug on the horse trams early this year so they can actually crack on and get some work done.... it's about time! Harmer claims they're still only 9 weeks behind too! Likely story Brilliant strategy! Then of course they can blame the Manx winter weather............. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxdaleliberationfront Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 59 minutes ago, english zloty said: Some of the engineers told me it was a year behind. Note recent press now states 'substantially complete' whereas it was 'complete' no problem. Some of the workers down there say the biggest thing holding them back is the horse trams and there is a push for them not to run at all in the next 18 - 24 months, so they can actually crack on and get things finished. The progress on Queens Prom has been glacial as they've been held back by having to accommodate the trams. Time to say enough is enough and sack them off for at least 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 i'm no civil engineer but i'd have thought that at least somebody would have come up with the plan of cryogenically freezing the tram horses for 2 years, then re-animating them once the work is done. would save an absolute fortune in hay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 11 minutes ago, the stinking enigma said: i'm no civil engineer but i'd have thought that at least somebody would have come up with the plan of cryogenically freezing the tram horses for 2 years, then re-animating them once the work is done. As I recall, Findus have some experience in the field of frozen horses. The microwave instructions for re-animation were on the packet. 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 If we can tie findus down to some sort of bogof deal here then it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. But, like I said, I'm no civil engineer. I'm sure they probably know more about this sort of stuff than the likes of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hedgehog Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Is this nine weeks behind thing before or after they have to dig up and replace all the red concrete they have laid so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 5 minutes ago, Dave Hedgehog said: Is this nine weeks behind thing before or after they have to dig up and replace all the red concrete they have laid so far. Is it nine weeks in dog time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finlo Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 17 minutes ago, Neil Down said: Is it nine weeks in dog time? At the rate they're going it will be closer to nine years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbnuts Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, foxdaleliberationfront said: Some of the workers down there say the biggest thing holding them back is the horse trams and there is a push for them not to run at all in the next 18 - 24 months, so they can actually crack on and get things finished. The progress on Queens Prom has been glacial as they've been held back by having to accommodate the trams. Time to say enough is enough and sack them off for at least 2 years. This is a excuse ! No trams south of the Palace so no excuse. Big hold before they got started due to not having planning and a contractor finalized ..Then big hold up during and after TT ,after due to the first cracks. Then a revised spec ,rails lifted and mesh put in pink middle concrete which delayed the job. Then the second worse cracks so grind to a halt again while the brains trust go to plan C and they are back up and running now again . Still nowhere enough men on the job and seems little idea how to proceed . Apart from Steve Christian's men nothing much else ..Lots of breaking up of concrete but nothing getting finished. I'd agree with the other poster in that it's a year behind Edited September 17, 2019 by Numbnuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxdaleliberationfront Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 7 hours ago, Numbnuts said: This is a excuse ! No trams south of the Palace so no excuse. Big hold before they got started due to not having planning and a contractor finalized ..Then big hold up during and after TT ,after due to the first cracks. Then a revised spec ,rails lifted and mesh put in pink middle concrete which delayed the job. Then the second worse cracks so grind to a halt again while the brains trust go to plan C and they are back up and running now again . Still nowhere enough men on the job and seems little idea how to proceed . Apart from Steve Christian's men nothing much else ..Lots of breaking up of concrete but nothing getting finished. I'd agree with the other poster in that it's a year behind It's the way the scheme has been arranged. There was a fella posting a few somewhere (may have been IOM Online) a few months back and he seemed to have been involved in a load of tram/train projects in the UK. Basically he was saying it's fucking mental to put the tram tracks in before you've sorted out all of the other utilities and things buried under the ground. He said it would have been simpler and far quicker to do all that first, sort out the road itself, then drive a new track along the Prom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxdaleliberationfront Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Rushen Rear Admiral Watterson has addressed the nation! https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/juan-watterson-addresses-public-over-traffic-issues-in-south/ It's a shame he can't draft in his friends from the military to get this done quicker... he could even order drone strikes on any cars going against the one-way system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gettafa Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Juan Watterson is making a point: Problems come down to 'bad planning and bad communication' Minister DOI: Ray Harmer Chief Exec: Nick Black It is inconceivable that the Minister was not made aware of these works to be carried out and even more inconceivable that the delays and disruption could not be foreseen. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbnuts Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 4 hours ago, foxdaleliberationfront said: It's the way the scheme has been arranged. There was a fella posting a few somewhere (may have been IOM Online) a few months back and he seemed to have been involved in a load of tram/train projects in the UK. Basically he was saying it's fucking mental to put the tram tracks in before you've sorted out all of the other utilities and things buried under the ground. He said it would have been simpler and far quicker to do all that first, sort out the road itself, then drive a new track along the Prom. Longworth has some clout..why I have no idea but because he had Tram events advertised they couldn't be cancelled so hence the Horse trams had to run...forward planning !! Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Down Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Numbnuts said: Longworth has some clout..why I have no idea but because he had Tram events advertised they couldn't be cancelled so hence the Horse trams had to run...forward planning !! Zero They didn't "have" to run, they could have been cancelled but it appears nobody down there has the bollocks to stand up to this idiot. Edited September 18, 2019 by Neil Down 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 16 minutes ago, Neil Down said: 1 hour ago, Numbnuts said: Longworth has some clout..why I have no idea but because he had Tram events advertised they couldn't be cancelled so hence the Horse trams had to run...forward planning !! Zero They didn't "have" to run, they could have been cancelled but it appears nobody down there has the bollocks to stand up to this idiot. That's pretty much the excuse they used. You may remember that IOM Newspapers put in an FoI request last month to get the details of these contracts that meant the DoI 'had' to run the trams. In return all they got sent was a few brochures from tour operators that happened to mention the horse trams. Certainly any tour details I've seen that involve vintage transport tend to treat the horse trams as an optional extra and stress they may not be available. This makes sense as (like the MER) they have always has a shorter running season than the trains and are more prone to being hit by external factors. Whether Longworth's influence is the real reason or just an excuse is another matter. Refusing to change your plans, despite all the evidence they aren't working is very much the standard way the DoI operates. I get the impression it suits them to blame everything on the horse trams and so provide an easy target (as can be seen on this thread) while the truth is they simply don't have the skills to manage this project. Which isn't all that big, despite the claims - it's just that they have made it very long and complicated and expensive to justify themselves. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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