Steamreturnsto ChasewaterRailway
weeksin orderto preparethe railwayfor reopening.
Likesomeof the other linesalreadymentionedt,he railwayplansto run a seriesof familiarisationtrainsin advance of August15to allowvolunteers to refreshrouteknowledgel,earn new proceduresand renewgrade cardswherenecessary.
GWSRspokesmanIanCrowder told TheRM:'Werecentlycarried out a surveyof ourvolunteersto gaugeopinionson potentially returningto the railwaya, nd it wasencouragingto seethat 75% of thosewho respondedsaid theywouldcomeback,subjecto socialdistancingetc.
"Theservicewe'll be running, thereforei,scommensuratwe ith the abilityandavailabilityof volunteers.
"Onlythe coreoperating departmentswill returninitially, but we hopeto allowrestoration groupsbackon siteon certain non-operatingdaysto avoidtoo manypeoplebeingin the shedat onetime:'
TheAugust15passengesrervice will consisot f two roundtrips fromToddington(at10.00and 14.00)u, tilisingatrainof sixBR Mk1compartmentcoaches.
Ticketswill besoldin advance with compartmentsbeingbooked (minimumof two adults)to allow familygroupsof up to eight peopleto remainin their'bubbles'.
Thenumberof passengerpser trainwill be limited,andtherewill beno'on-the-day'ticketsoldat stationsd; igitalticketswill most likelybeemployed.
Notoilet facilitieswill be availableon boardthe trains, but the toiletsatToddington, BroadwayandCheltenham Racecourssetationswill beopen. Trainswill not stopat Hayles AbbeyHalt,Winchcombeor Gotherington.
Subjecto asuccessful resumptiont,he limitedservice will berepeatedonTuesdays, WednesdayasndSaturdays.
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GloucestershireD'seanForest Railway(DFRi)sanotherline hopingto openin late-ishsummer, althoughat presentno firm date hasbeenannounced.
SpokesmanRobertHarristold TheRM:"Priotro openingwe will beoperating'dryruns'inall areast,rains,shop,cafe,museum, stationsandtoilets. "One-waysystemswill bein placew, ith volunteers tanding in asmembersof the public,with seatingplansfor our coaching stockto ensuresocialdistancingis maintained.
"Allworkingvolunteerswill undergorefreshetrrainingcourses, bearingin mindsomemaynot have'workeds' inceOctober:'
Mr Harriswent on to explain allareaswill bedeep-cleaned oncea day,with regularcleaning undertakenthroughoutthe day.
One-waysystemss,ignposted and mannedby volunteersw, ill bein useto steerpassengerws,ith seatingplansensuringsocial distancingismaintainedon the trains.
"It'sworth notingwe are followingORRguidanceregarding restartingoperationsT. heyhave put out a specificnoteexplaining the paperworkandprocessetshey wantto see;a' ddedMr Harris.
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Volunteersreturnedto workat the EasAt nglianRailwayMuseumin early-Junein anticipationof the museumpotentiallyreopening in July.
A firm dateisyet to be announcedb, ut thoseconnected with the museumarehopeful theywill be reopeningfor visitors sometimein July,just in time for the schoolsummerholidays.
Aswell asthe maintenance and upkeepof the museum's locomotivesandrollingstock, volunteershavebeenbusytidying up the siteafternearly12weeks of closure.
HUDSWELLC, larke0-4-0ST Waleswooudnderwent a steam test and loadedtest run on June 13following a period of maintenance.
Thetestswere part of the ChasewaterRailway'son-going maintenanceand examinations programmebeing carriedout during the closureperiod. Thetrial wasalsousedto sign off a guard,fireman and driver, maintainingthe competencyof the corevolunteerswho will run the serviceswhen the railway eventuallyreopens.
The loco is seenapproaching ChasewaterHearthsduring the load test. Notethe face mask worn by driver MarkSealey.