Trespassing on the heritage railways

[Peter C]

Having been to Didcot Railway Centre recently and seeing a mother and young son climb across the signalling equipment (by which I mean rods and moving parts) to leave the Broad Gauge Shed, I was wondering if there have been any other incidents of people just being a bit silly and perhaps not using their brains when being around the heritage railways.

 

[John Webb]

There is a limit, both practical and desirable, as to the degree of protection one can give in such circumstances. My involvement with a much smaller museum than Didcot indicates that people often don't understand these days how mechanical things work and can cause injury. You can't put everything that moves behind guards, firstly because that would not allow people to see the working mechanism as it was in practice, secondly because it would take up excessive room and expense. Some things are discretely barriered off, but we either conduct people round our site so we can ensure their safety, but still let them have a close look at or to actually operate equipment, or on busy days station members around the site to explain things and keep an eye on the safety side.
I would expect that at Didcot the signalman or woman would check that people are clear of signal wires and point rodding before operating the same.

 

[geoffk]

With so many heritage railway sites are now out of bounds, it's good that we still have public access to the GWS depot at Didcot . It just takes one accident, with the inevitable claim, to change that.

 

[HaggisBotherer]

Having been to Didcot Railway Centre recently and seeing a mother and young son climb across the signalling equipment (by which I mean rods and moving parts) to leave the Broad Gauge Shed, I was wondering if there have been any other incidents of people just being a bit silly and perhaps not using their brains when being around the heritage railways.

There's probably not a day goes by without someone somewhere being 'a bit silly and perhaps not using their brains' around a heritage railway. Of course, fortunately, the vast majority come to no harm and nobody ever knows about them.

Many, many years ago - when I was much younger, far more stupid and before health and safety (thankfully) came in like it has now - I made the mistake of walking in front of a closing level crossing gate, despite being warned of the dangers of doing just that. It caught my heels, tripped me up and I went flying. I could hardly walk for two days. My father - quite rightly - told me in no uncertain terms that it was my own idiotic fault and that the experience should teach me a lesson. It did and I was always far more careful in future.

I do wonder, though, if I'm the only person to have been run over by a level crossing gate...

 

[ChiefPlanner]

There was the unfortunate case in / around 1975 when the photographer Paul Riley climbed onto the Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley route , lay down to get "the" photo , but unfortunately fell asleep and presumably /allegedly rolled over and fell into the Severn. Killed.

 

[Spamcan81]

There was the unfortunate case in / around 1975 when the photographer Paul Riley climbed onto the Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley route , lay down to get "the" photo , but unfortunately fell asleep and presumably /allegedly rolled over and fell into the Severn. Killed.

I'd argue that wasn't a case of trespass as back in those days photo permits were readily available on some lines and others never bothered with such formalities and you could wander pretty much where you liked.

 

[HaggisBotherer]

I'd argue that wasn't a case of trespass

But neither is the case that the OP has cited...

seeing a mother and young son climb across the signalling equipment (by which I mean rods and moving parts) to leave the Broad Gauge Shed

By buying a ticket they had permission to be on site (so it's not trespass), they just used an inadvisable route between two points while on the premises that they had permission to be on.

Using the term 'trespass' in the thread title is incorrect.

 

[Peter C]

But neither is the case that the OP has cited...

By buying a ticket they had permission to be on site (so it's not trespass), they just used an inadvisable route between two points while on the premises that they had permission to be on.

Using the term 'trespass' in the thread title is incorrect.

OK. Thanks for the input. I think that "misuse" might be a more suitable title for the thread.

 

[Peter C]

I may not have given the full story in the original post; it was an "Exhibition Day" and there was nothing that would have moved and injured them, but I was so amazed and, quite frankly, annoyed, at what had happened that I thought that I should share the story.
I'll try and find the photo. I'll edit the faces.

 

[Peter C]

The file is too large to upload here, so here's a Google Drive link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FAn9b8ZYCBPDezN2dmrxFJ7NSLPApobu/view?usp=sharing

The point marked "A" was where they were trying to get from and they were trying to get back on to the path. I don't know how they would have done that; there's quite a fence in the way!
If you've ever been to Didcot, you'll know that you enter and exit the Broad Gauge Shed (by foot) by going around the back. Yes, you can leave the shed by walking down the platform ramp, but from memory it's rather than and there's a sign in the middle making it even more difficult.

 

[Peter C]

There was the unfortunate case in / around 1975 when the photographer Paul Riley climbed onto the Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley route , lay down to get "the" photo , but unfortunately fell asleep and presumably /allegedly rolled over and fell into the Severn. Killed.

Having done a (very) quick Google search, as I didn't know about him, the SVR Wiki page says:
The railway photographer Paul Riley was killed by a fall from Victoria Bridge in August 1976.[5] Lineside photographers are not currently permitted to cross Victoria Bridge on foot.[6]
I wonder if the SVR have a plaque or something anywhere along the railway, just to mark the fact that it happened?