Trainspotters banned from Peterborough?

[D1009]

I don't know, I just spoke to staff who were on duty that day.

There is a BTP office 2 mins away but they have more serious stuff to worry about then some selfish spotters, like cable thieves!

It's just that my recollection of travelling on steam specials which have called at Peterborough is that there has been a BTP presence which has effectively prevented any spotters/photters getting anywhere near the platform ramp, let alone down it. The ECML does see a significant number of steam specials, possibly more than other 125 mph routes, and as in other situations where crowds pose a risk to railway safety I would have thought a BTP presence appropriate.

Being a steam man myself I hesitate to criticise fellow steam enthusiasts, but unfortunately some of them, particularly the less active ones, have no interest in the modern railway and behave as they did in steam days, which automatically means they are of "a certain age".

The sad thing is that the "perfect shot" is very rarely available from inside the railway fence anyway. The only reason they try to go down the ramp is to try to get other people out of their shot. There are usually much better photographs to be obtained from totally publicly accessible lineside locations quite near the stations involved.

 

[BestWestern]

It is very simple. Steam trains attract crowds of people, many of whom are often inclined to stray too near to or even on to the track. Any station manager worth his/her salt should know this and ensure that staff are posted on all platforms to supervise. That is what I used to do. There is no need to talk about banning spotters, photographers or anything else. The key is to manage the situation.

Nice if you have enough spare staff, however I would venture that most major stations in this austere age probably don't. More importantly, I don't agree that the railway should have to find extra resources every time somebody wants to run a steam charter, just because of a few mindless idiots. Get the BTP out there and get 'em prosecuted.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Nice if you have enough spare staff, however I would venture that most major stations in this austere age probably don't. More importantly, I don't agree that the railway should have to find extra resources every time somebody wants to run a steam charter, just because of a few mindless idiots. Get the BTP out there and get 'em prosecuted.

Would the following byelaw offences do?

6.2
6.8
11.1
12.1
12.2

And then staff can do byelaw 24.2.ii

Will those be suitable?

 

[Temple Meads]

Get the BTP out there and get 'em prosecuted.

An excellent idea in theory, but BTP are hardly ten-a-penny in most areas, and the idea of going to large efforts for the sake of a few metres past a sign sits quite uneasily with me to be honest..

 

[BestWestern]

An excellent idea in theory, but BTP are hardly ten-a-penny in most areas, and the idea of going to large efforts for the sake of a few metres past a sign sits quite uneasily with me to be honest..

Ordinarily I would agree, but we've reached the point where TOCs feel the need to seriously consider drastic measures because of bad behaviour, and thus something clearly needs to be done. I'm not suggesting that every special should be accompanied by a team of BTP flying squad snipers, but if we have areas where there are certain 'regulars' causing issues then a couple of low level operations to bring their behaviour to an end is worth it, in my view. We're talking maybe two or three BTP/PCSOs, not the whole force. A couple of prosecutions and the message will get across quite clear I would think.

 

[RPM]

Nice if you have enough spare staff, however I would venture that most major stations in this austere age probably don't. More importantly, I don't agree that the railway should have to find extra resources every time somebody wants to run a steam charter, just because of a few mindless idiots. Get the BTP out there and get 'em prosecuted.

I used to do the supervising myself, plus a few duty managers etc. It is just part & parcel of running a station. OK, so the steam charter isn't bringing in any direct revenue but it is engaging the public with the railway. Lots of free PR and an opportunity to associate the railway with a feel-good factor rather than the ususal negativity. Well worth an hour's unpaid management overtime, or at least I thought so anyway.

 

[Clip]

The Cross used to be a hard place to supervise when there was a steam tour. Even with BTP presence you would have people jumping round the old green gates just to get a perfect shot. Or if on plat 1 they would goo off the end of 2/3 just to get an alternate view.

Theres only so many you can supervise at once without putting the rest of the station unstaffed.

 

[RPM]

The Cross used to be a hard place to supervise when there was a steam tour. Even with BTP presence you would have people jumping round the old green gates just to get a perfect shot. Or if on plat 1 they would goo off the end of 2/3 just to get an alternate view.

Theres only so many you can supervise at once without putting the rest of the station unstaffed.

Fair point. My stations were somewhat more provincial and thus easier to staff on a shoestring. However, even at a London terminus I would expect whoever runs that station (usually NR) to provide the required staffing to supervise steam specials. That does fall within their remit regardless of who is running the steam special, and years of experience really should make station operators aware of the extra measures required when steam trains are running. (No disrespect intended to steam fans but they really do produce an unfathomable proportion of idiots - this is born of experience not predjudice).

 

[BestWestern]

Fair point. My stations were somewhat more provincial and thus easier to staff on a shoestring. However, even at a London terminus I would expect whoever runs that station (usually NR) to provide the required staffing to supervise steam specials. That does fall within their remit regardless of who is running the steam special, and years of experience really should make station operators aware of the extra measures required when steam trains are running. (No disrespect intended to steam fans but they really do produce an unfathomable proportion of idiots - this is born of experience not predjudice).

Trouble is, in these heavily cost-constrained times, how many TOCs are going to willingly pick up the bill for that? In most locations the staffing level is at the bare minimum required, so the only way of having extra numbers is to either divert resources from other locations and leave those places uncovered, which is unlikely to be popular and in many cases is simply not possible, or to bring in extra bodies on overtime, which is rather expensive. The risk here is that if these idiots continue to cause problems, the charter companies might themselves end up having to employ teams of 'crowd control' staff at troublesome locations, much in the same way that certain football clubs are required to contribute to policing costs for example. It's their event causing the idiots to come, after all. That would obviously put further strain on an already fragile industry.

 

[telstarbox]

Has anyone ever been given an ASBO or similar restrictive order for this sort of behaviour (as opposed to throwing stones as trains, etc)?

 

[TDK]

Saw a woman yesterday at Chester Photographing a steam train when she was standing at the base of the ramp on Platform 4 a bi directional platform with a 30mph line speed with he back possibly away from a possible approaching train! Platform 4 is adjaacent to platform 7 that has 750v DC, totally irresponsible

 

[DarloRich]

I have seen them off the platform ends at Kings Cross and at Carlisle when a kettle comes in- Wonkers.