Grass and field fires

[Roscobbc]

With the major grass/field fire that 'hit' Wennington earlier this week it got me a little paranoic about the huge pile of now dried-out Lleylandii branches and cuttings that were piled along our rear garden path in a 3 foot high/5 foot wide and 30 foot pile. A few months ago I had been attacking next doors 40/50 foot overhanging branches and hadn't got around to burning them off (very anti-social and I would normally leave something until Guy Fawkes Night) - couple that with a huge pile of dead and decomposing leaves, grass and weeds in the corner of the garden and then the close-on 40 C temperatures early this week and after understanding that the Wennington fire reportedly started from a compost heap........ I didn't want something like that happening here, only 4 or 5 miles away.
Wednesday we all turned-up at our Essex Regional meeting at usual at the Red Lion, Margaretting to learn that only the previous day one of our former (possibly current) C3 owners actually lived in Wennington and it seems as though his property was not badly effected by the fire, he 'only' lost garden outbuilding and sheds, if I understand correctly the rest of the houses in his terrace were destroyed! - he was also fortunate enough to be able to get his Vette out of the garage and moved a few miles away to a friends place.

 

[Forrest Gump]

When we came back down the M11 from the Nationals last Sunday there was a big field fire right next the road which was a bit alarming to drive past.
Car shows taking place this weekend on fields where the grass is so dry worries me.
At the Nationals the grass was still quite green but down here in the south east most grassy areas are tinder dry.

 

[James Vette]

The temperature has dropped a lot so should be safe now.

 

[Chuffer]

The temperature has dropped a lot so should be safe now.

Temperature matters not until we get some rain . All vegetation is still tinder dry .

 

[Forrest Gump]

Temperature matters not until we get some rain . All vegetation is still tinder dry .

Exactly. Gotta be risky when cars arrive in the show field with extremely hot exhaust systems, which on some cars are only a couple of inches above the ground. If there happened to be a clump of dry grass right there.......

 

[Roscobbc]

Temperature matters not until we get some rain . All vegetation is still tinder dry .

Dodgy weather for steam and traction engine freaks eh?

 

[Chuffer]

Dodgy weather for steam and traction engine freaks eh?

Indeed , I know the Severn Valley Railway and the Great Central Railway are operating diesel hauled trains only at present and I dare say most other Heritage Railways are too.
During my footplate years on the SVR I had to stop on a number of occasions to try to put out line side fires before they got out control and spread into crop fields . Climb off a hot plate , scrumble up a steep sided cutting or down the side of an embankment to try and beat the flames out , then climb back onto hot footplate ! All jolly good fun ! If the loco crews could deal with it and not call out the Fire Brigade it saved the railway from being charged ££
It even happened in the winter during cold , dry spells as everything has died off and got dry as a bone.

 

[Roscobbc]

Indeed , I know the Severn Valley Railway and the Great Central Railway are operating diesel hauled trains only at present and I dare say most other Heritage Railways are too.
During my footplate years on the SVR I had to stop on a number of occasions to try to put out line side fires before they got out control and spread into crop fields . Climb off a hot plate , scrumble up a steep sided cutting or down the side of an embankment to try and beat the flames out , then climb back onto hot footplate ! All jolly good fun ! If the loco crews could deal with it and not call out the Fire Brigade it saved the railway from being charged ££
It even happened in the winter during cold , dry spells as everything has died off and got dry as a bone.

But......'in the day' when the lines were fully commercially operated did they have the same issues?

 

[Chuffer]

They happened of course but not so frequent as to be a real problem . The linesides where so much better maintained in the old days , grass was scythed and carted away , trees and weeds cut back by gangs of Permanent Way workmen . There was a sense of pride back then and many P Way Gangs were fiercely proud of the standards they kept for their sections of track . You only have look at old photos of the Permanent Way back then to see how things have deteriorated with weeds everywhere and trees brushing the sides of trains as they pass .

 

[Chuffer]

Here is a classic case of the care and attention the railways received in the good old days . This is the long lost and much lamented Somerset & Dorset Railway that ran from Bath Green Park Station to Bournemouth West Station . It ran through a rural idyll for its entire length with many steeply graded sections that went on for several miles at a time , some as steep as 1 in 50 . Locos worked really hard on this route , especially during the summer months when there was an endless procession of heavily loaded holiday trains heading to and from Bournemouth from the industrial cities of the north of England . Good handling of the locos by the crews helped to reduce fire risk but just look at that track and lineside . Grass cut to an inch of its life , no weeds anywhere and no trees growing near the linside . I have read several books written by old S&D enginemen about their experiences and although they had their trials and tribulations especially in bad winters when the Mendip Hills would get amazing snow drifts , I never heard of fires being an issue .

 

[Roscobbc]

My early years (early 50's) were spent living in the Essex countryside about 5 miles east of Maldon. This was about to become the Beeching area although many local lines had long been axed as uneconomic. Oddly now the areas they served have far, far larger populations now and perhaps could have been economic.
We always seemed to have wondeful summers where I could walk across open fields and watch all the wildlife, listen to the peewits and swallow/swift sounds high up in the air. The local authority had teams of 3 or 4 old boys all dressed in blue brace and bibs, wearing cloth caps and 'armed' with single hand sythes, two handed sythes and would lay any hedges that need attention and sythe the grass verges - no tractors with gang mowers on the back or flail cutters - no petrol strimmers or rotary mowers - just hand tools! - I mention 'old boys' - they seemed like old boys to a 5 year old but were probably younger than what I am now!

 

[Chuffer]

Old boys like this you mean ?

 

[Roscobbc]

Thats the ones - not so good looking though.........