The Bristol Railway Archive

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13944557
Latest news regarding the new train depot. <BJ>

Would it be correct to assume that all these "more appropriate" sites are anywhere other than Stoke Gifford?

the green mile wrote:Would it be correct to assume that all these "more appropriate" sites are anywhere other than Stoke Gifford?

Well now, that's the odd thing ....

On both the original link and this one: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Rail-dep ... story.html the objectors apparently know that there are "much more suitable sites elsewhere" but don't seem to be able or willing to name them.

The situation reminds me a little of the news broadcast I watched this week after the High Court had ordered the eviction of the protesters outside St Paul's Catheral who apparently don't like capitalism. When one of them was interviewed and asked what her alternative was, she came out with the immortal line: "Its not my job to suggest an alternative"

Now I don't think that's the way the system works. If you don't like something, you propose an alternative, not keep schtum until somebody else suggests an alternative and then protest against that one as well

But I digress. Back to the plot.

It is difficult to think of a more suitable site. The land is owned by the railway and surrounded by railway lines. I see from Google Earth that there is somethiong in the north west quadrant of the site - does anybody know what this is? Leaving that to one side for a moment, the rest of the site is a patch of waste ground that has been used as a used ballast dump and has been an eyesore for as many years as I can remember (and, in the case of this bit of land, that's over 50 of them)

Some of the objector's comments could be used in a comedy sketch. There will, apparently, be "fumes" - no doubt coming from the electricity they use to power the trains and the depot. We also read that "the site is liable to flooding" - funny, I thought there was a downhill grade from Parkway to North Filton and, if the Dutch can manage to reclaim a few hundred square miles of land out of the North Sea, I am sure there is somebody in the world with sufficient technical genius to design a drainage system.

We further read that: "We know that the impact on the health of residents, the environment and its ecology would be unacceptable." Environment and ecology - what are we talking about here? A SSSI somewhere else or this piece of land? Furthermore (once again from Google Earth) I see that the nearest housing development, in Bush Avenue, is right next to the South Wales main line. Presumably the residents never hear any noise from HSTs accelerating away from Parkway so this proposal will cause then new and unaceptable inconvenience?


Finally, at the moment there are two individuals arguing the toss in the comments section, and I repeat them here for illustrative purposes:


nickthompson - ôHere we go again NIMBYISM in full flow.ö

Stokeygee - "not a NIMBY.... just not prepared to be kept awake all night. Come up with some facts instead of the same old NIMBY rubbish.ö"

I would respectfully suggest that Stokeygee comes up with some facts that would stand a bit of scrutiny. Until he/she does, my sentiments are with nickthompson

I find it strange that folk who decide to buy a home at Stoke Gifford complain about the noise and pollution from a nearby railway and airport. Both the railway and airport were there long before the protesters were even born. <BJ>

free2grice wrote:I find it strange that folk who decide to buy a home at Stoke Gifford complain about the noise and pollution from a nearby railway and airport. Both the railway and airport were there long before the protesters were even born. <BJ>

Not only that, but people will believe stories they hear, especially if they fit in with their prejudices/ views.

Off topic I know, but this is lifted from another forum I subscribe to, and this was from a thread regarding Heathrow expansion and a new airport on "Boris Island"

other forum wrote: One person has told me, "I know the planes are lower as I fly on business twice a month and can see my house when we're landing"
Another said "I didn't pay ú1,000,000 for my home to be overflown. Send them over the council estates"
And, "I know the planes are lowering their gear earlier as a man told me at the bus stop. It's to stop dead bodies dropping onto Waitrose"
Another one. "Can you tell me which direction the airport will be operating on the 18th August as we're having a garden party. I understand it's down to the wind direction but you must plan these things"
Another said of Stansted "They already have a 2nd runway, it's been hidden under the grass"

The moral of this story is - never believe anything you hear down the pub until you can verify it - even if its me telling the story

All valid points. The thing is that this bit of land has for many years been rumoured to be a possible site for a depot. While there may not have been any formal planning applications at the time the housing estate was built, local knowledge could surely have suggested that this was a possibility.

The main line is a valid factor. HST's and freights run all through the night in this area. Empty stocks from SPM to Hereford around 03xx and the 0447 Bristol to Paddington to name just a few.

I can sympathise with fears about light pollution and constant humming from the depot infrastructure but in this day and age we have double glazing and blackout curtains. OK, not so good on a hot summer's night but then we don't live in a perfect world. It would be interesting to know if the hum of traffic from the M4 can be heard in this area.

the green mile wrote: It would be interesting to know if the hum of traffic from the M4 can be heard in this area.

You wouldn't be able to hear any sound from the M4 as it would be drowned out by the constant noise from trains 24 hours a day!
Joking aside, the M4 is a fair distance from Stoke Gifford. <BJ>

free2grice wrote:

the green mile wrote: It would be interesting to know if the hum of traffic from the M4 can be heard in this area.

You wouldn't be able to hear any sound from the M4 as it would be drowned out by the constant noise from trains 24 hours a day! <BJ>

Just a thought - are Royal Mail still using Filton airfield?

Over and above that, if you live in an urban area - any urban area, there is going to be noise somewhere. Noise from road traffic going past, noise from trains or planes if you live near a railway or under a flight path, noise from the neighbours etc.

Robin Summerhill wrote:Just a thought - are Royal Mail still using Filton airfield?

As far as I know, Filton airfield has not used on a regular basis by the Royal Mail. The exception has been when Lulsgate has not been able to handle the traffic itself. <BJ>

Another account of the "street meeting" referred to in the Bristol Evening Post article:

http://www.stokegiffordjournal.co.uk/20 ... n-meeting/

Royal Mail wanted to use Filton airfield but that was killed off a long time ago even when the mail hub at parway was open. There was some chap on the thread on the evening post site claiming to "know a lot about these trains", he was making statements that jobs would be lost and the trains would still use bio fuels.
I know when I was looking to buy a house in filton I viewd a house that had its garden backing on to the line at the top of horfield bank and ruled it out because for me it was too close to the line and I would hear the train noise ( and drivers being drivers tooting horns as they pass certain houses) but I still live in a part of Filton where I hear the trains andits all part of background noise because I'm used to it.Although the depot would be less then a mile away as the crow flys I'm in favor of the depot because it will bring jobs to this area of bristol.

This quote from Andy Barr, Hitachi's head of maintenance, made me laugh (from the Evening Pest today):

"A modern rail depot can be compared with the latest service bay at a motor dealers û instead of mechanics working in oily overalls and using dirty spanners, they use computers and dirty oil or grease is nowhere to be seen," Mr Barr said.

Well now, how are you going to lubricate any moving part with nothing but a computer?

Oil and grease may very well be well-contained and managed nowadays, but oil and grease it still is ...

That last comment reminds me of a conversation a few years back regarding the shortcomings of the new dmu servicing facility at SPM. When one of the panel operators pointed out that the process did not seem to be working as it should, he was told by the guy who devised it "it works ok on my laptop". To which the immediate response was "perhaps you'd better bring your laptop in to run the place then".

Sound does travel especially at night. I used to live in Old Town Swindon about a mile north of the M4 and a mile and a half from Swindon station. Traffic hum was constant all night from the motorway and HST's rattling over the pointwork into the station could be clearly heard even from that distance. As for living right alongside the line, my experience is that it is quite traumatic to start with but after a decade or so, you don't even notice it.

I honestly don't know what the matter is with some people nowadays. Here in the USA we lie in bed at night and enjoy an endless parade of freight trains rattling through town, loudly blowing their horns at every single crossing and constantly ringing their warning bells. It's loud where we live - at least a mile away from the railway - so it must be deafening for people that live right next to it.

And guess what? Nobody here complains, because the railway was there first ...

Personally, I love it. Reminds me of Westerns, Warships and Hymeks slogging up Filton Bank every night when I was a kid

At the end of the Day are Network rail just being polite in asking the neighbours as isnt there a clause that they dont actually have to get permission to build on what has always been railway land?