|
Ok, hope I don't upset people with this rant!
The issue of trespassing to see Flying Scotsman was raised on Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 during the week & it was discussed that this never used to happen in the past. I wasn't around in steam days but the stories of bunking sheds and the photos of crowds on the tracks for the 15 guinea special or when Scotsman first took to the main line under the ownership of Alan Peglar shows that this isn't a new phenomenon.
I think the difference now is that in the past people knew they were trespassing and they would either be dealt with severely by the railway or the police, or the authorities would turn a blind eye & in which case people would take responsibility for their own actions. These days, the railways (and every organisation in general) is in fear of litigation, and even though the trespassers are breaking the law, the railways would be responsible if anything untoward were to happen to them. This then become s a vicious cycle as if people feel that nothing will happen to them, then this encourages more people to do it. I know they can be fined for trespassing, but I wonder how many actually do get fined.
Within all this, the ones that suffer the most are the drivers, driving on their nerves, not knowing what the trespassers are going to do as the train approaches and having to run under caution as a result.
I can understand network rail's position on this & running under caution protects the drivers somewhat, but the trespassers seem to get away with it, spoiling main line steam for everyone, not to mention delaying other passengers as well.
Tony
|