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Latest News

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• 7/4/22 - HSE SAFETY ADVICE

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Following an HSE investigation into an incident in 2021 where a member of the public had their leg trapped between the carriage they were travelling on and the raised track, the HSE issued safety advice on 6th April 2022.

Action required of manufacturers, designers, and operators of sit astride passenger carrying vehicles, on both raised and ground level tracks, is set out in the safety advice which may be downloaded from the following link.

 

https://fmes.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/HSE-Action-Note-Sit-astride-vehicles.pdf

 

Please read the safety advice and take appropriate action on sit astride passenger carrying vehicles that you operate.

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• 14/12/20 - Boiler News - Boiler testers should be aware that from 1 Jan 2021, UK pressure vessel manufacturers may be using the UKCA mark instead of the EU CE mark.  This new mark shall be treated under the boiler test code as a CE mark, as permitted under the Pressure Equipment Regulations Act.  For vessels made after 1 Jan 2022, the EU CE mark is the only valid mark for boilers made in Europe and the UKCA mark is the only valid mark for boilers made in the UK.Owners of models should be aware that the position of recognition of the UKCA mark within Europe is not yet clear.  This may affect those in the future if they are planning to take their model to Europe or to sell it there.

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• 7/5/2020 - The new safety guide, HS2020 – Managing health and safety at passenger-carrying miniature railways, which has been fully endorsed by HSE, is now complete and available.

 

To view and/or download a copy from the "Documents" page.

 

HS2020 will now be the safety guidance document that HSE refer to and therefore the operators of passenger-carrying miniature railways are advised that they should do likewise.

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HSG216 Passenger-carrying miniature railways – Guidance on safe practice has been the principal safety guidance for passenger-carrying miniature railways since the document’s publication by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2002 however it is no longer part of HSE’s guidance suite; it was withdrawn around 7 years ago during the HSE's review of all of its guidance. It is no longer supported or available from HSE. The reason it was withdrawn was because it was due for review and it did not fit the criteria to remain part of HSE's guidance suite. The resource was therefore not made available to do the work and it was withdrawn

 

The model engineering associations, federations and societies together with operators of commercial miniature railways and the miniature railway suppliers and traders realised that a replacement guidance document was essential in order to avoid miniature railways falling to be dealt with alongside fairgrounds and amusement parks. As a result of that thinking a new group, the Passenger Carrying Miniature Railway Safety Group (PCMRSG), was established in 2017 with the objective of drafting a new guide for the safe operation of passenger carrying miniature railways. The group presently includes 10¼” Gauge Railway Society, 7¼” Gauge Society, Heywood Society, Midland Federation of Model Engineers, Southern Federation of Model Engineering Societies, Northern Association of Model Engineers, Britain’s Great Little Railways, National Railway Museum and several manufacturers/suppliers of passenger carrying miniature railway equipment.

 

The drafting of a new safety guide was no easy task and the Group would like to thank those businesses, clubs, societies and individuals who responded to our request for comments on a draft guidance which was made available via this website. Over 150 comments and suggestions were received and all were considered.

 

In addition to close contact with businesses, clubs, societies and individuals the Group has benefitted from regular input and assistance from the HSE and thanks to them must be recorded.

 

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