Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

thankyou

 

925 has been winterised Chris. 76017 (facing west) and 45231 (facing London) did the honours yesterday. Both locos were in immaculate condition.

Ropley booking office and waiting room were a joy to visit. The coal fire was so inviting to stand next to with temperatures hovering around zero outside. During the day I paid a visit to Medstead and Four Marks station. The goods train exhibition was excellent and another exhibition on the opposite platform showed photographs of the station from the early days right through to the present day. The Watercress folk should be very proud of what they have achieved, well done. <BJ>

 

A good day was had at the Mid hants today not often you get sunshine all day not a cloud in sight the lineside around Ropley is a credit to the lineside team nice to see a few trees left always enjoy my visits to the Mid hants

 

Nice to hear folks having an enjoyable time this weekend.

Those of you about yesterday, may have noticed 4 hardy souls braving the cold in Medstead yard.......

Was nice to see 45231 out - that thing has a sweet bark - was especially clear as it headed out of Ropley on the 1st up run of the RAT!

Any way. a few pics from yesterday.......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/40483130121/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/40440444362/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/38673313520/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/40483442391/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/38672756050/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/duty_druid/39588016895/in/dateposted-public/

 

Not wishing to appear totally thick, but does that mean 925 is out of service pending overhaul or is it just that she doesn't like the cold . l was hoping to see her in action when I finally get round to a full line visit end of March-ish or is that a forlorn hope,
thanks
Chris

 

Not a cloud in sight all weekend !! .....and when the trains were running <BJ>

 

Glad you enjoyed your visit and that you noticed the condition of the lineside. This is achieved with a lot of hard work by a few dedicated volunteers, with the occasional visit by a flail. Attached shows the Standard 4 passing the area where I was working on Saturday.

 

It just means she's stored for a few weeks, with an empty boiler etc so she won't freeze up. Check the loco dept blogs (http://preservation.watercressline.co.uk/blog) to see whether she's receiving any maintenance in the mean time. Things like piston and valve exams often get done around this time.

 

Lovely! Perfect evocation of a secondary/cross-country service. IIRC, 76017 was a regular on the DN&S at one time

 

Yes it was, and when it was overhauled some final straightening out of the buffer plank and frame was carried out following its "excursion" down the bank at Whitchurch in September 1964.

 

Thank you, Steamage

 

Service update on the MH Homepage
https://www.watercressline.co.uk/ar...rd-4th-march/51a466320dc05fcb0b6365488a16bc31
No daytime service on Saturday 3/3. 1 Train service on the Sunday.

 

You'll have a "Belt & Braces" RAT on Saturday, with the Slim Jim on the country end with a full set of ploughs.

Also I have it on good authority that 45231 will also be doing the honours on Sunday & this is likely to be the last chance to see/hear/ride behind before she departs for Southall........

 

I think top n tail was a given for Saturday night. If 45231 is out Sunday, presumably we'll have her Saturday night too.

 

You will indeed & the Slim Jim will be out before hand to make sure you can get from A to A & back again.

 

Latest update on the MHR website announces no trains running this weekend 3-4 March due to the weather.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Looking around the country, no one seems to be running Saturday now. (Not an exhaustive search).

 

It is not just a question of being able to run I guess, it is also one of whether folk can get there. Not only is snow an issue for many parts high winds and flooding seem to be causing problems.

 

Indeed, in many cases the trains themselves could actually run on the rails, it's getting staff there in the first place that's the problem. Hence the W&llR managing to run Santa services as their volunteers were in local accommodation.

 

Also it could be a problem getting customers to and from the railways.