Mid Hants Railway Operational Matters

47579 has now arrived at the MHR and is now in Ropley yard.

 

I thought you were going to say something interesting Lee, its just a bloody box in rail blue, large livery, which really fits with the 60's feel of the line - NOT!

In other news, there was a charter on the line today, which came past us at Medstead - couldn't see @Hampshire Unit on the veranda of the QMB - guessing he was feeling the chill & was hiding in the cabin....... one day, we might actually fit a working stove in the cabin!

 

I was hanging out of the verandah the first time we went past Dave! I was inside attempting to find my coffee the second time...much positive comment about 73096's return from the charterists today.

 

Great photos - but I have to say that it was the rather precarious looking stack of stepladders which caught my eye...

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah....... any excuse! You thought I'd be on the Medstead side & not Four Marks.

Its not often we can phot from that side with next to nothing in Bennett's

 

Ta muchly

It wasn't the QMB that I was drawn by, by the exhaust coming from 76017 on the other end. but having blown the image up in processing, the step ladders did catch the eye, along with the looks of the charter participants, ie, kin freezing - I for one would not want to be on that veranda!

As an aside, we heard the train coming when it whistled up for the occupation crossing at Wanders & it took a good 10 minutes or so for it to reach us, giving me enough time to get the camera from the workshop van & make it back in time to witness some expert enginemanship from the driver, as Ropley Soke cutting was at best treacherous & the train almost came to a halt......... it was close, but it didn't!

 

A few from the charter

 

Readers may be interested to know that 47579 (the newest blue box on the line) is a further example of a locomotive type that hauled South Western expresses to Exeter. With 33202 / 33053 and 50027 we have an example of every type that regularly hauled South Western trains in diesel days with the exception of a Warship. There's a thought for the next gala.

Without the "blue boxes" the railways would be quite difficult to run, and blue livery was common well before the end of the 1960s.

 

Did Warships ever use the Mid Hants before closure?

 

I know Chris Small mentioned them working diverted trains in the 1960's in his articles in Mid Hants News. It's just a matter of searching through the back copies....

Cheers, Neil

 

According to ‘Mid Hants Railway; Construction to Closure’ by Roger Hardingham, at least D818 did, working over the Mid Hants a couple of times.

 

That's as maybe, but Large Logo, most certainly was not, next you'll be telling me a loco in Notwork South East livery is typical for the line!

Why not just paint the ruddy things two tone green without warning panels & that way they'd blend in with the landscape & you wouldn't know they were there.

 

Any chance 47579 having a few running days next year. Should pull a few extra punters in for running days and not forgetting next years diesel gala. I must say 47579 looks evey photogenic in large logo with a cockney sparrow on the side. Gets my vote.

Dave, I take it Mad Hants Photo Charters won’t be asking to use it on their next photo charter then!

 

When i saw the number i thought the line had found another black 5

 

Waterloo to Southampton and return in 1965.

 

with Bournemouth line closures for electrification work would some Exeter services have run via Mid hants to Southampton then Salisbury before picking up the exeter road?

 

The locomotives are painted the colour that their owners want to see them in, and that is their perogative. Class 50s never carried green with the exception of 50007 Hercules/Sir Edward Elgar. 50027 is in the livery in which it was withdrawn, and Network livery is at least regionally significant and appropriate. I imagine that for each of the owners concerned it is highly probable that the locos are painted in the colours that they recall seeing them operate in. Actually I am quite happy with them all being in similar era colours. The fact that this is different to the colours of the carriages is only an argument for a set of blue grey Mk2s.

 

I fully understand that the boxes are in the livery they are, because they ain't ours.

We had a green box until a TOC made the owner an offer they couldn't refuse, along with others & then we were deep in the brown stuff for a Thunderbird!

I bet a certain person at Ropley would tell folks where to put it if he was told to paint a rake in blue & grey, then again maybe he'd be happy to, given it'd make a change to green..........

Personally I wouldn't mind a few blue & grey MK I's as they would fit, and break up the green.

 

Hell would have to freeze over first!

 

Not entirely accurate. 33109 was the locomotive that moved to Crewe. 33208 was the green locomotive that later (several years) was sold to a private individual. When 33109 went north we still had 33208. I don't think there has been any period of time in the last 20 years when there hasn't been at the very least 1 thunderbird.