S&D Midsomer

I hardly think Midsomer Norton is a rusty siding. It is a well restored wayside country station on the most famous and lamented route in Britain, hence other railways run "S&D" weekends. There are 700+ members, not bad for a station with only 990 feet of down main and 700 feet of up main at present, and there are far more than 10 volunteers. When we begin running passenger trains in 09 I think things will start to accelerate.

 

Beaky, I wouldn't let Maunsell man get you going, he's just a wind up merchant.

Indeed, if you look at Maunsell man's profile it says on there it says his interests are "Miniature steam. Own and rally a 3" Aveling & Porter and 4" Ruston & Proctor traction engines. Annoying people." There you go, he says it himself, he is interested in annoying people.

What I was going to say was that it's great that you've taken an interest in the good old Somerset and Dorset railway and long may it continue. I was up at MSN on Saturday 21st specifically for the ex-staff reunion and it was wonderful meeting up again with various station and footplate workers, all former mates of my father, Fred, who was a fireman, then driver at Templecombe MPD from 1947 to 1966. We lived at Henstridge in those days. I took my mum up as well to MSN, she enjoyed the day meeting up with old friends. My maternal grandfather, Hugh Berryman, also worked on the S&D (1920-1959), his last position was a guard at Templecombe (he started off at Highbridge), and his wife Mabel, my grandmother, was crossing keeper at Park Lane Crossing near Templecombe from 1940-1959. My mother was also employed as relief at the crosssing, and various other members of the Berryman family worked on the S&D at Highbridge etc.

So as you can see, I've got a fairly deep rooted interest in the S&D, and railways in general (dad moved to Plymouth Laira when he was made redundant at Templecombe, so that brought me into the big world of the Western (region and hydrulics!)

 

Me - an environmentalist? Never! I'm an economist, with a specific interest in energy issues. My blogs revolve around that, using humour and economic analysis throughout.

The blog has always been my personal blog and this is made clear both on the blog and on any websites that link to it. I find it very disturbing that someone would judge MN because of an independent blog! You may as well also slag off Masbury, Shillingstone, Gartell and Washford whilst you're at it, as I mention all of 'em.

There's no implication that what is happening at MN has anything to do with the aims of the New Somerset and Dorset Railway. The expectation is that as the energy and climate crisis begin to bite big time then all transport spending will switch to sustainable projects. The whole point of the blog is to ensure that the S&D revival is right up there at the top in the public eye when that time comes.

MN is a superb heritage set up and it's so important that part of the S&D flourishes. Bigger plans for a full S&D revival are a different matter entirely and will have nothing to do with a few volunteers and lovingly recreated signalboxes!

 

shut up fatty - I'm getting annoyed [smilie=kiss of love.gif]

 

Don't remember saying I have a gas guzzler anywhere? All I did was ask a question which in a discussion forum is an accepted behaviour is it not? Despite the personal abuse levelled upon me, NOBODY HAS REALLY ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS. Empty vessels make the most noise as my old teacher used to say to the dummies up the back...


Regards,

Happy Blakey of Kingscote

 

"There you go, he says it himself, he is interested in annoying people."

Ha, ha, yeah, I looked at the troll's profile after I wrote my last post this afternoon, and saw that myself. So I said to myself 'oh well thats it then' and just headed out into the garden to do some pruning and weeding, far more interesting than bickering with such a whingebag.

I think I got interested in the S&D, shortly after I got my first Hornby train set at around age 12, after seeing that great viaduct at Shepton Mallet. Not the one next to the Babycham factory, but the other one (Charlton Road?). I was well impressed, and also I came across a few books on the S&D in Yeovil library. Also, my mum and dad used to go courting around Henstridge on the back of my dad's lambretta, so I guess his telling me that helped. It just gripped my imagination from there, along with what I read of how angry people were when the line got shut down.

 

"Me - an environmentalist? Never! I'm an economist, with a specific interest in energy issues. My blogs revolve around that, using humour and economic analysis throughout.

The blog has always been my personal blog and this is made clear both on the blog and on any websites that link to it. I find it very disturbing that someone would judge MN because of an independent blog! You may as well also slag off Masbury, Shillingstone, Gartell and Washford whilst you're at it, as I mention all of 'em.

There's no implication that what is happening at MN has anything to do with the aims of the New Somerset and Dorset Railway. The expectation is that as the energy and climate crisis begin to bite big time then all transport spending will switch to sustainable projects. The whole point of the blog is to ensure that the S&D revival is right up there at the top in the public eye when that time comes.

MN is a superb heritage set up and it's so important that part of the S&D flourishes. Bigger plans for a full S&D revival are a different matter entirely and will have nothing to do with a few volunteers and lovingly recreated signalboxes!"

Aha, hello Steve!! :smt023

Sorry for calling you an environmentalist then, but as it happens environmental concerns and economic ones are increasingly walking the same tightrope, which is about time as that should have happened years ago!!

Yes, well, maybe Maunsell Man didn't read the small print, although its clearly visible to the rest of us. And besides, I reiterate my point that your blog has performed an outstanding service to MSN in my view, even if it basically reflects your own personal views. If the 6024 society, among others, want us to have a more central spokesperson, perhaps they would be so kind as to donate one. In saying this I am mindful of the earlier point that we're actually larger than just 10 people. Thats true actually in hindsight, but it still doesn't change the fact that we're by comparison quite a small society with a long list of tasks to achieve. I think with that in mind it might be more respectful for some of the critics on this thread to at least try to give us a bit of leeway.

Or is that just too much to ask for?

:-k

 

Personal abuse Maunsell Man? Nah, thats nothing to what you would get if you came down to MSN and said the same things in person that you've said on here... but I'd recommend that you come down anyway and lend us a hand. We need to get that greenhouse done, so you can make recompense with some good old elbow grease I reckon.

Eh Steve?

\/

 

Gawd beaky... is your friend! :smt002

 

I will only come if Big Ears and the Gollywogs are there.

Anyway, back to the gas guzzler...

In a discussion, surely the best way to fend off a challange is to provide some sensible answers. Do that and you may win some fans, even me. Not all new schemes are low quality, look at the L&B. Unique, well thought out and financed and has a sensible expansion programme. That will challenge the SVR one day. Having a silly slanging match has not informed anyone on here that you have the remotest idea of what you are doing or of your engineering capabilities. It has just told people you can't afford a car and you take it too personally.

All good clean fun but still no sensible answers but possibly another Riccerton Junction. Where did the Fat Controller and the phone box go?

 

Did you know Robin that The pit by the steps leading down to the greenhouse door contained a burner, with the heat being channelled around 3 cavity walls to keep the plants frost free and then up the chimney? Ingenious but hey the romans did it before!

 

I'm not the only one to think there is a credability gap - right mate?

 

The only gap, is the one across Silver Street, granted an incredible gap, which is why we are heading south. The only reason we are not a lot farther advanced by now is due to the usual red tape paperwork crap strangling britain today. We have the sleepers, rail and funds for ballast to start running passenger services. All power to the people who persist behind the scenes keeping these projects going.

 

Could someone please tell me when the funeral is? I hadn't even realised that Free Speech was ill....

 

If you went to work like the rest of us you could afford a car!

 

Nick wrote:

"Did you know Robin that The pit by the steps leading down to the greenhouse door contained a burner, with the heat being channelled around 3 cavity walls to keep the plants frost free and then up the chimney? Ingenious but hey the romans did it before!"

Yeah, well me and Graham puzzled about that pit for a while, but that was the only idea that seemed to make sense, and then I think I remember one Sunday I was down there and someone actually came along and confirmed that this was how it was.

Unfortunately, there aren't that many measurements on the drawings of the greenhouse, so me and Glyn had to do some measuring and try and sus out the correct dimensions. I made I note of these somewhere, and trouble is I'm not sure where. I just hope they're here on my pc file, otherwise we're going to have to get the tape measure out again.

Still, Steve has just done a bricklaying course, so with a bit of luck we might get it done before the end of the decade, ha, ha.

:smt040

 

"All power to the people who persist behind the scenes keeping these projects going."

Yep. Amen to that! =D>

By the way, Fireline, are you referring to the bickering between me and Maunsell? I'm done with it actually, he'll probably keep wittering on whatever anyone from MSN says, so I'm more interested in moving on and discussing other aspects of whats going on at Midsomer.

 

Yep - so am I, I have to be up for work tomorrow. Its been great fun chatting. Night night

 

I would say, from experience, the guy is a sociopath.

 

"If you went to work like the rest of us you could afford a car!"

Ha, ha, oh here we go. I wondered when this sort of garbage was going to come flying out from the wheels of Sir Crapalot.

A) I've just come out of a three year degree course in Psychology & English B) I'd love to find even a **** job down at Sainsbury's shelf-stacking or something until I find myself a suitable grad-level post, but Bath is notoriously bad for finding work for some reason. When I moved here between years 1 and 2, I did so early (in June) in the hope of finding a summer job. I signed up to about three agencies and guess what, all I got was three days on the council refuse wagon and one day on the council/FoE recycling wagon, oh plus a day on the Pickfords removal wagon too.

Fortunately, I'm a gardener, so last summer I built up a round of customers and did loads of gardening instead. I might have to pick that up again if things carry on.

Any more sad comments Sir Crapalot? I mean, why stop there?

:smt038