Elayne found out a couple of days ago that the Heritage Railway The Watercress line was running a gala weekend. We thought we’d go.
We went to Alresford, my thinking was that as a paid car park, it was likely to be less busy than any of the other stations on the line. As it happens, that was the case, and we found a parking slot quickly.
It was fairly expensive – we hadn’t booked online, I did look but all of the slots were taken for today. But that was OK.
We had a lovely time, I really enjoyed seeing the trains, standing in the steam and smelling it and the smoke from the coal. I spoke to a few of the staff / volunteers, not sure which. They all love being there.
We got off at Ropley and walked in to a guided tour around the engineering sheds. Given that this is a volunteer outfit, they are doing a wonderful job, but as the guide was talking, it was obvious that all of these heritage lines survive through working with each other and an astounding amount of support from members of the public and some very wealthy fans of railways. Not only that, support is global – Did you know that the wheels of trains have steel tyres, and that these are only made (to order) in South Africa? No, neither did I.
Fascinating stuff. More tomorrow, featuring angry little trains.
Bills Posts 