A few weeks ago there was an announcement that Flying Scotsman would be visiting the Mid Hants Railway (MHR). At the time we were on a boat heading to La Gomera and I was desperately trying to book tickets before we lost phone connection as I feared the tickets would all be gone before we reached the island. Luckily two were secured and now here we are.
Flying Scotsman Alresford 20.3.26
I accept that the locomotive draws large passenger numbers and to cope with this the MHR has arranged parking out of Alresford – which somehow we drive right past without seeing it. My attention was distracted by the car satnav using a different route and a warning of road closures which did not materialise. Sense of humour diminished the fact that the Alresford car park was not full was something of an anti-climax and we were allowed to park in it. That made things much simpler.
Ivatt Tank Ropley Assisting 20.3.26
As we were now very early there was a lot of waiting around before we could get our hot drink in a cardboard cup, so not exactly bone china. Then as the hot water cooled down we were held in a queue as we could not access the coaches until the afternoon tea had been delivered to our tables (along with the bottles of prosecco, things started looking up). Once on board it is not long before we are away and I suspect a Mickey Mouse tank at the rear is providing some gentle assistance on the up gradients.
Afternoon tea 20.3.26
After the initial setback the content of the afternoon tea exceeds expectations and it takes most of the trip to Alton to be consumed. Flying Scotsman takes a rest at Ropley for water on each trip – which seems a little excessive but should provide some nice photos on departure. Given that once upon a time the loco could run from Kings Cross to Edinburgh (using water troughs I admit) then a few miles back and forth is surprising to find water being needed on each return trip. The Ivatt tank on the rear cannot stop near a water column at all during the day and a water tanker delivers water to it at relevant times.
Flying Scotsman Ropley 20.3.26
My first visit to the line was on a diesel multiple unit not that long before closure, although I cannot remember why or how I made that journey. There have been subsequent visits but it is noticeable on this journey how much construction of new housing there has been at the villages along the line – there is a lot of it and I wonder now if the line had not been closed how much usage a daily service could enjoy, but without the connection into Winchester it is unlikely to work as I would guess the major demand is in that direction rather than Alton.
Sprinter Alresford 20.3.26
In this regard it is interesting that the line has recently acquired a Sprinter for immediate service which today was working between Alresford and Ropley on a shuttle to enable the Flying Scotsman passengers can use to visit Ropley and get some photographs of the mighty locomotive leaving the water stop on the next trip to Alton.
Canadian Pacific Ropley 20.3.26
Some of the organisational aspects felt a little officious. The actual trip operated smoothly and clearly it needs a lot of effort to host Flying Scotsman and to handle the crowds. Needless to say the price is also significant – but for those wanting to say they have been hauled by the Flying Scotsman then that is the going rate. I might add that I feel misled by the use of a marketing name for the line and hence refuse to acknowledge it. However on the flip side there was a little time to go and see Canadian Pacific which has recently returned to steam but is taking it easy this week. A return visit for a trip behind this loco would be a good idea.
30506 Ropley 20.3.26
Handling the service trains interworked with the special services 30506 which managed to get captured as it was working along the line.
Although it is one of the longest heritage lines in the UK, I have rarely visited the Severn Valley Railway. An initial visit in the mid-seventies was before the service reached Kidderminster and a visit in the mid-eighties on a railtour was more about the journey on a Hastings unit as it was about the preserved railway. There was a brief visit without travelling the line a few years ago to the relatively new “Engine House” at Highley.
Today is a chance to see the line properly. I drive and park at Kidderminster, the southern terminus which has grown a completely new station since my last visit. Plus extensive sheds for the diesel and carriage fleets as we leave the town. I am a little surprised at how full the parking already is this morning and half way to the station I discover the camera battery is completely flat requiring a return to the car. Parking is £4.20 payable by Ringgo.
46045 SVR 14.3.26
A Class 46, 46045, is at the head of the train and I take the journey to Bridgnorth in full. There is a fair bit of waiting around at the stations on the way and at several the train length exceeds the platform length. The train is reasonably loaded and during my trips we stop at both of the request stops on the line so travel is very definitely not end to end unlike some lines and the intermediate stops have attractions of their own. We wander through the scenic valley of the river Severn and it is noticeable that the river banks are adorned with fishermen, although it is not obvious if much is being caught.
At Bridgnorth I move to the other platform as I want to catch the first departure – which is the steam hauled service today. Power is provided by 1450 and 7714 – a pair of tank engines. 1450 I believe provided the power on the Dart Valley Railway when I visited there in the early 70’s but it has been at the SVR since 2014. It has had a recent full overhaul and a new owner so it may at some point move on from the SVR as it is not powerful enough to handle the current services on its own. 7714 has always resided at the SVR and its current boiler ticket is soon to expire so like many locos these days may not see an early return to steam as again it is probably underpowered for today’s longer trains.
Western Champion SVR 14.3.26
The SVR certainly seems to have a good level of volunteering with visible staff on all platforms and at various points along the lineside undertaking work. It is a large enterprise and the standards are high from the items which can be seen. There is a lot of freight stock which looks fettled alongside the needed coaching stock. A platform extension is underway at Kidderminster to enable the longer trains being used today and at Bridgnorth it was impossible to obtain photos of the two tank engines as they were off the platform.
SVR DMU 14.3.26
A third service was being run by DMU. To me it is a pity that the economics could not justify two out of the three services being steam hauled.
Bradley Manor SVR 14.3.26
7802 Bradley Manor was in steam and would later haul the boogie train on the evening service but I do prefer steam on general services and for two to be diesel was unwelcome to me but I doubt it was impacting the usage. However once back at Kidderminster I take the steam service back to Bewdley where I can wait for the DMU to bring me back to Kidderminster and the car back to my hotel.
A rather different excursion today we join the Railway Touring Company rail tour from London Victoria to Worcester. This was booked some months ago as it is one of the shorter day excursions which we can join and leave at Staines-upon-Thames.
Operations on the Day
Originally Clan Line was due to haul the train throughout, however we are advised prior to the day that between Gloucester and Worcester the train will be diesel hauled. I see a report that it was not possible to get the locomotive serviced and turned at Worcester so this will happen at Gloucester.
The train arrives at Staines slightly late with a class 47 diesel on the rear. We are in the supposedly air conditioned Mk2F dining coach but it is soon clear that the air conditioning is not fully functioning which makes for a warm morning. We are frequently reminded that using the door windows to observe external activity is ill-advised and it all makes steam haulage ever less attractive.
Being near the rear of the train in an enclosed environment it is impossible to establish which locomotive is doing the work today. The hand out guide does not have the final timings as it shows the train having a water stop in Gloucester Yard rather than going to the station for the locomotive to be removed.
Verbally it is reported that on the outward journey the diesel was only carrying its own weight with Clan Line doing the majority of the work. Shortly before Gloucester there was a signal stop. At this point I was near the front of the train and carefully observed the move away from the stop – and it seemed that Clan Line was doing a significant part of the work to get the train moving again.
The detailed timings from Realtime Trains for the outward journey show that in general the planned timetable was maintained well, coming to a stand after Cholsey as we were running early. There was a water stop between Wantage Road and Challow.
Our return trip ran early from Norton Jn to just before Cheltenham Spa as we took the path allocated to a Cross Country service which was not running due to industrial action. However there was a service which had to leave Cheltenham Spa before we could enter the platform.
We are in the third coach of the train on reversal at Gloucester and for a period of time Clan Line is definitely working hard judging by the thick black smoke in the sky. On the climb to Sapperton Tunnel we came to a stand for a few minutes although this is not obvious from the timings. Although until then I had been able to hear Clan Line working on the restart it was notably quiet and I suspect that the diesel was doing rather more of the work – no proof but we went up the gradient well – which leads me to think that the diesel was helping. Thereafter time was recovered against plan and we were running at close to the locomotive limit regaining lost time as far as Didcot.
At Reading I think we were due to take the re-instated line under the main line to regain the Southern so a small piece of unusual track. In addition the curve from Abbotswood Junction to Norton Junction was track I believe I have not previously covered and which I failed to cover using my Heart of England Rover earlier in the year.
Meals
One of the purposes of this trip was to sample breakfast and dinner – both silver served by the dining team. They work hard in delivering the food to us and of reasonably good quality. Plates arrive early and cool a little too much prior to the food arriving – but it has never been easy to serve perfect meals on trains and it is these days very rare.
Rolling Stock
The stock was as promised Mk 2 air conditioned. The defective air conditioning on the outward journey had been rectified by the time we returned so that was very welcome on a warm day. I would have a personal preference for Mk 1 stock – with windows to hear what is working and let the smuts in. However this is not a universal preference of course.
Modern steam tours are ultra safe of course. However getting a photo at Reading was discouraged for fear of causing delays and even at Gloucester it was a mad dash. I realise people have to be considered stupid but the complete loss of all steam run pasts and even thinking that travellers may want a decent pictorial record of the day seems lost these day. With busy railways crossing the tracks as we did nearly 40 years ago is impossible but it might be nice. At Staines it is not possible to get a photo from the station footbridge – the lower panes are all white not clear – why? Even more exotic how about a bluetooth relay from the cab with commentary from an individual as we pass places, and pick up the sounds of the locomotive – but delivered via a bluetooth signal to a phone or similar and insisting that it can only be heard with earphones so it is not imposed on all travellers?
Summary
It is not a cheap day. I am not 100% convinced it is value for money. It was a pleasant day out but I am not that keen to repeat and book another trip in the near future.
Puy de Dome (borrowed without approval from https://tinyurl.com/tripadvisorpuydedome)
Final Thoughts in the lounge
I had hoped to visit Puy de Dome, an extinct volcano near Clermont-Ferrand. Online it was unclear if the bus service from the station was running hourly or every two hours – the last check I undertook prior to leaving home only showed the two-hourly timetable. This would have meant a very tight connection into the train to Beziers (the hourly service would have made it easy). I therefore abandoned the idea without checking in Clermont-Ferrand as I wanted to avoid the related stress.
The entire trip including hotels and meals cost around £1050 for the hotels, rail travel, meals and the final flight back to the UK (although that was not the full cost of the air flight as Jackie let me use a voucher).
In terms of main line rail travel the costs were the Eurail ticket £130.17 and the extortion (to my mind) fees for the seat reservations between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand (both ways) and between Beziers and Nimes which cost £50.03. In total £180.20.
In terms of distance it was around 811 miles. This works out at around 22.2p per mile – which means that it is slightly more than I spend on most of my single day outings in the UK. However on none of the four days was I travelling by train all the time – so it is not an entirely similar comparison. Had I wished more mileage might easily have been added.
Metro and tram trips were additional mileage and cost. They were an absolute bargain in my opinion.
Travelling with a heavy case was not helpful on the metro and lifting it above my ahead (and down again) received some welcome assistance a couple of times. On the return to Paris it was in the vestibule out of direct sight which also worries me.
Overall I thought it went well. I did everything planned and had some surprises along the way. And it was something I have not done for a very long time. I may do it again when the opportunity present itself.
An earlier start today as I want to be in the station in plenty of time for my train to Paris. I bring my case down to breakfast so that I can depart immediately.
The train back to Paris Bercy is pretty busy and we run more or less to time. As we are retracing our steps from Friday I half watch the countryside passing by whilst continuing to catch up with the soaps – largely listening rather than watching on a small screen.
Lamb Gare de Lyon 4.8.25
I have a lot of spare time and walk up to Gare du Lyon for lunch. Some very nice lamb. Like in Beziers I have great difficulty getting a second glass of wine. There appears to be something wrong in France as getting alcohol seems far more difficult. In both cases when I order I have some of the first glass left – which they try to remove – I paid for it, I want to drink it! Then the second glass turns up long after I have consumed the accompanying food. Have the French started disapproving of alcohol consumption or has the liver specialist a direct line to these people!
I then retrace my steps to Bercy Metro station and once again take Ligne 6. Prior to starting the holiday I researched our various metro trips and discovered that being August both main routes to Orly airport are closed for enhancement and so this is not a simple journey. At Place d’Italie I have to transfer to Ligne 7 and head to Villejuif Louis Aragon where at the end of the line I follow the signs to Tram 7 which can take me the airport.
From Villejuif Louis Aragon it takes about half an hour to reach Orly and the tram deposits me at T4 which is not helpful so I now have to follow a trail of signs for T1 which is where the flight departs. The signs eventually lead me to Orlyval which is providing only a shuttle between the T4 building and the T1-3 building as Ligne B at Antony is unavailable being one of those closed for works routes! It takes a few minutes and I am eventually in the right place – and a good three hours before the plane leaves.
The Vueling (allegedly BA but not – just code share) bag drop is at one end of T1. The plane will depart from D gates. Nowhere is it made clear that D gates are actually in T3. It is far from clear that there are really three terminals within the building and it is not clear to me why the nomenclature of three terminals is used as the signs imply you are “leaving” terminal 1 which I find disconcerting – it does not assist the casual traveller.
We load the plane and actually take off a couple of minutes early, arriving into Gatwick very early after a particularly short flight, much less than advertised. We are however at the gates in South Terminal which are as far away from immigration as it is possible to be. Ending up at these gates seems to be an ongoing experience down the years. The immigration hall is completely empty and I walk straight up to the passport scanning machine – which does not work and I have to go and see a man.
No luggage has been delivered in the baggage hall so I have to wait. Then down to catch the first Reading train which is not the one on my ticket but the very kind guard lets me travel home – as luckily it is the right half hour and will stop at Sandhurst.
A taxi takes me back to the station and here I have a real problem with SNCF. If you close the toilets because you are seeking to make station improvements then at least advertise the existence and location of the replacements. I understand that they might not have the same capacity but some travellers need those facilities. Not a single sign that I could see explaining where the temporary toilets might be. Luckily a member of staff was able to direct me – and she was only there looking for a passenger in need of assistance whom she could not find.
When planning the trip I paid little interest in the first trip today as I just needed to get from one branch line to the other branch line which commences at Nimes. So a TGV is great and I had no idea that the line runs almost along the edge of the Mediterranean between Adge and Sete with the Med on one side and the Etang de Thau on the other. In bright sunshine. A lovely trip. At one station we wait for a long time – but we are on time so it is built into the timetable, presumably for connections. At one station our departure has been announced after about 5 minutes and two people opposite realise they should have got off the train and make a rush for the door – they did not return so I assume disembarked.
Nimes Arena 3.8.25
In Nimes I have time to kill and therefore walk up Avenue Fuecheres which is tree lined and leads towards the older part of the town – dragging my case however makes it a relatively slow journey. At the top of the Avenue I find a Roman Arena – which I am advised is the most complete one in existence – I merely look at the outside . I return to close to the station and have lunch as I know getting a meal later in Clermont-Ferrand could well be difficult. The highlight is a proper steak tartare – which was excellent.
Steak Tartare Nimes 3.8.25
Then the cool of the station before the train appears on the display boards, picking up some food for dinner before we depart. Now I have to admit that I have a sneaking suspicion that I covered this line, southbound, on a night sleeper in 1976 on my Interrail – but as it was in the dark I did not see the scenery and so I will consider it a first traverse.
Scenery 3.8.25
This is known as la Ligne des Cevennes and it snakes north joining the line out of Clermont-Ferrand I used yesterday at Arvant. The unit is bi-mode but runs in diesel at all times (there is a short distance at each end which is electrified). The distance is around 148 miles and takes 4 and a half hours so around 33 mph today. Based on what I saw I thought the gorges and similar were more attractive than yesterday. But perhaps some of the time I was on the right side of the train today!
Interesting ticket check on this journey – and implies a potential problem. Obviously we are eventually in a remote area but we have not gone that far when the tickets are checked. I now find that the barcode is NOT on the phone itself. I go through the menu items (there should be a single link to the current ticket in the app) and it will not display. The guard is understanding and eventually enough of a signal becomes available and the ticket displays. It strikes me that the app creators have not thought this through. Tickets in the UK are delivered as similar barcodes in pdf format and can be held on the phone locally without the need to access a remote server – travelling across Europe I would have expected something similar as being recognised as essential given how remote some lines must be.
84699 Clermont-Ferrand 3.8.25
Motive power between Nimes and Clermont-Ferrand was 84699 which is a dual mode unit but ran entirely under diesel power – even when overhead power was available throughout the journey. Alstom Coradia family with 242 units in service starting in 2013. They are widespread across France providing a decent ride – although today we did not experience much in the way of high speed – as the line has a lot of gradients and curves.
Arriving in Clermont-Ferrand there was an ancient diesel at an adjacent platform which was photographed – but precisely what it was doing I am unsure. I then retreated to my hotel, booked in with a cup of coffee and I find that Jackie has been watching the soaps since she returned. I now have great difficulty getting the Synology Drive to sync – the phone seems to work but the ipad – which is what I would like to use for the larger screen simply will not sync properly. So annoying.
After the induced panic of yesterday morning today was expected to be a relative oasis of calm – and in hindsight in most respects it was. However I had forgotten that SNCF have a devilish trick up their sleeves. They might call it a through train with a single reporting number and no connections but (and we have experienced this before in Corsica) it means nothing of the sort.
However before we get into that I have a continental breakfast and then have about three hours to kill so I go and sit on Voie H of Clermont-Ferrand station. I swear that at a station which has 9 platforms not a single train moved for at least 45 minutes at one stage during my wait – proving that there is huge capacity which simply does not exist on our railways. I cannot think of a 9 platform station in the UK which would see no movement for nearly an hour. I eat some lunch before my train is announced.
I know the line over the Central Massif (la ligne de l’Aubrac) is electrified so I am a little bemused when a diesel is the nominated train this morning at Clermont-Ferrand. It is heavily loaded (more or less full – partly due to it being the holiday season I suppose) and we proceed to Neussargues. Where we are all dumped out of the train onto the platform to await a train. Our train changes its destination from Beziers to Aurillac (another line which deserves a visit). Then a diesel pootles in from Aurillac, presumably heading for Clermont-Ferrand.
27895 Neussargues 2.8.25
Finally just in time our electric train trundles up the platform and there is a mad rush to the few doors. We scramble onboard, after just about everyone else gets off (because they do not want to make a return journey). Our nice electric surges off up-hill and I assume that the two diesel trains then head off to their destinations. Oddly the guard we had from Clermont-Ferrand remains with us for a large part of the journey. After checking my ticket earlier she and another passenger ensured I understood the need to change train at Neussargues – although of course it is theoretically a “through” train.
This line is known as either La Ligne d’Aubrac or La Ligne des Causses and the point of this trip is the scenic outlook. From Clermont-Ferrand to Neussargues it is mainly heavily wooded with river crossings passed far too rapidly to capture. Climbing to Neussargues my ears might have popped once but leaving the latter I think they then popped twice in rapid succession. The only seat I could find is facing backwards on the right side of the train and certainly for the hour after the change of train the wonderful landscapes are on the other side of the train. So I might have to go this way again. There are a couple of branch lines which deserve a visit in my view.
There are a number of highlights on the trip. Viaduc de Garabit was designed by Eiffel – but is not really visible from the train and not from the seat I had. A little later we pass close to Roquefort but bringing cheese back from France is not allowed at present. Finally we pass under the Millau viaduct which is an architectural wonder. Millau is also notable as a point where many of my fellow travellers leave the train – including the guard. Thereafter the train is largely empty. I suspect that the subsequent stations can be reached more speedily by the less direct routes. I am not sure anyone manages the entire trip with me.
Scenic route 2.8.25
By road it is 165 miles and I assume similar by rail. However it is 6 and a half hours – which is about 24 miles per hour. So it is a long slog. Of course there are numerous stops – but speeds are limited by curvature and gradients. However given that at least 2/3 of it from Clermont-Ferrand to Millau was largely full I am surprised that it is felt one train a day is adequate.
Viaduc de Millau 2.8.25
Some years ago we stayed in Carcassone and drove over the Viaduc de Millau as well as going across countryside to look at it. Today I managed to travel underneath it – the railway was here first. The service then passes through Roquefort although with only a single train a day it is not possible to leave the train and buy some.
Beziers is the end of the line for me and I had already decided that as the hotel is not immediately adjacent to the station that a taxi would be a good idea. As it turns out the town has something of a very large hill. No comments on the hotel as that was clearly a mistake.
Sunset Beziers 2.8.25
I did however get some lovely shots of the sunset after dinner.
Having spent a week on a Seine cruise (covered on the main holiday blog) this is an add-on excursion which is intended to visit some of the scenic French lines. I have about a 20 minute walk first – because the adjacent Ligne C station is closed for summer engineering works. On my walk I note a small siding where a freight is loading or unloading by crane – almost in the centre of Paris – it is a different world!
First panic of the day comes when I have to grapple with Navigo (the ticket system) at Balard, the next nearest Metro station, which is at one end of Ligne 8. With a case in front of me to push through I miss the green go signal and cannot then get through the gates as it believes I am already the other side of the gate at this station. I eventually cheat by following a family through a wider gate I should have used in the first place. At La Motte Picquet Grenelle station I change trains and lignes and at this point I do wonder if I am trying to do too much. If they have lifts or escalators in France they cannot be bothered to tell travellers and getting up to Ligne 6 proves a challenge with a heavy case. Once there I deliberately choose to travel in the wrong direction as this line crosses the Seine adjacent to the Eiffel Tower. Much of Ligne 6 is above ground allowing views of parts of Paris from above.
26034 Paris Bercy 1.8.25
Changing platforms and reversing direction at Trocadero proves to be another weightlifting challenge. I had dressed for the initial damp weather seen outside the boat earlier. However the sun is now out and the temperature is rising, particularly under a lightweight rain proof coat! In this direction Ligne 6 crosses the Seine twice before I alight at Bercy. Emerging from the Metro the main station is invisible – although it should be in front of me – pavement works completely block my view of the station entrance. Once in the station I have an hour to wait and I eventually find a seat and buy lunch before the train is announced. Judging by the descending horde it will run full.
Loco hauled we wind through the Paris suburbs initially alongside the TGV lines from Gare de Lyon and soon we are progressing at a decent speed. I get the iPad and phone connected to the on board wifi. Accepting the defaults on the iPad gives me a map of our route and when updated shows the current train location. Our train runs quite a bit of the journey at 120mph according to the speedometer on my phone.
A ticket check is satisfied by my seat reservation as at this point I have not worked out how to get the barcode of the ticket to appear on the phone within the Interrail app. Later I do find out how to do it and I am a little surprised it was not requested. However it should be a single tap (current journey or similar) and should be stored on the phone (see Sunday).
It is around 215 miles to Clermont-Ferrand taking 3.5 hours implying an average of just over 60mph. We pass towns and farms – primarily a lot of dairy farming country – plus the odd sunflower field. There is not that much wine growing along this route – nor that much grain – there has been some but it does appear that most of the local harvest has been completed.
I keep an eye on Jackie’s progress homeward and she is about 30 minutes late into St Pancras. Apparently she had some helpful guidance to platform A where her Thameslink arrived late coinciding with her arrival on the platform. I could see the train recovering time as it heads towards Redhill where she finds the lift doors open in front of her. It is a tight connection and as the lift arrives at the departure platform so does the train and she gets home as planned.
We run slightly late at one point (about 5 minutes) but we are marginally early when we reach Clermont-Ferrand. A lift down to the station subway is welcome – although there is a huge queue and it takes at most three people and cases at once! That takes me down to the underpass and there is an escalator up to road level (I later find that there is also a lift).
Steak frites 1.8.25
My hotel is across the road. Soon booked in and in my room with dinner booked for 7:30 downstairs – a nice steak and chips and a carafe of wine which goes down very well after the busy day.
Notes:
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.
Operations on the Day
After the usual shuffle from Sandhurst into Reading I now know that I have time to buy a ticket at the Excess window and make the connection into the Paddington train. Equally there is time at Liverpool Street to acquire some lunch before settling into the Aventra for trip to Marks Tey.
I have never previously used the Sudbury branch and nor have I previously encountered a class 755 Flirt bi-mode which is operating in diesel mode today. The lines heads largely northwards from Marks Tey to Sudbury mainly along the Stour valley. There has long been a preservation site at Chappel and Wakes Colne with one platform available to Anglia trains and the other used by the heritage railway. It is a pleasant run through the countryside. Sitting in the rear coach leaving either terminus however the short platforms require the passenger to walk forward before being able to disembark at the other terminal.
The power packs are in their own vehicle – but there is a corridor through to enable the other coaches to be accessed (or the exit as I discovered). Having the diesel engines located above the frames means that the adjacent vehicles are noisier – however the benefit is that the units sit lower and boarding is largely flat. They shake and rattle – about the same as a good condition Hampshire unit I would suggest – and other new units (class 196) are no different.
The line is supposedly marketed as the “Gainsborough” line although I do not see much evidence of this on my journey. Historically known as the Stour Valley line it used to run beyond Sudbury to Shelford via Haverhill with the line beyond Sudbury closing in 1967. Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury. Historically for some years the marketing name was “Lovejoy” after the similarly entitled television programme which was filmed around Sudbury.
Once back at Marks Tey it is time to head back – first to Witham and the line to Braintree. As I progress I note that there has been significant new housing just about everywhere expanding the villages and small towns – and the new station of Braintree Freeport for the adjacent shopping village. A second branch covered for the first time. At Witham there is a longer connection and so I have time to find the ticket office (on the bridge) and acquire a ticket for my trip along the branch.
720135 Braintree 30.5.25
The historic route ran from Maldon via Witham and Braintree to Bishops Stortford and I do wonder if these days serving those destinations would be useful – particularly the connection into the West Anglia Main Line. I can see the point of an extension here – although I suspect some of the route has been built over quite a bit remains as pedestrian route.
The services here are not an isolated branch line workings but are to and from London Liverpool Street using class 720 units. The line was converted to electric on 31 October 1977. Braintree Freeport station was opened in 1999 although the adjacent shopping location is no longer known by that name (now Braintree Shopping Village).
That means that I can stay on the train on return to Shenfield for the last trip today. I travelled to Southend Victoria some time in the late 1970’s but never took the route from Wickford to Southminster along the Crouch Valley which is what I do today. This was also the riskiest change as the timed connection at Shenfield is a minute. My train arrives slightly early and I had positioned myself in the hope of being close to the stairs to the subway – not quite perfect but close enough and I am at the platform as the train rolls in.
The Wickford – Southminster line was electrified in 1986 so once again is currently operated with Class 720 Aventras. As with the other branches visited today it is largely single track with a passing loop at North Fambridge.
Noticeable from the train today is that a lot of land has been given over to the growing of vines with significant wine production now being derived in the area. This development has been relatively recent I believe.
Historically the line was retained to permit the operation of trains to carry nuclear fuel to and from the transhipment station at Southminster but the traffic has ceased and it looks as if all of the track is completely out of use.
The return journey is via Wickford, Stratford where I join the Elizabeth line where they announce that I should change trains at Whitechapel for Reading – so I leave my train but there are no Reading trains listed so I take the next one to London Paddington just in case there is a problem with services – but about 4 trains later a Reading service turns up and permits a connection into my train home.
Costs / Ticket Checks
After the bargains achieved on some of my earlier expeditions through Advance tickets, rangers and the like everything today was on either Off Peak or Super Off Peak tickets.
Sandhust – Sudbury off peak return: £40.60
Witham – Braintree Super Off Peak Return: £4.95
Shenfield – Southminster Super Off Peak Return: £10.70
A total of £56.25 and 284 miles which is 19.8p per mile – which is one of the highest costs per mile on these trips. Not the best bargain but there was a lot of trundling along the slower branches – I was a little surprised that the mileage total was actually that high.
Ticket checks on Greater Anglia were good – out of Liverpool St and along the Sudbury and Braintree branches. I was unable to buy a ticket before travelling from Shenfield to Southminster and on the return trip to Wickford I thought for a while I was going to get away with free travel – but a ticket check (and an immediate explanation and purchase) from the guard (plus a friendly chat) shortly before arrival at Wickford ensured that there was no free travel today.
Rolling Stock
All the stock on Greater Anglia has been introduced in the last few years and the bi-mode Flirts being used on the branch lines have had a few problems but have displaced older stock which is welcome in itself. This was my first (and quite short) introduction to the bi-mode units – however they are unlikely to be worked that hard. I plan to revisit the Suffolk lines at some point and a longer journey may give a better chance to evaluate them.
Otherwise it was Aventra class 720s which appear to have settled down as workmanlike commuter stock. Obviously they are blessed with 3+2 seating which off peak is not needed but no doubt there are peak services where they are heavily occupied. They also appear to be pretty nippy and able to maintain some timings – quite a few services were able to snip time off the schedule without appearing to be working too hard – so a general timetable improvement may be possible
Summary
One thing which stood out again today was the generally excellent timekeeping – odd minutes here and there but generally things were running and observing the planned times. This is on a pretty busy railway which even off peak has quite a few trains. new stock helps as it should be reliable and on a warm sunny afternoon the weather is not likely to be a contributing problem. However whilst I noted one train not on time whilst at Witham the overall service appeared to be running well.
A good day out even if it was slightly more costly than some of my expeditions.
The Helston Railway is the heritage line sited furthest west in the country. They have now preserved a section of line about 1 1/4 mile long between Prospidnick and Truthall Halt. Services commence at Prospidnick which is a couple of miles from Helston and the line runs towards Helston. The line used to run from the GWR main line Gwinear Road – the station closing with the branch on 5 October 1964. So the line was dormant for a long time.
Prospidnick Halt was bult part of the preservation effort and there is some hope of a small extension a short distance further north at some point in the future. Access to Prospidnick is via Trevarno Farm passing through the farmyard before it opens into a slightly untidy space. The track here has a coach with a booking office and a buffet and the intention is to build a station here adjacent to the parking. At the moment having bought tickets we walk across the viaduct over the road below to Prospidnick platform from where the service train departs.
There is an intermediate station at Trevarno which was the original starting point of the heritage services but now is only a request stop and we did not stop here in either direction, I suspect there is next to no parking but some items of stock are stored here with other items needed for the railway.
Our destination is the aforementioned Truthall Halt which is an exact replica of the original GWR Halt and is 1 3/4 mile from Helston. It originally reopened in 1905 and was reopened in 2017. There have been plans for further extension but these seem unlikely at present – planned to a new terminus closer to Helston but this requires a large viaduct to be restored – some clearance of the track bed has been undertaken.
Andrew Barclay loco 446 Kingswood
Our transport has a diesel engine at the Prospidnick end of two coaches with a driver position at the front of a former DMU vehicle at the Truthall Halt end of the train. It is a very gentle journey through the countryside between the two. There have been a couple of seasons of steam haulage in recent years but for the moment trains are being handled by “Kingswood” an Andrew Barclay locomotive from 1959, works no 446, although I am not sure if it is owned by the railway or not. A suburban coach and the dmu driving trailer make up the consist.
The journey takes about 10 minutes, then 15 minutes to change ends (and we change coach) and then ten minutes or so back. All of the volunteers around are very friendly and there are a few other passengers this morning – although not a large number. Operations are on a limited number of days in the year so we are lucky to have included a bank holiday Monday in our week away to permit travel.
It provides a vision of how preservation worked for a long time – just a short line and a quick hop there and back – even shorter than the early Bluebell I suspect. Modern preservation is hugely business driven simply through size whereas here it feels mainly down to volunteers, although I suspect that it has needed a decent source of money to achieve what is here. It will be interesting to see if the extensions can be achieved and if the steam locomotive overhaul can be completed and returned to service – big challenges for a small railway.
