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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Handling the service trains interworked with the special services 30506 which managed to get captured as it was working along the line.