A guided tour of Swanage Depot
Photo: R J Heron 08-Jun-02
Photo: R J Heron 08-Jun-02
The 2002 Bristol Group Annual Mini Roadmotor Group Outing - The Lord of the Isles - took us to the Swanage Railway, the Isle of Wight Railway and the Mid Hants Railway.
An account of Bristol Group's overseas tour
by Martin Baker
From the Great Western Echo - Number 160 (Winter 2002)
Overseas? The Isle of Wight? Well to quote Uncle Albert, “You want to try walking there mate!”
This particular tour was arranged in response to the customer survey issued at the end of our 'Sou'Easter' outing last year. Admittedly the question was loaded, i.e. “Do you want to go to the Swanage Railway, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the Watercress line next year?” Our clientele is far too polite to decline offers like that, so I spent the Christmas/New Year break planning just such a tour, which was to run with the title ' The Lord of the Isles'. And yes, the plural is correct, as during the weekend we would also be visiting the Isle of Purbeck!
Among those travelling were many of our regulars, plus some who were experiencing a rolling Bristol Group meeting for the first time. These included Maurice and Ann, the well known Didcot footplate double-act, and Terry McCarthy and son from South Wales. Another Group first was the acquisition of a passenger via the Internet!
It would not be a Group outing without some sort of cock-up on the catering front; this year's occurred quite early on, after we breezed into the Warminster by-pass branch of Little Chef. The first thing that usually happens is that one is accosted by a spotty youth demanding whether tea or coffee (which is all we wanted anyway) is preferred. Not on this occasion, we were resolutely ignored for the best part of 20 minutes, at which point we walked out.
On then to Norden on the Swanage Railway. Knowledge of the back roads through Melbury Abbas and the short cut at Spetisbury (deep in S&D territory!) got us there in good time. Which was just as well, because the booking clerk was completely confused by our party being slightly different in both volume and mix from that originally planned. A short difference of opinion ensued, during which the SR was modestly overpaid for the ticket issued.
We then met up with an old friend of the Group, John Lakey. John used to be the Group's secretary back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth, he is now a passed fireman on the SR and had arranged for us all to have footplate rides during the day on No. 34072 257 Squadron. In fact, as it was not yet his shift, the first rides were courtesy of driver Roland Kennington, of Flying Scotsman fame.
To accommodate all those who wanted footplate rides, some liberties had to be taken with the group travel warrant we had been issued with. Luckily, the TTIs also change shift around lunchtime! Anyway, we were guests of the driver. I enjoyed a run down from Norden in the fireman's seat, having assumed the duties of Chief Whistleblower for the many level crossings.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to this particular bit of Dorset, and it was a case of everybody back on the bus for the run to Shell Bay and the first boat trip of the weekend. For those not familiar, the ferry is of the chain variety; it has no independent propulsion, its engines wind in two fixed chains to pull it along. In this case the chains are draped across the bottom of the entrance to Poole Harbour, famously attacked by the Japanese in 1941.
Another short road section took us to Lymington, and the first 'real' ship of the tour. The crossing to Yarmouth was millpond-smooth under clear skies.
Again, the evening in Ryde was 'free' . Most of us went for the pre-arranged option of dinner in a pub in Shanklin. And what better way to get there than on the Island Line's 1937 tube stock? And at a bargain fare of £2 return to boot. A mile's walk from the station to build up the appetite, and a mile back to walk off the calories absorbed - that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Our tickets allowed us to travel through to Ryde Esplanade and out to the Pier Head and back, which was nice. Incidentally, Ryde Pier Head is probably my own earliest steam memory; I remember standing there in nineteen-sixty-not-telling-you when there were two 'O2s' in the platform.
The following morning we set off on the short journey to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at Havenstreet. We were made very welcome at Havenstreet, being treated to a guided tour of the loco shed and works before our (O2 hauled) round trip. The standard of workmanship here is truly exemplary; everything but everything (except the diesel shunter) is of pre-grouping origin, and its amazing to think that items of coaching stock of that vintage are used on an everyday basis. Our reserved accommodation was in a saloon coach that really did look ex-works, and another example about to be outshopped just oozed varnish ... . Bearing in mind this line truly is in a tourist area, the standard of maintenance and cleanliness must be held up as an example to us all.
On return to Havenstreet we were generously allowed to visit the signalbox, which was at least interesting to the 30% of our party who are regular signalmen at Didcot! The example at Havenstreet is very different from Radstock or Frome; for a start it is at ground level, and has fixtures and fittings rather alien to the Great Western way of doing things. Still it was nice to see an alternative method and have the various release levers explained.
So, a reluctant goodbye to the IOWSR and on to the final leg of the tour. By the time we left Fishbourne on the ferry to Portsmouth the weather had closed in a bit and the rain was falling. to make matters worse, we were delayed getting into our berth at Portsmouth, which meant we were on plan 'B' for the Mid-Hants Railway. This entailed travelling on a later train and binning the proposal for a 'photographer's chasing bus', a shame as this was a gala weekend for the MHR ... . Never mind, another day, another Spam Can as we were hauled from Alresford to Alton and back by No. 34016 Bodmin, completing a full set of SR Haulage for the weekend. Also seen were No. 5029 Nunney Castle at Ropley undergoing attention following its hot box incident in Penzance the previous month and No. 5024 King Edward 1 running-in prior to resuming main-line duties.
Back at Alresford we found the 'bobby' to be friendly and another quick 'box visit was hastily arranged. However, this was another railway that was reluctant to sell us tea! As with the K&ESR last year, the cafe was found to be closed well before the last train of the day was due. So, after dropping Maurice and Ann off at Newbury we transferred the revenue to the delightful surroundings of Membury Services! Conversation here confirmed that all had enjoyed their holiday, which makes the effort of arranging it all so worthwhile.
So, what of next year? Well, as a bit if a toe-dip, we're seriously considering running trips on two weekends in 2003. In June we intend another weekend tour ('The Cambrian Coast Excess') to the Ffestiniog, Welsh Highland (newly extended to Rydd Ddu) and Llangollen lines. The second outing, in September, will be a 'double-day' affair, with separate outings to the Big Pit Mining Museum, The Pontypool and Blaenavon and the Dean Forest railways (provisional title: 'The Miner Excursion') on the one day, then to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and the Severn Valley Railway on the other. By this time the GWR will have been extended to Cheltenham racecourse. Details will appear in the GWS national newsletter in due course.