Our last visit was on a warm sunny day in
June - today was much cooler, gloomy at
first. Things brightened up later, once the
sun was in the wrong place...
This was a lazy visit. On previous occasions,
photography has been the prime purpose -
today, we took it easy, with a couple of rides
down the lines (one on each...) and a circuit of
the garden. There were conversations to be had, bacon baps to
eat...
As a result, I’ve no idea exactly how many locomotives were in
steam. Lots, as usual, but no newcomers or visitors that we were
aware of. The three big engines operated the new 2’0” gauge
line, as in June. Today’s difference was the extended track - the
concrete-embedded tramway still ends at Oak Tree Halt, but
beyond, plain track now extends as far as the balloon loop at the
far end of the line. Here, three sets of new pointwork sat on flat
wagons, ready for installation... It will be interesting to see
what transpires between now and next March...
As an interesting diversion from the railway, September brings a
gathering of traction engines, steam rollers etc. to Statfold, and
they were of course duly inspected. Traction engine rallies
always feel somewhat laid-back, and so were we by this time. As
a result, it was only as we drove away that I
realised we hadn’t checked out the contents of
the shed beside the traverser, nor had we
visited the workshops. And that big Plymouth
diesel, standing in the usual spot for new
arrivals, remained unphotographed. We’ll have
to come back next year...
Link:
Statfold Barn Railway
