midford - more precision surveying!

Some excellent information re Midford from Nick Howes.

Have discovered, from photos and stay anchor measurements that the 206 linear yard distance of the upper inner home bracket and consequent 5 push dummy in the 6 foot way is the c. pre 1933 measurement. Sometime in the 30s or 40s the upper inner home was moved some 20 yards south.

5 pull, wrong road arm on the platform is actually 47 linear yards from the box not 35.

49’3” 8 arch viaduct spans are the 1873 measurement. Encased in brick on doubling, reduced the spans to 48’10”, not corrected on the civil engineers returns.

Distance of wrong road arm/down home on long arch bridge is correct if you take the rodding run measurement, not the linear point to point measurement along the track as it snakes up the cutting face and over the top of the long arch bridge at 90 degrees.

concrete wall between the signalbox and station building is not original and about 5 feet further north than it used to be.

looking ahead - midford

Having done an intense 3 day photo and measuring study of every facet of Midford, I firmly believe this is room for a single track railway and cyclepath from north of Tucking Mill viaduct to Wellow Trekking Centre, excepting a diversion for cyclists before Midford goods yard, over Long Arch bridge and along Midford platform. Hope and Anchor patrons can park on the site of Midford B goods yard.

The formation between Long Arch bridge south portal cutting slope and Midford platform is 25 feet wide minimum, 15 feet for railway and 10 for slewed to edge of drop-off cycle path, with appropriate fencing and masonry.

Pway materials (30 feet flat bottom, sleepers and ballast) could be delivered to “A” goods yard and the crane / loading gauge, weighbridge and huts put back with 2 box vans.

Thanks to Nick Howes for this.

midford tomorrow

There will be a work party at Midford tomorrow (17.6.2012) from 10.30am. Please try to get along! Spetisbury is taking the day off for Fathers' Day.

the perfect present

One of our members has emailed to say that when his daughter asked what he would like for Father's Day this coming weekend he asked her to make a £10 donation to our Track Fund Appeal. He hopes his other children will follow suit! I realise that the way I have arranged the email listing alphabetically means I cannot differentiate between our male and female members, not those who have no children but if you are in the same position as our member he has asked me to commend this as a possible way of helping the Trust. Over to all Dads!

John Baxter

Vice Chairman, S&DRHT

can you help?

WANTED

Articles and photos (S&D related) for the New S&D's RIGHT LINES magazine, which is being relaunched as a quality glossy from issue 3 (available June/July 2012)

Please send to

hendersongrant23@o2.co.uk by latest Monday 18 June 2012 at 17:00.


New S&D chairman's report

This will be appearing in the New S&D's magazine, 'RIGHT LINES', in a few weeks' time. Hopefully it boils down the last six months activity and I haven't missed anything!

Chairman's Report

June 2012

It's fantastic that Philip Marsh and Grant Henderson have formed an editorial team to produce a magazine twice a year. I was well aware that members living a distance from the line were not really getting value for money for their membership fee, but until people stepped forward we were rather stuck! Can I ask all of you to try to provide articles and letters, and send in photos for the next edition.

Another relatively new member, Dean Cockwell, has worked wonders down at Spetisbury, negotiating with Dorset County Council and getting a team together to restore the station.

Up at Midford Tom and Stuart Seale have done sterling work rescuing this most iconic station from the undergrowth - work on rebuilding the station is now not too far away. Other members (even myself!) have helped as well, but 95% of the work has been done by the Seales.

Both Spetisbury and Midford will be rebuilt to serve as information offices for the whole line and will also have shops to make each site self-financing.

We have also approached Network Rail Property to see if Templecombe box will become available for lease at some time in the future. Whilst the site is currently still within NR's Operational area, it may well switch to Commercial at some time in the future, at which point we could negotiate to take on this site with a similar role to that of Spetisbury and Midford but with the added attraction of a Network line running past the front door.

The branches meanwhile are still in deep sleep, despite the potential of Wells, Glastonbury, Burnham and the Glastonbury Festival sites all being on route. If any of you would like to get something started on the branches please let us know! We are here to help local initiatives get started.

We've had an influx of new officers join the committee, some with fixed roles and others as general members. Thank you all for agreeing to get involved at this level!

Elsewhere on the S&D all three established sites - Midsomer Norton, Shillingstone and Gartell - have recently laid extra track, and now Midsomer Norton has joined Gartell in running regular passenger trains. Midsomer Norton is an absolute gem and a credit to all of those who have helped make this happen.

On the Sunday before the Jubilee holiday, ALL five S&D sites had work being done on them, running trains, rebuilding etc. What a turn around from the dark 80s and 90s when hardly anything was happening! The S&D was a line destined to live forever, or as close as possible, and the closure was stupid. But back in the 60s people had other priorities and a very different view of the future, expecting to be getting around in flying cars or jet packs, eating space paste from tubes!

The last five to ten years have seen some amazing developments in the railway field, from huge passenger loadings on the Network, through the building of Tornado, the rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway and the incredible sight (in Porthmadog) of regular steam passenger trains running through the streets.

Many lines that missed the first and second waves of preservation now have groups determined to rebuild them. The Glyn Valley Tramway in Wales for example, the Helston branch and the missing link between Bodiam and Robertsbridge - did even the most optimistic of us really think these things would happen? And in 2014 a good proportion of the Waverley line will be reopened, a reinstatement that required the demolition of many homes built on the trackbed since closure.

This is the background in which we need to set the S&D revival. The world is changing, the oil is running out and we've all seen the effects of climate change over the past few years. Meanwhile the roads continue to deteriorate and many people are giving up their cars. And this is before the cost of fuel even begins to really impact on most of us.

In 20 years the railway map of Britain will be much expanded, the S&D will be well on the road to complete reopening, there will be new build routes opening up as well as many of the Beeching cuts reversed. We do blend heritage and 'real' running, but all lines will eventually if they are to survive. It won't be easy by any means, and there will be upsets and hold ups on the way, but remember that it will get easier as each day passes!

Steve Sainsbury MA

Chair

midsummer at midsomer

 

Please share, repost or even print and distribute the 'Midsummer at Midsomer' poster. This is one of the Trust's principle weekend events - the more visitors the better.

midsomer norton in june

Some excellent shots of the amazing progress being made at Midsomer Norton, the north end of the Mendip Mainline Project. The DMU is now running passenger services every Sunday and the line will soon be further extended southwards towards Chilcompton.

Thanks for permission to use these shots via the Somerset and Dorset Railway Facebook group - well worth joining!

trackbed trespassers removed ...

Houses at Gorebridge, south of Edinburgh, are demolished to make way for the new Waverley route.

In accordance with my new policy, an article on the use of CPOs to clear trespassers from the Waverley route appears here on my new blog!

get involved!

Dear Member

Proposed Bath Area Group

You may have seen the article by the Chairman in the latest S&D Telegraph proposing the establishment of area groups, which it has been further suggested could run jointly with the other S&D societies. The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust has had an area group in Bath, run jointly with the Swanage Railway, for a number of years. Two of the present organisers are standing down this summer and with declining attendances at meetings it is proposed to discontinue the group. However there would appear to be an opportunity to continue the group by making it joint with the S&DRHT, provided sufficient interest exists.

The final meeting of the existing group is an evening of member’s presentations on Monday 2^nd July, 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church Hall, Bathwick Hill, Bath (at junction with Pulteney Road). The hall is to the right of the church, a small car park to the left, but further parking available in the streets off Bathwick Hill. You are invited to come along to the meeting if interested in the continuation as a joint group, in particular if you are willing to help with the ongoing organisation of the group. Please invite any others you may know who would be interested and contact me if you are interested in assisting but are unable to attend the meeting.

Yours sincerely

Mike Beale

Reply-To: Michael Beale <cate_mike_beale@yahoo.co.uk>

spetisbury progress

(All copyright Dean Cockwell)

Eleven shots giving some idea of the progress being made at Spetisbury over this bank holiday period. As well as clearance some artefacts from the original line have been recovered.

The Spetisbury Team are planning to put a cabin on site for storage and shelter.

Spetisbury was just one of the Famous Five S&D sites being restored or operated over the long bank holiday period. There is now restoration and rebuilding taking placve all along the route, frpm Spetisbury in the south to Midford in the north.

separated ...

The 'Dying roads, Vibrant rail' blog is now up and revived. This is a revamped 'Transition Transport' blog so already has a fair amount of content. This new blog will have news from line revival schemes, small and large, standard and narrow gauge, from around the UK and further afield. It will also look at the slow death of roads, historical aspects of transport, Peak Oil, climate change and the economic situation, all of which are interlinked.

Dying roads, vibrant rail can be found here.

velvet divorce

The S&D is now developing so quickly that I feel this blog should from now on ONLY report on the S&D, and perhaps on wider issues that affect the line directly.

Accordingly I'll be setting up a new blog within days concentrating on rail developments other than on the S&D, particularly line reopenings and plans for new lines in the UK. I would welcome contributors to this new blog who are actively involved in some of these projects - please email me on leysiner@aol.com so I can add you to the contributors' list. Obviously I'll welcome any news, links, pictures etc on rail developments outside the S&D, please use the same email. If you want to promote a new line group don't hesitate to contact me!

It's clear that we need a massive programme of line reopenings and completely new lines to survive the huge upheavals ahead of us. Hopefully the new blog will play a small part in helping this to happen!

super sunday!

This Sunday will see action at all FIVE S&D sites - Midford and Spetisbury both have work parties (see sidebar for contacts), Midsomer Norton and Gartell will be running trains and Shillingstone will be doing their thing.

This is the first time this has happened since closure and such a hive of activity is a credit to all of you who have supported the S&D since the misguided attempt to close the line back in 1966. Did anyone seriously think the S&D wouldn't be back? It's taken a while, and we've all had to cross that belief barrier, but no one would now deny that the S&D is returning, yard by yard, station by station, and one day we'll be able to travel from Bath to Bournemouth again by train.

I'm even planning to get up to Midford myself this Sunday - which will be a real treat!

gartell this weekend

Well yes... yes - it is that time again

This Sunday 3rd June we are running the Gartell Light Railway with the NEW LINE WELL AND TRULY OPEN!!

We are even running a 'more interesting' timetable which should allow trains to cross at the flyover, something we believe is unique on the Steam Scene in this country.

So bring along your friends and relatives and have a pleasant and relaxing day out with us.

REMEMBER! If you come by bicycle, Adults and Seniors are just £5!!

Please pass this message on to everyone in your address book that lives within 50 miles of Templecombe - and ask them to do the same.

Oh and if you have SatNav, our postcode is BA8 0NB

See you there!

the future v the past

Of all the rail closures in the UK, after the S&D, the Lewes-Uckfield was possibly the most insane. The line was a superb alternative for London-Brighton trains and should have been massively developed for this reason alone. It also serves a number of commuter towns.

This short stretch was closed in 1969 against huge opposition. It turned a through route into a branch line and I don't think it's stretching a point too much to state that the plan was to close the whole route, bit by bit.

With Peak Oil now upon us this line needs to be reopened NOW. The people of East Sussex have NEVER accepted this moronic closure, and never will, and since the day the line closed there have been calls for its reopening. The need now is greater than ever.

So get it open, double it throughout and electrify it, and start running some through trains from Brighton to London, and prepare for a freight boom.

And as for a road blocking a route 'forever' - forget it! This road will be empty within 20 years so the line can just be built across it. No one will care.

Labour Lords condemn rail-wrecking road by ‘greenest Government ever’

• 
• 

Published on Tuesday, 08 May 2012 08:10

“The DfT must overrule this further attempt to block forever the extension of the line to Lewes” – Lord Berkeley

Following the Labour Lords’ Chief Whip’s denunciation of East Sussex County Council’s damaging road proposal at Uckfield, Lord Berkeley has roundly criticized David Cameron’s Government for not only its support for the Tory-led county council’s intended gyratory scheme, but also its disinterest in reopening the railway south of Uckfield.

Labour Peer, Lord Berkeley, CEng; MICE; FRSA; FCIT; Hon.FIMechE; Hon DSc(Btn); OBE;  has had a distinguished career in civil engineering with firms such as Wimpey and culminating in ten years with Eurotunnel – undoubtedly the greatest UK transport project of the twentieth century. As he remarked to us: “I am a civil engineer who has built the odd road and railway!”

Writing in the latest (June) issue of The Railway Magazine, he draws attention to the Government’s encouragement to Network Rail to increase capacity by reopening lines where strategically important and asks – “So why is the Government apparently hell-bent on resisting calls to reopen the Lewes–Uckfield line?”

Lord Berkeley told the Wealden Line Campaign this week: “I have always suspected the business case for the reopening” and, like many of us, understands how it was gradually narrowed-down until it focused primarily upon usage between Lewes and Uckfield, thereby obviating its obvious regional function.

He added: “This completely fails to take into account not only the growth in demand from this part of Sussex to London, but also the fact that even now the existing line is operating at capacity. How otherwise will the network cope with the expected 20% increase in passenger traffic over ten years?”

Rail Minister Theresa Villiers, who is noticeably coming in for increasing criticism, admitted only recently that the Government has no long-term solution for the overloaded Brighton Line. Other than introducing a swingeing congestion charge for peak-hour travel, it has no idea how to expand capacity on busy routes from the south into London. This is an extremely important issue because rail projects take several years to complete and require leadership and strategic planning.

Turning to ESCC’s destructive road scheme, Lord Berkeley said in the Railway Magazine: “It appears that East Sussex County Council only believes in roads (the more the better) and its preferred option of cutting off forever any chance of reopening this line is by driving a new road at formation level through the middle of Uckfield, a plan that appears to be supported by the Tory-led Government, presumably on the basis that myopic localism by its car-loving residents takes precedence over the greener travel ambitions of the rest of the country and beyond.”

Two years ago David Cameron claimed he wanted the new coalition administration to be: “the greenest government ever” – but here we have transport policies belonging to the Beeching era and the car-crazy 1960s.

Lord Berkeley advised: “In any design of a new road across the rail formation at Uckfield, it is essential that space is left for a two-track railway and 12-car station, and that the road must bridge the route of the line so that, if and when the line is reinstated, no changes to the road will be necessary.”

As depicted here, Network Rail’s Engineering Study of 2008 shows how critical the station site remains to reopening the line to the Sussex Coast, not least because the present cramped, single-line terminus platform straddles the former Down Main Line.

Citing the Rail Minister’s backing for the road across Network Rail’s new station site and the trackbed, Lord Berkeley told us: “I cannot understand how Theresa Villiers can make these statements when it is clear that the line cannot be reopened with a decent station unless the County Council changes its ideas.”

Labour’s Chief Whip, Lord Bassam of Brighton, who has been similarly critical about ESCC, has said this week: “I believe Network Rail should be carrying out an urgent, detailed and independent assessment of BML2 – free from the influence of East Sussex County Council.”

the old order ...

Watchdog 'worry' on council-run rail lines

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Western Morning News

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A passenger campaign group has said it is "very worried" about proposals which could see more control over railways passed down to local authorities.

Devon County Council's cabinet will next week examine its preferred options on a Government consultation of devolution of the train network. But Chris Irwin, chairman of passenger group Travelwatch South West, said he had grave concerns over several aspects of the proposal.

1. ​

He said: "In principle it's a great idea, but in practice I'm very worried about it."

Cornwall Council has already indicated it is broadly interested in the ability to control certain aspects of the train network system, which could include timetabling, setting fares, deciding where investment should be made and, potentially, deciding to reopen stations that are currently closed. The consultation is part of a wider overhaul planned for the country's rail network, after fares were found to be 30 per cent too high compared to elsewhere in Europe. It is hoped decentralisation would help improve value for money.

But Mr Irwin questioned whether funding would still be available to renew equipment and infrastructure, and said: "In this climate of frozen council tax and so on, the answer to that is probably 'no'."

He also raised concerns over what would happen when a passenger crossed local authority boundaries, if it was also passing from one operator to another. And he said: "Local authorities have been slimmed down over the past few years. Have they still got the competence within them to manage these services?"

He said Devon and Cornwall were possible exceptions that could have the expertise, but said: "Somerset County Council is one example where transport expertise has been denuded."

In Devon, the council has previously voiced hopes that devolution could provide an opportunity to progress its vision of a Devon metro transport system which would involve bringing all rail services in the county together under a single brand. It would involve a new service from Okehampton to Exeter and the reopening of the line from Plymouth and Bere Alston to Tavistock.

On Wednesday, the cabinet will consider a range of options, which include local authorities being able to take control of specific areas under a single franchise awarded to one operator. It would allow the council to invest its own money to supplement improvements to certain aspects of the service.

Council officers have said the idea is "workable", but warned that it would rely on a good budget settlement from Government, and that future growth of the network should not sap council coffers.

Another "workable" option is that "micro-franchises" could be tendered for particular areas within the main franchise. But officers have warned that interlinking lines benefit passengers, and so the option was unlikely to improve the situation in Devon.

The Government consultation is part of a far-reaching overhaul of the service, designed to make efficiency savings across the network.

To my mind all these attempts to bring a degree of government (in the broad sense of the word) control of railways is just more interference and meddling by people who simply don't have a clue what they are doing.

Free railway companies from the controls that are currently on them (franchising, leasing arrangements, government decreed fares etc) and they will soon fill the need locally. Businesses like to expand, in the current and permanent no-growth state we find ourselves in railways will be one of the few businesses that WILL be able to expand, along with organic farming, crafts, timber and railway/tramway equipment construction. The market needs to be allowed to operate. The New S&D, forward-looking as always, wants to be the prime example of this new type of business - sustainable, community owned and operated, innovative and inspirational.

Too many people still think its the 1980s, and it's time to put to one side tiny schemes to reopen stations or upgrade routes - nothing less than a wholesale construction of thousands of miles of new railways and tramways will enable us to switch from the Oil Age to the Post Oil Age without huge upheavals.

The most important part of the above article is the (rather obvious!) need to reinstate the Okehampton-Tavistock-Bere Alston line, the biggest no-brainer of all!

s & d lives

David Milton and Paul Fry: Loss Of Two Somerset and Dorset Railway Greats

The deaths of two of Somerset and Dorset Railways greatest champions were announced with great sadness recently; to lose any one person who supported the cause and stuck with it from the beginning is always incredibly sad, but to lose two within a few weeks of each other is devastating. Here we recall the lives and work of David Milton and Paul Fry.

David Milton

David Milton was well known to rail enthusiasts in the South West as the “Voice Of Dorset” and lent his voice to commentating on rallies within the county, most famously at the Great Dorset Steam Fair, which is one of many such events held throughout the southern half of the country.

Perhaps his most noted achievement was the salvage and upkeep of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 2-8-0 Locomotive Number 88 which was rescued at a cost of £2,500 from Barry Scrap yard, and originally used as a haulage train for coal and heavy goods and to collect parcels and deliver them to their rightful destinations. The train was finally released in July 1970.

David also held the distinction of being one of the only remaining members of the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust (when it was originally names the Somerset and Dorset Railway Circle) who had been there since it’s incarnation in 1966. He at one time held the three positions of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. A well respected author of some note, he wrote many articles for the Trust’s Bulletin. He also produced a book entitled “A History of the Somerset and Dorset 7F 2-8-0s”. In the mid 1970s, David also worked with Donald Bradley on a publication entitled “Somerset and Dorset Locomotive History” and in 1975 a collaboration with RS McNaught brought forth the book “The Golden Age of Steam Locomotives of The Great Western and Somerset and Dorset Joint Railways”, which is still available for purchase from Amazon, link here.

It was during the 1980s at the time when the Great Dorset Steam Fair was held at Stourpaine Bushes that David was asked if he would consider commentating on the event, organisers were thrilled when he agreed and the tradition carried on along with colleagues Malcolm Fleet and the late Gerry Burr.

That David should have had an interest in the railways was of little surprise to anyone. His father was FW Milton who had himself spent his entire working life on the Somerset and Dorset Railways working most assiduously on the line between Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea, eventually becoming the Supervising Goods Foreman in Glastonbury.

David chose a career in Engineering and at one time owned his own steam locomotive engine. He was a popular and well respected member of the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust and will be missed by all his friends and colleagues there.

He died at the age of seventy eight in Yeovil Hospital and leaves behind his wife, Barbara and daughter Jenni. His funeral was held in Yeovil on 4^th April 2012 at St Leonard’s Church, Butleigh, near Glastonbury.

Paul Fry

It is also with sadness we report the death of Paul Fry, who also passed away at the age of seventy eight this year. Also a notable author on railways and locomotives in Somerset, he wrote a book called “Railways Into Wells”, again which is still available for purchase from Amazon here, and is dedicated to the memory of his late father GWC Fry (known as Bob) who worked as a Guard on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. He also, like David contributed many articles to the Bulletin journal and was a very well respected member of the Wells Railway Fraternity. He was also a trained member of the St John’s Ambulance and noted for his first aid skills.

Paul’s father “Bob” held the distinction (along with David Milton) of being one of the passengers on the last train from Glastonbury to Wells, the journey of which took place in 1951.

Just as with David, Paul’s contribution to the upkeep, promotion and support of The Somerset and Dorset Joint District Railway should not be underestimated. Both these characters will be very sadly missed and our thoughts and best wishes are with their families and friends at this sad time.

Article kindly supplied by Anna Redding.

time to end trackbed trespass

Housing plan on old railway land is turned down over lane safety worries

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Shepton Mallet Journal

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A controversial scheme to build 10 homes on former railway land at the end of Shepton Mallet’s narrow Hitchen Lane has been thrown out by Mendip’s Planning Board after fierce objections from the town council and residents.

Now a call has been made for a proper development brief to be drawn up for the whole area stretching between the Townsend Retail Park and the Ridgeway Estate along what was the former Wells to Shepton railway track.

More than 50 people packed into the meeting last week to hear the outcome of the scheme put forward by Mr G Taylor and Ms T Follett which attracted 43 letters of objections and a petition signed by 134 people.

Shepton Mallet Town Council had recommended refusal on the grounds of highway safety, inadequate sewerage arrangements and the possible obstruction to the Strawberry Line East Project – the proposed multi user path along the disused railway line running through the site.

Other concerns voiced at the meeting ranged from the area being a breeding ground for protected slowworms to flooding fears, loss of trees, loss of play space and allegations of contaminated land.

But the biggest concerns voiced were about the safety to pedestrians and queries about how the narrow Hitchen Lane, which has no pavement, could possibly cope with any increased two way traffic.

The resident’s arguments about the plans for five pairs of semi-detached houses were aired forcibly by their spokesman Graham Brown. Mr Brown lives in the narrow Hitchen Lane which leads to the site – and is also Shepton Town Council’s clerk as well as the town’s fire chief.

To huge applause from residents he urged the planning board to refuse the application on highways safety grounds and on the grounds that the scheme was unacceptable piecemeal development.

But despite the huge concerns about highway safety planning officer Laura McKay said that Somerset County Council highway’s department had raised no objections to the scheme at all.

And applicant Paul Kenny said passing places for vehicles would be created at strategic points along the lane.

Shepton’s town, district and county councillor John Parham said there was a desperate need for more housing in Shepton Mallet. But he said that whole area needed to be looked at as a whole not just one small part and a different access via Station Road would be far more sensible and safe.

Having the narrow carriageway of Hitchen Lane being shared by pedestrians and traffic was he warned: “An accident waiting to happen.”

He said: “Hitchen Lane is barely acceptable now for its users.”

And Councillor Nigel Taylor said they did not want to be part of any decision that “could result in a child’s death.”

Councillor Peter Bradshaw said when he walked up the lane he had to jump into the hedge to avoid a passing vehicle.

The plans were refused unanimously by the planning board on safety grounds because of the highway dangers. And councillors agreed that it was time that a proper planning brief should be drawn up for the preferred development they would like to see for that whole area rather than one small part of it.

It does seem amazing that in 2012 there are STILL some idiots out there who seriously propose new trackbed trespasses that can only end in tears when the Cheddar Valley line is inevitably put back in.

It really does make you wonder if they are just stupid or simply too cut off from reality to realise what they are doing. In this case safety issues were brought into play, but surely it's now time for the government to boldly and simply state - as they have for the S&D - NO more trackbed trespass.

midford last sunday

Looking as good as new - amazing to think that a couple of years ago this was totally overgrown!

(All pics copyright Tom Seale)

Latest report from Tom Seale - I'm hoping to get along myself on the next work party day. It's amazing how much the site has changed over the last couple of years!

Myself and Dad were down at Midford again yesterday doing a bit of routine maintenance activities.

Dad brought his strimmer down and cut the growth either side of the cycleway and on the bank above the station.

It's nice to see increasing wild flower growth on the cleared areas, chief among them were some bluebells growing on the bank.

Whilst dad was avoiding cutting down bluebells I cleared the gutter on the northen end of the platform, it's nice to see this area now looking properly tidy.

 We also re-cleared the base of the oil store, it was a cracking day weather wise, I even managed a sun burn.