Now That The Weather Is Getting Better A Ride On A Train Can Be Extremely Good Fun, Especially If You Choose One Of The Many Historical Train Lines
The recent good weather inspired my best friend to take the decision that we should have a day out and do something we hadn’t done before. She had noticed an article about the Watercress Line heritage railway line which was rescued by volunteers in the 1970’s and has over the years become a popular tourist attraction in the area. It runs via four stations covering roughly ten miles of Hampshire countryside, and you can buy a ticket which lets you get on and off as many times as you like during that day’s opening times.
Having got to bed exceptionally late the previous evening, we decided to depart by noon so that we didn’t miss the train that left at one o’clock. A variety of trains are pulled by steam locomotives and the others by diesel engines, and we wanted to ensure that we got on one of the steam trains.
We leave from the station in Alresford. The station building has been perfectly restored in pre-second world war style, and all of the friendly staff are dressed in smart costumes. In fact, most are not employed staff, but are some of the volunteers who are so passionate about trains and railways that they make use of their spare time being a member of the team who take care of the numerous of individuals who visit whenever it is open.
The train gets going and we leave the station en route to the second stop at Ropley. The building here recreates a Southern Region station from around 1948. The platforms themselves are beautifully kept and are home to some fantastic topiary. Just outside of the station is an engineering area, where employees and volunteers together are working on the renovation of quite a few locomotives and carriages. The selection of carriages on the train we’re seated on are a number of different styles and have already been refurbished. It’s good to know that the work is still taking place so that even more of a variety of rolling stock can be involved in the future.
Following Ropley, the next stop is Medstead And Four Marks, which is also kitted out in a post-war style. Medstead is the highest spot on the Watercress Line and is also the railway station which is the furthest above sea level in the area of the south of England, and back in the days when steam was the only kind of train transport, the drivers and train crew used to describe going over the peak at Medstead as ‘going over the Alps’. These days there is a sign at the highest point which details this.
Onwards from Medstead and we have arrived in Alton, the last stop, although this station is also used by South West Trains, so you can get the mainline train to London from here. We have a quick stretch of our legs on Alton station platform and then rejoin the train for the journey back which departs about a quarter of an hour later.
The trip back to Alresford is a little more eventful as the steam engine pulling our train has been encountering problems all day long and so gives up totally even with the best attempts of the crew to keep it moving. In the end a diesel engine is deployed to take both the steam engine and its carriages back to our start point. So we were part of the rather unique experience of going, not just on a steam train or a diesel train, but by both types of engine at the same time!
The Watercress Line does a great job of reminding us of the old style railway network, and to be honest, the old trains have loads of charm when held up against the sleek rolling stock that we are used to these days. But then nostalgia is always appealing to those who wish for the ‘good old days’.
I must be honest, I can get both attitudes. A steam train is wonderful fun for a quiet afternoon passing time with friends, but if I need to get into London in a hurry for my job, I’d much sooner depend on the high speed train link that can take me to St Pancras in not even twenty minutes at speeds in excess of one hundred miles per hour. Also, I’d want to hold on to my automatic washing machine instead of having to rely on a washboard and a mangle, given the option I’d sign up for Laser eye surgery rather than using glasses which are always getting smeary and can get damaged easily, and I would undoubtedly much rather communicate to people by email than have no choice than to hand write all of my letters.
But of course, there are plenty of people who were about in the days of steam and quite possibly long for the friendly service they got in those days. They wouldn’t wish to use a computer to keep in touch with friends because it will not seem personal to them and they couldn’t agree to Laser eye treatment because they are worried that it would go wrong, all of which is totally understandable for individuals who were born decades before computers and Laser eye treatments appeared.
All in all I would thoroughly recommend a trip on the Watercress Line. They also arrange lunch trips, evening meals and themed visits for both adults and children, and if you really decide to treat a loved one, you can buy them a day working on the trains or as a signalman. (That may be when the Laser eye surgery would be useful. At least you wouldn’t find yourself with soot all over your glasses!)
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