Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2008-08-17 07:49:26 - Graham Ellis
After Dr Beeching and with the demise of steam traction on our mainline railways, a wide selection of preserved lines (re)opened using the old track, or the old trackbed where it had to be relayed. These lines had been closed under the Railway's Rationalisations plans, so they tended not to have had a heavy traffic flow in the recent past. They were run using withdrawn BR stock, the trains on them tend to be very old. They were set up in a flush of enthusiasm by people keen to retain, for nostalgia and future generations, the railway scene as they had known it.
So, some 20 or 30 years on, you see some of the lines an services facing a shortage of volunteers, rolling stock which is getting progressively harder to keep in service, track wearing out, and a passenger flow that's sparse even on the busiest few weekends of the year.
Yesterday, Lisa and I visited the Forest of Dean Railway, based at Norchard just to the north of Lydney. An impressively sized gravel car park appeared, at first sight, to be empty, but over by the electric substation we spotted an extension up towards the station entrance proper, with a group of a couple of dozen cars, which we joined. As we approached the station, the first extra sign told us that due to problems with their steam locomotive, today's service was provided b a diesel multiple unit. The second extra sign that told us due to "Operation problems" that turned out to be a defective section of track, the service was only running as far as St. Mary's Halt. And the regular sign on the booking office window told us that the tickets on sale were all-day rover tickets, with the lady refusing to sell us anything less even though we just wanted to travel a short distance down the line and back to Norchard, rather than spending the rest of the day (on the dmu) going up to Parkend and down to St Mary's Halt.
First impressions count, and this really wasn't good. We got the immediate feeling of a line struggling to survive, and indeed the yard at Norchard, through which we walked to the operational platform, was stocked with old carriages many of which gave the impression of quietly rotting away. Paintwork was not only faded but flaking and crumbling off the majority of stock, some were covered in tarpaulins, and the trackwork itself was grassy. I expect to see some of this (preservation and restoration is not always a tidy business), but this place was "something else"!
The train - the 2 car diesel multiple unit of 1960 vintage - rolled in on time and looked smart and well loaded as it arrived from Parkend; it paused a few minutes before continuing, now with us on board, on the 10 minute run to St Mary's. The unit itself struck my untutored eye as being in excellent condition (as a preservation purist I would probably have questioned the addition of a buffet, and the doing so with rather more domestic that railway style fittings) and it accelerated well, and sounded good - but no great speed could be achieved as we had to negotiate the points, stop for a manually operated level crossing, stop and start at Lyndey Town and then draw to a halt at St Mary's all in that short period. More of an event packed few minutes that a journey!
On - and also in that 10 minutes we purchased a single journey paper ticket (which had been suggested by the "Rover or nothing" lady when I pushed her) from a tutting ticket inspector who felt we should be staying all day, and we did not purchase (though offered) raffle tickets to win a bear or a cab ride on the way back up. These didn't leave us much time to take more that a passing interest in what was goin on outside.
This is St. Mary's - normally just a halt at which the trains pause briefly if required but today the terminus of the line. Few people left the train at this obscure spot, and the driver gave a commentary telling us a little about the area, the line on to Lyndey junction where the train should have connected with the main line, and the footbridge which you can see in the picture - a listed 'building' but one that's currently closed because it's in a dangerous condition. The buffet staff talked amongst themselves during this commentary, so we missed a few of the facts but learned that the person who had won the bear had christened it Luke after younger lad on the buffet who had sold the raffle ticket, that this crew had two more round trips today, and that Edward (whoever he is) was going to clean the inside of the dmu during the week in ready for Bank Holiday Monday. Also some good tips of how to vacuum clean a dmu.
It felt like we sat for an age at St. Mary's. Certainly far longer than would normally be required for a turnaround - but then we had time in the schedule to carry on down to Lydney Junction, to have a steam locomotive run around the train, and then to travel back up to St. Mary's, so I suppose the wait was only to be expected. The babe in arms (or rather just out of arms) was getting bored and had a bit of wind, and started whimpering then crying and screaming, and that carried on all the way back up to Norchard.
The buffet coach, sitting in a back platform at Norchard from which it couldn't be moved as the track out has been tarmaced over without leaving room for the wheel flanges, is an old luggage van of some sort. The kindly ladies service - serving just ourselves and one other group - forgives us for entering through the exit door. "Caution, hot" says the servery unit - but it isn't - it's switched off. We could have a pasty or sausage roll heated up if we like ...
Seated in the couple Mark IId coach to eat our snack, I almost feel that it should start to move - and I'm nostalgically reminded that this is how trains should be; tables of 4, comfortable seats, windows that actually align with the seating. What a shame that the coach, newer even than the dmu that we travelled on, in unlikely ever to turn a wheel again. Again, the staff are very friendly but just not customer aware; there was really no need to choose the time when they actually had customers in to start using aerosol sprays to clean the immediately adjoining table - especially when it was clear from the trays of cups on some of the other tables that cleaning up wasn't too frequently done.
After having our teas, coffees, snacks, we returned to our car and drove up the valley. Stopping at Whitecroft, and the level crossing there, we looked at the track clean in the area of the crossing but disappearing - even the running lines - into the glass just a few yards away. It looked uncared for; it probably wasn't - there are people who care, I am sure, but there are too few off them and they are ineffective. And then we carried on to Parkend, at the end of the line.
You'll see from my final picture that the train was still at Parkend when we got there, even hough we had dawdled up there. Again, the train was quite well loaded but no-one was off on the platform; it seems that St. Mary's to Parkend is a bit of a journey from nowhere to nowhere, and indeed from our experience of the hour or two we spent in the area that the Forest of Dean railway isn't going anywhere either.
I've followed up further on this ... to some possible conclusions as to where the resources of the preservation / heritage railway sector might be best used ... here
First impressions count, and this really wasn't good. We got the immediate feeling of a line struggling to survive, and indeed the yard at Norchard, through which we walked to the operational platform, was stocked with old carriages many of which gave the impression of quietly rotting away. Paintwork was not only faded but flaking and crumbling off the majority of stock, some were covered in tarpaulins, and the trackwork itself was grassy. I expect to see some of this (preservation and restoration is not always a tidy business), but this place was "something else"!
This is St. Mary's - normally just a halt at which the trains pause briefly if required but today the terminus of the line. Few people left the train at this obscure spot, and the driver gave a commentary telling us a little about the area, the line on to Lyndey junction where the train should have connected with the main line, and the footbridge which you can see in the picture - a listed 'building' but one that's currently closed because it's in a dangerous condition. The buffet staff talked amongst themselves during this commentary, so we missed a few of the facts but learned that the person who had won the bear had christened it Luke after younger lad on the buffet who had sold the raffle ticket, that this crew had two more round trips today, and that Edward (whoever he is) was going to clean the inside of the dmu during the week in ready for Bank Holiday Monday. Also some good tips of how to vacuum clean a dmu.
The buffet coach, sitting in a back platform at Norchard from which it couldn't be moved as the track out has been tarmaced over without leaving room for the wheel flanges, is an old luggage van of some sort. The kindly ladies service - serving just ourselves and one other group - forgives us for entering through the exit door. "Caution, hot" says the servery unit - but it isn't - it's switched off. We could have a pasty or sausage roll heated up if we like ...
After having our teas, coffees, snacks, we returned to our car and drove up the valley. Stopping at Whitecroft, and the level crossing there, we looked at the track clean in the area of the crossing but disappearing - even the running lines - into the glass just a few yards away. It looked uncared for; it probably wasn't - there are people who care, I am sure, but there are too few off them and they are ineffective. And then we carried on to Parkend, at the end of the line.