Elder Child and I (Ben) headed on up to Midsomer Norton; she's doing a 'journey'-themed art project at school, I needed to get some snaps as research for an upcoming article.
Midsomer Norton is a beautifully-restored station, formerly on the Somerset-Dorset Railway (Bath to Bournemouth). The station used to be a regular winner for 'Best Kept' competitions in BR days, and the current team have done a superb job of fixing it all up.
The place was a little quiet (not surprising given both the weather, and the fact the local holidays had already finished), but the train rides for the day had already been fully booked according to the website. Happily, the friendly chap in the station building let us know they had space about half an hour after we arrived, so we had a wander around whilst we waited, snapping pics.
Over Easter weekend, the services had been in the hands of the DMU and the diesel shunter. Being a quieter day, the Wednesday services would be in the hands of the Wickham. What's a Wickham, I hear you ask?
Why, it's the shed on wheels parked next to the proper trains :)
As it happens, I was happier that there was the option of the Wickham compared to a regular train; lots of opportunities for unusual photographs, low down and close to the rails in a vehicle with open sides.
Disembarking, we repaired to the buffet carriage, where another friendly volunteer served us hot drinks, and opened up the sales carriage for us- dangerous, that. I managed to lay in loads of bits for future projects, and a great book on the Somerset and Dorset Railway.
And then, the heavens openend. A genuinely white-out flash of lightning, a crash of thunder that rattled the windows of the carriage, and hailstones the size of peas.
When the storm cleared, we were the only people on the site apart from the Vols, so we took a last stroll for some pics.
It was handy being able to get up close to the vans- I needed some shots for a build I'm doing later in the Autumn for the garden railway. This van's a long way from home.
A last shot of the Wickham; this is definitely getting a build for the garden railway.
We probably could have stayed longer (even though the site was getting locked up), but the weather was on the turn again; not wanting to get caught up in the next thunderstorm, we beat a hasty retreat.
Still, it was a lovely little station, loads of fodder for future projects, and the Vols we met we friendly and welcoming.
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