Roadtrip 102017

My photos are on my facebook page, if anyone is interested.


https://www.facebook.com/richard.norton.5

there's hundreds of them, no way I can post them all here.

 

Here's my round up of the week
LBNGR. Delightful line, nice new buildings, helpful staff who opened the museum/shed building especially for me to see the iconic locos in the collection. Nice display at Stonehenge
NVR .Superb line through gorgeous countryside. Newish station building starting to blend in, odd being at right angles to the platform. Only one continental loco in evidence along with quite few scruffy foreign coaches, imo I don't see the point of them.
Mid Norfolk. Just popped in, surprising amount of aircon coaches plus nice condition locos.
NNR. Gorgeous line and countryside, collection not very accesible but quite a lot can be seen from the station.
GCR. Here's a line that has got it right, everything accesible, no hang ups about crossing the line, very nicely restored stations, no basket case locos in view, lots of locos under overhaul in the works. Others please note....
SVR . Usual great place to visit. I spent time at Hampton Loade this time for the first time. What's not to like? They always give the impression of having more locos in steam than they actiually need (which is wonderful)
Welshpool. Just popped in. Earl in black looks great and I didn't expect steam heat. Great line.
Festinog and Welsh Highland. Usual spectacle, unmissable.
Talyllyn. Perfect
Gwili. Got to ride the extension, very good with loads of potential. Rolling stock has improved since last visit, needs more work though (easier to say than to do ). YOU need to go next year if you haven't before, it's a charming valley.

 

Has had steam heat for years, roughly since the Austrian four wheelers arrived. I think the design of the inter vehicle connections has been altered though.

Post Grouping, the G.W.R. fitted steam heat on both the V of R and W&LLR but this was discontinued, of course, when local passenger services ceased prior to World War II.

PH

 

Looks like a great trip and thanks for posting. It will take me at least a week to look at all those!

 

I edited out a few and can whittle the albums down a bit yet.

 

I love the Fens but would never think of the bit close to Peterborough as 'gorgeous'

 

the whole line runs through a country park pretty much ?

 

About half of it does but, to me, 'country park' does not equate to 'gorgeous countryside'. A key purpose of country parks is to attract homo sapiens - normally from nearby conurbations - and therefore there is always a large degree of artificiality about them, with their picnic and play areas, tarmacked paths, signposted trails, rubbish bins, facilities for cycling, sailing, water skiing and so on. Which sums up a good chunk of the Nene Park.

It can be argued that there is hardly a corner of the entire UK and Ireland that doesn't have an element of artificiality in one way or another, thanks to thousands of years of farming, but 'gorgeous countryside' to me is the kind of landscape that the likes of the K&ESR, NYMR, Bluebell, Welsh Highland, etc run through.

I know we're ultimately playing semantics here, so I'll leave it at that.

 

Not all of these would I consider "gorgeous" either I am afraid.

PH

 

Why are you 'afraid'? What of?

 

Clarification please Paul ... do you mean the parks themselves, the seemingly inevitable clutter of park furniture or the visiting homonids?

 

I am a bit surprised you have not heard of that(hopefully) polite expression of apology for disagreeing. Amongst the lines you quote are a couple which IMHO have quite lengthy stretches of "ho hum" scenery.

Just the view out of the window in a couple of the cases referred t0.

PH

 

well I for one thought the NVR was a pleasant ride, and I agree that some lines aren't great scenically (too many cuttings and or trees maybe).

My only grouch with the NVR was a couple of presumably staff members (there's nothing else there) parking across the front and back of my van deliberately (there were no other vehicles there and plenty of room) despite being on the public highway.