Mid Hants Railway - the full experience

[Andy Y]

Firstly a massive thank you to Phil Harding (PhilH) for making this day happen and enabling RMweb readers to get an insight into a working day on a preserved railway. Thank you to the  Mid Hants Railway for making this possible to and hopefully the Watercress will see some extra visitors over the summer as a consequence.

 

I ambled onto site around 8.00 a.m., a good couple of hours after preparation work had started in earnest. Our loco for the day, 92212, was already building up a healthy head thanks to Dave, the fireman for the day on the 9F, and Andy who was busy cleaning the valve gear.

 

 

 

 

'Wadebridge' was the other service loco for the day undergoing similar preparation.

 

 

 

 

 

With preparation work underway there was a chance to look behind the scenes at the workshops and sheds at Ropley icluding the lottery supported carriage workshops and the wheeldrop shed containing a soon to be outshopped 'Black Five'.

 

 

 

Time to get some snaps around the yard for forthcoming detailing projects before a walk down the 'Headshunt of Doom' followed feeling like a kid again cabbing various locos.

 

 

 

 

And I thought it was the curry from the night before:

 

 

Phil rightly believes that Ropley has one of the best engine shed views over the early morning Hampshire countryside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to get up on the footplate following the checks. Although Phil lives comparatively close to the Mid Hants and has been a volunteer there for 21 years and a driver for 9 years the rest of the crew for the day travel somewhat further. Dave, the fireman, regularly travels to the railway from his home in Cambridgeshire and Andy comes all of the way down from Bolton on a frequent basis.

 

 

Although Phil believes he knows the route blindfolded he was seen to rely upon the 9Fs satnav.

 

 

 

Phil has a wonderful leadership style in passing on his years on the footplate to his crew to develop their knowledge and experience. He's frequently testing them out and keeping them on their toes as well as relevant advice but woe betide anyone who gets their greasy mitts on his footplate handrails!

 

Phil's been up for hours so I'm not sure if it's breakfast or lunch whilst we wait for the West Country to move off shed before it's our turn to make our way down to Alresford to pick up the first train of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

Before arrival at Alresford we steam some veg.

 

 

 

 

 

Having picked up the train for first service and the first footplate rider of the day it's time to head uphill back to Ropley on a lovely spring morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After crossing the service from Alton at Ropley it's back on the climb up towards Medstead & Four Marks.

 

 

The run downhill to Alton is a respite for the fireman but Phil has to have a light touch on the brakes as we run down the 1 in 60. Having reached Alton and run around it's time for the harder work to start again with a steady climb and the 9F the master of its load.

 

 

 

I leave the train behind at Ropley and venture off to get a couple of lineside shots achieving a couple of short comedy clips in a torrential spring shower. Back at Ropley 'Wadebridge' wants to emulate that volcano that no-one can pronounce.

 

 

[Andy Y]

I catch up with Phil and the crew again at Ropley and make my way down to Alresford.

 

 

 

 

 

The highlight of the day is a spell on the footplate on the last run of the day from Alresford to Alton and return after Dave pulls more coal forward to feed the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Careful management gets the engine back to Ropley with the optimum amount of water in the glass and fire in the grate for an efficient disposal. The day's not over yet though, there's a tender to coal for the Sunday's services, the smokebox to be cleared, the engine to be checked from the pit and tomorrow morning's kindling to be readied. This was the most atmospheric part of the day for me; the visiting public on their way home, the peace of the countryside barely broken by simmering engines and the tired voices of grimy faces calling out their disposal tasks. I'm sad to leave behind the evocative smells and sounds of a hard working railway and welcoming volunteers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's half past five, the day's done - an 11 hour shift for the love of it and a hot shower beckons. Thank you guys; you are absolute stars.

 

You may have to wait a while to get on the list but there's an opportunity for people to get a taste of life on the Mid Hants here

 

 

It's hard work and a long day but I think Phil's smile says enough about why he does it.

 

[10800]

Excellent description of what looks to have been a wonderful day out

 

Envious now

[woodenhead]

That's certainly not how I look at the end of a working day.

 

Course he spends the whole day letting off steam so he'll be pretty chilled by the end of the day.

 

Looked like a most enjoyable experience.

[Mikkel]

Big word of thanks for this, Andy and Phil. Coming home after a lousy day at work and then finding a topic like this to browse is absolute bliss. Good to know there's more to life.

 

And what a superb atmosphere you've managed to capture in the photos Andy. Almost like being there. This one in particular is superb, I think:

 

 

[gordon s]

Glad to hear the 'Ampshire Lad looked after you Andy. Some super pics and videos.

 

A great day out awaits visitors to the Mid Hants. My missus bless her, bought me a day driving on 92212 as a special present a couple of years back and it was a schoolboy dream come true. Your pics brought the memories flooding back.

[Guest 009matt]

Aaah the Mid Hants,

[PhilH]

Thanks for posting this Andy, we had a really good day as well and enjoyed your company. We are often guilty of only seeing the negative side of what we do on the MHR, concentrating perhaps more on what is wrong there rather than what is right. It's good to see another perspective on it, 'recharges the batteries' a bit I think so again, thanks for that.

 

 

And.....

 

 

after seeing those pics the diet starts tomorrow.

[trisonic]

Wonderful! Thank you!

If I move back to England I'll certainly look in that area..............

 

Best, Pete.

[F-UnitMad]

Playing with model trains will never seem the same again, I bet !!!

 

All that steam, smoke & dust is the vital bit missing from Steam MPD layouts- understandable, but unfortunate!!

 

It looks like a better 11-hour shift than piloting an HGV up the Motorway all night, too!!!

[Stormbringer]

It looks like a better 11-hour shift than piloting an HGV up the Motorway all night, too!!!

 

I'll second that!!!

 

Thanks Andy for the insight into a day on the MHR, The last time I was there 92212 was in steam and I thoroughly enjoyed riding behind a 9f for the first time. Must get back down there.

 

Pete

[5 C]

Inspired by Andy Y's post, I took the opportunity to pay a visit to the MHR yesterday, having collected my parents from Southampton after a cruise. The original intention was to just to call in for brekafast as an alternative to the M3's service stations, but in spite of the early start to their day, mum and dad took little persuading that we should spend a few hours enjoying the railway.

 

After a bite to eat in the Alresford buffet (check out the locally produced pork, watercress and ale sausages in the all day breakfast), we took a very pleasant return trip to Alton, stopping off at Ropley for a good look round the works. The sunshine made for some great views across the lush Hampshire countryside. What was really pleasing to see was just how popular the railway was. All the trains seemed to be very busy and there was lots of interest from all ages in the running round and coupling up at each end of the line.

 

On our return to Alresford, we took a walk round the town's well thought out Millenium Trail. The railway is clearly good for the local economy too, as we saw a number of our fellow rail travellers enjoying, as we did, the shops and cafes in this very pretty market town.

 

The only disappointment was that the local butcher had sold out of the aforementioned sausages, thwarting plans to put a couple of pounds in the freezer. Never mind, it just means I'll have to make a return visit.

 

Phil and his colleagues are to be congratulated on what is an excellent operation. I'll be back soon!

 

Andy

[Mallard60022]

Some years back before my 'transfer' to 36E I too had the pleasure of working every so often at the Mid Hants on what was known (I think) as the Ropley Wednesday Gang. This also enabled me to help out at the big events when the place heaved.

My role (along with a couple of others) was to keep the place clean and tidy and help the occasional visitor to find their way around the Ropley site.

I was quite happy to do this as I was also able to lean on the fence and watch the crews, station staff and others go about their operational duties. I could also travel on some trains to help clean them 'en route'.

Happy days and just a hint at the fact that every railway like this needs a load of back-room support and you too could get involved.

Remember also that it really was the Mid Hants that 'gave birth' to what is now the very successful Cathedrals Express operation.

This railway and the other that was 'just down the road' for me and where I enjoyed fairly regular volunteering stints (Bluebell), NEED people like you. Go on, you know you want to!

Phil @ 36E.

[OFFTHE RAILS]

I’m glad to hear you all had a good time with 92212 on Saturday – OK for some.

 

I visited the following day to enjoy a 3 course Sunday lunch in the dining train supposedly hauled by the 9F. I’d booked the trip long before the date for the England v Germany was known – another disaster there…The train arrived around half an hour late with 92212 at the head but being pushed by an unattractive diesel at the rear. 92212 had injector problems and had to be dropped off at Ropley.

 

So at £40 a head for the next 3 hours we were hauled by a nondescript diesel up and down the line in a packed dining train on a very hot day (no aircon of course) whilst we only got brief views of the other engine in steam (Bulleid pacific) hauled the regular train up and down with hardly any passengers (due to the football game I presume).

The food was OK but the Pinot Grigio and beer were warm – not good !

And to top it all : Germany 4 England 1

Definitely not the full experience !

Ian

[PhilH]

I’m glad to hear you all had a good time with 92212 on Saturday – OK for some.

 

I visited the following day to enjoy a 3 course Sunday lunch in the dining train supposedly hauled by the 9F. I’d booked the trip long before the date for the England v Germany was known – another disaster there…The train arrived around half an hour late with 92212 at the head but being pushed by an unattractive diesel at the rear. 92212 had injector problems and had to be dropped off at Ropley.

 

So at £40 a head for the next 3 hours we were hauled by a nondescript diesel up and down the line in a packed dining train on a very hot day (no aircon of course) whilst we only got brief views of the other engine in steam (Bulleid pacific) hauled the regular train up and down with hardly any passengers (due to the football game I presume).

The food was OK but the Pinot Grigio and beer were warm – not good !

And to top it all : Germany 4 England 1

Definitely not the full experience !

Ian

 

Sorry to hear that - I would hope you made your thoughts known to the railway as well as posting them here. I'm just an engine chauffeur but I do know that the people in the marketing dept. take customer feedback seriously, so as with any complaint about goods and services you should contact them directly.