ParkeNd

Dean Forest Railway - trains in a forest. The 12.55 from Parkend To Lydney Junction approaching Whitecroft behind slope tanked prairie 5541. 10th June 2015.

Unless they just went as far as Lydney Docks - which really is worth getting out and walking around - as long as the kids didn't fall over the edge at high tide!!

Strangely the current application form for Dean Forest Railway Society Memberships says "plans to extend in one direction to Speech House Road, and in the other direction to Lydney Docks or even Severn Bridge Station". So who knows?

That makes sense. One of the DFR staff at Whitecroft told me that there is one body of opinion that tunnelling to create a bridge for the road to go over and putting the station on the other side of the road is the way to go. There is quite a ramp up on the cycle path where the platforms were lending credence to this as a suggestion. The "proper" Speech House Road Station looks always to have been a bit in the middle of nowhere. I will have to go and see where Beechenhurst Visitor Centre is.

Whilst I am mulling over Arthur's suggestions, I followed brianusa's suggestion to photograph beyond Parkend. The Travellers Rest Crossing site doesn't need much imagination to see in your mind as it was, and as it would be re-instated. Here is the track bed approaching the crossing, and then the actual crossing beside what is now Old Railway Inn Cottage - which used I think to be first the Railway Inn and then Travellers Rest. I guess The Square would have been in the background of the first photo. The route around the back of the caravan sales site is easy to imagine becoming railway again - indeed up as far as Cannop Ponds picnic site. However Speech House Road Station being re-instated in the same place as before defies my imagination. More in a moment. Compare my photos that follow with Picture 1 on this website. http://www.forestpictures.co.uk/page31.htm This next photo would have been taken from the right hand platform in the old photos looking in the same direction. Then this is the site of the signal box. The patch of grass just the other side of the fence. And over these gates, across the road, and to the left of the other gates, stood the very fine Station Masters House. Not very easy to imagine is it ? Try as I might I could see no way in the world how the railway could be re-instated at this point. Apart from that sign there is not a hint that there was ever a railway here. A major issue would be the road you can see between the two sets of gates. There is a constant stream of traffic passing in both directions. From right to left is down a long dead straight hill and most of the traffic was travelling at 60, 70, and maybe 80 mph. There would be no way you could disgorge children off a train with that road being only 30 feet away - in my opinion. Going back about half a mile to Cannop Ponds seems a much safer option to me. But then what do I know?

Must be this group Tony. A big blow up from another frame.

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Living Loving Maid - Led Zep

Hard Days Night - Beatles

Mother gets home from her important city job to find her 5 year old daughter sobbing her heart out at the foot of the stairs. "The au pair has gone flat and she's dieing" her daughter blurted between sobs. "How do you know that" the mother asked. "I was looking for Daddy and I found him in Heidi's bedroom on top of her". But how do you know she's dieing" her mother asked. "Well Daddy is doing his best to pump her up again but he's too late - she keeps shouting out " Oh God I'm coming" "

In the blues there is one important distinction above all others. If someone is having an affair with your woman there's a pig rooting around in your back yard. But if you are having an affair with someone else's woman you're a King Snake baby.

Thanks Brian. The next pictures are ready now so I might as well post them tonight. This is Wilbert arriving back in Norchard late for the 12.20 planned arrival - about 15 minutes late. We could hear the train at 12.10 but it didn't make it's arrival. My thought was that four full coaches were too much but the fireman said it had taken ages to change the points. The train then left for Parkend where I caught up with it again as it was being watered and rejoined the back of the train. The last photo with the fireman hanging out the side looks like he was thinking it was going too fast - there was quite a bang on reaching that coach.

Thanks Arthur and F-UnitMad for your comments. The Whitecroft shop is just finishing it's refurbishment and the signs still have to be sign painted as you can see in the pictures. I will keep the photos coming because I enjoy taking them. There are some shots of Wilbert at Parkend and Norchard taken yesterday and I shall post these in a day or so. For the next planned shoot I had though of Middle Forge if that is accessible and not so remote that my camera gear is vulnerable. The Flour Mill is unspectacular from outside - so not a good location perhaps.The Lydbrook viaduct is a bit too well photographed. Maybe what would be the most interesting is somewhere like the Sling Branch. Maybe Arthur has some ideas.

A selection of 5 photos taken yesterday at Whitecroft on the DFR Wednesday 27th May 2015. This is the 10.53 at Whitecroft with a four coach train behind Wilbert and then leaving about 1 minute later to immediately cross the road from Lydney. Then coming back from Parkend at 11.27 after a 21 minute stopover. What intrigues me is just how close the trains get to the store, which despite having just been clad in white plastic boarding, has been at Whitecroft since the beginning of the DFR as far as I can make out in old photos. Then despite sprinting across the crossing it left again for Norchard after about a 30 second stop.

Visited DFR today to shoot the photos I wanted of Whitecroft with steam trains. Wilbert was on roster with a four coach train well packed with passengers all morning - two coach parties and many cars. I will post some pictures when I have processed the RAW files. A few minor snippets of news picked up today. Whitecroft's planned second platform will be the passing loop when 2 trains run after the extension to Speech House road - when not clear. Despite Cindeford's apparent distinction of being one of the ugliest places on earth (apparently) DFR does have approval to run all the way there. There appears to be no problem running new track next to the cycle paths. A crossing at Fancy Road and a new bridge further on seem to be on the cards.

Went back to the DFR yesterday again with the intention of taking some photos at Whitecroft to include trains. The buildings are being repainted - but even allowing for this the Whitecroft track and immediate surrounds has become too untidy for photos so I opted for just a shot on the village store side of the crossing gates. I plan to get a few shots of the steam loco passing the same spot next week. Although it will be tender first. Settled for a consolation by going to Parkend and recording the departure of the 12.55 to Lydney. This was after failing to get to Norchard because road contractors workmen were stationed to stop vehicles approaching Norchard from both Whitecroft and Lydney - hope that's fixed before this weekend's special event. Anyway here are the photos.

Yes. I have both volumes of this book and a few more. Most of the photos show the comparison very well, but where there is just foliage and trees now the black and white photos do a particularly good job of masking the comparison. Page 30 of the John Stretton book covers the Severn Bridge Station location brilliantly with 1964 photos but the "current" photo is absolutely impossible to discern as the side of such a complex earlier structure. I think if the pyramids had become covered in trees no-one would ever have discovered them.

Hi Brian, Had they been there when the Severn Railway Bridge and Severn Bridge Station were in full swing it would indeed have been difficult going. But what is now a stand of trees on an embankment and a few archeological remains used to look like this :- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/The_Severn_Bridge_Sharpness_England.jpg But the place name on the photo is not correct - it's not Sharrpness because that is on the other side of the river and much further to the right - this is Purton on the Lydney side of the river. The Sharpness side had the swing bridge section and the round pillar.

I have spent part of last evening examining pages 30 and 31 in particular of 'The Dean Forest Railway and ex-Severn & Wye Railway lines Volume 2" by John Stretton. There are some good 1964 photos of where I went yesterday afternoon - which was the exact site of Severn Bridge Station at the exit from the Severn Railway Bridge. The station was high up on an embankment just as the train came off the 10 arch viaduct after the last cast iron span on the Lydney side. To say that this station was in the middle of nowhere is pretty accurate. The first photo is from the station drive shared with a farm and shows the complete side of the embankment where the signal box sat at the end of the platforms. The access road running diagonally up the side of the embankment still exists within the trees. Walking a few yards to the right in the above picture you pick up the original access road which is now just a path through the trees - but within a few yards the outer edges of the up platform starts to appear above your head. Carry on walking upwards and onwards and you emerge onto the trackbed midway between the river end of the platforms and the viaduct of the bridge. This shot is facing towards Lydney. Walk along the trackbed and you pick up first the start of one of the platform ramps and then the platforms on both sides of the twin track - but well strangled with trees. The undergrowth thickens substantially from here beyond where the farmer is doing something in wire netting cages on the trackbed so I went back down to the access road and walked further along parallel with the embankment - until I got to the bridge over the farm road into the last field down to the main railway line. This bridge shows up on virtual y every photo of the station and the old bridge. And seen from the other side with the river at my back. The trains would have looked pretty dramatic going over this. The other side of this bridge the view would have been really dramatic before the main Severn Railway Bridge was demolished. The complete span of the bridge would have been seen as the trains ran out of the station and over the river - too many trees now. But moving just right of this a fraction the much photographed pier of the swing bridge section on the other side can be seen across the river and you have to imagine the iron spans giving way to the 21 metre tall 10 arch viaduct carrying the railway across the main line and into the station to your left.

I visited the site of the Lydney side of the Severn Railway Bridge this afternoon. This is not the easiest place in the world to find, and the lane from the A48 down to Purton (Purton exists on both sides of this huge river by the way) was little more than a meandering cart track. After overshooting and finishing up in Etloe I retraced my steps and found the farm drive which approached the site. From the views it just had to be the place so I parked and set off along the drive. A very friendly farmhand told me it was OK to walk further but he had never heard of the Severn Railway Bridge but did volunteer that there were two tunnels a few yards further on. What I was looking for (from a satellite view) was a T shaped growth of trees where the head of the T was the river bank and the stem of the T was the trackbed coming off the bridge. After a few more yards I found the embankment, the trackbed, and the tunnels through the embankment to the fields beyond where the trains went round a tight 90 degree left had bend. I walked along the trackbed where there are still trackside walls and parapets visible in places, and through the first tunnel where I could see the much photographed circular bridge piers on the opposite bank. In a battle between trees and disused railway the trees have won decisively. I will publish the photos as soon as the RAW files are processed.

The next photo session will be at Purton trying to find signs of the Severn Railway Bridge coming ashore on the Lydney side. Following Arthur's instructions I have found on an OS map a lane with a right turn off it by a pub which should still have sight of the embankment at the sharp left hand curve as the railway left the bridge itself. At the time of typing this access to Norchard from Parkend by road should be impossible on a working day due to road resurfacing so will have to go the long way round. At weekends the road is open albeit with the surface removed - the road signs should read "Beware cars doing 70 mph coming the other way flinging up stones at your windscreen" so best avoided. Took a few photos at Norchard on Saturday but not worth publishing due to the high volumes of discarded clutter showing up in the pictures.

After three days of upgrading the memory and the operating system on my iMac I am finally able to use my new camera in RAW mode. So I shot off to St Mary's Halt this morning and parked outside the church. The railway nearly goes through the churchyard. I found it a quiet and charming place - sylvan would be a good description - dappled sunlight, birds, and peace and quiet. When I got back to Norchard I told them I think it should stay and they should make more of it. Anyway, here are a few photos to add to the tiny handful there appears to be on the internet otherwise.

A not so cuddly Teddy Bear on the Dean Forest Railway.

Thanks freebs. N gauge can have detail.

Is 'Aslington Lil still alive?