please empty your brain below
Not forgetting the footbridge at the country end of Ropley station that was also rehabilitated. This one came from North Tawton on the former LSWR line from Exeter to Plymouth.

And Medstead's bridge came from Cowes, Isle of Wight.

Petras409 | 04.01.19 - 8:56 a.m. | #

For some reason I always end up at the Alresford end by car and have never actually done the tour of the town.

I think I must, next time...

Southern Heights (Light Railway) | 04.01.19 - 9:00 a.m. | #

How do you get time to do all this and write the blog too. As well as travelling, sleeping and eating and the loo etc.

Boxer | 04.01.19 - 9:30 a.m. | #

The Watercress Line is quite short as far as major heritage lines go!

Five of the UK's longer lines trouncing the Watercress' length are narrow gauge. Even London's other nearest standard gauge line, the Bluebell, is slightly longer.

Ffestiniog/WHR 40miles
West Somerset 22miles
North Yorkshire Moors 18miles
Manx Electric 17miles
Severn Valley 16miles
Isle of Man 15.3miles
Rommey Hythe Dymchurch 13.5miles
Vale of Rheidol 11.75miles
Bluebell 11miles

Rog | Homepage | 04.01.19 - 9:32 a.m. | #

Ah, now, 24 hours on - after seeing 'men who like railways' - I get to understand yesterday's mwlb comment from the orange one.

RogerW | 04.01.19 - 9:41 a.m. | #

One who likes railways? Hmm not seen any of these lines in more than two decades nor been out of London in nearly a decade (besides slight violations on public transport just across the border.)

Rog | Homepage | 04.01.19 - 9:51 a.m. | #

The Isle of Man is not in the UK.

A pedant writes | 04.01.19 - 9:52 a.m. | #

Harp, stays sharp to the bottom of the glass.
( No idea how or why I remember that).

John DLC | 04.01.19 - 10:18 a.m. | #

The Isle of Man is a dependency within the UK yes it has its own government (Tynwald) but it uses UK money (as well as its own) and uses the UK's defence systems. That's good enough for me.

Rog | Homepage | 04.01.19 - 10:20 a.m. | #

Sadly Alton station is no longer shared with South West Trains but with the much less friendly South Western Railway. SWT may have been hated by some but it would appear SWR is worse for daily commuters and is already trying to renegotiate its franchise. I assume they wanted significantly less than SWT to run the service and it already shows.

ap | 04.01.19 - 10:24 a.m. | #

Rog: also the Wensleydale Railway (22m)

David | 04.01.19 - 11:05 a.m. | #

this has left me wondering which of his MWLR friends DG was with, and who is guilty of a dirty anorak

Caz | 04.01.19 - 11:07 a.m. | #

Good fun to visit the Watercress line. Particular fun when they have one of their 1940s re-enactment weekends.

rashbre | Homepage | 04.01.19 - 1:36 p.m. | #

@Boxer
Because this is his job - unpaid and voluntary but his job/vocation/labour of love none the less.

Vic Flange | 04.01.19 - 1:42 p.m. | #

Memo to the fat controller at the Watercress Line: Please extend the line west to Winchester and south the Fareham ASAP. As you were.

Adrian | 04.01.19 - 3:19 p.m. | #

The gents toilet would have made a great drop off point. I think it was the Vassell spy ring if I remember correctly.

Tones | 04.01.19 - 5:36 p.m. | #

Rog. The Isle of Man is a crown dependency within Great Britain but NOT within the UK. If you beg to differ please pop over and try telling the locals. Not a great deal upsets them here but....

Also whilst it can be argued that the railway is a heritage railway, it is a fully functioning line providing genuine public transport links. It just happens to have four trains, the most recent of which was built in about 1910. Perhaps they have a better long term maintenance regime than Thameslink or Northern, it is certainly a more reliable line.

MO | 04.01.19 - 5:47 p.m. | #

You can get a very acceptable private jet a lot more cheaply by buying it in the IoM. Ask Lewis 'I escaped the Stevenage slums to live in Monte Carlo' Hamilton.

Sorry DG.

Chris | 04.01.19 - 7:21 p.m. | #

@MO I've even watched videos of the special IOMR services when the buses were on strike. You must think I don't have any interest at all in the Manx lines? Yes I do know it runs regular timetabled services for a good part of the year and its lovely. BTW the Manx Govt classes its railways as heritage. https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/bus-and-rail/heritage-railways/

I just used UK as a general term to illustrate an idea of which heritage lines found in this part of the world were longer than 10 miles. I'm not interested in bringing politics to the table.

Rog | Homepage | 04.01.19 - 7:22 p.m. | #

I never thought I'd see the words "probably best to drive" in a DG post.

Andrew S | 04.01.19 - 8:24 p.m. | #

Rog, noted. Our comments have been greyed out, possibly being seen as not directly related to the post. I think DG should pop over to IOM and do a series of Manx specials featuring trains, trams, history of the RNLI, fairies (of the traditional sort) and tailless puddy cats.

MO | 04.01.19 - 8:39 p.m. | #

@Adrian

Sadly, extension to Winchester isn't going to happen. The track has been built on at Itchen Abbas, and cut through by the M3 motorway. The line joined the main London-Southampton railway about 2 miles north of Winchester, and that line is far too busy to host extra trains off the Alresford line.

timbo | 04.01.19 - 11:23 p.m. | #

@MO not forgetting DG can do the Laxey Wheel, go up Snaefell with its unique Fell system, Groudle Glen, Laxey mine railway, Camera Obscura etc. Big thumbs up to the IOM!

Rog | Homepage | 05.01.19 - 2:03 a.m. | #

He already has - see http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2014/07/back-soon.html and subsequent posts.

Stephen | 05.01.19 - 2:59 a.m. | #

@stephen All sorted then!

Rog | Homepage | 05.01.19 - 4:09 a.m. | #

Once a year they close the railway and encourage you to walk (with an old bus to take you back to the start). Most enjoyable. We did this a few years back, but didn't take the bus; we carried on along the Itchen to Southampton.

Peter Cameron | Homepage | 05.01.19 - 4:52 p.m. | #











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