Tag: railway

May 1st – Today, I did something I’d been meaning to do for years – I paid a visit to Balleny Green, a little-known narrow gauge railway layout run by Sutton Coldfield Model Engineering Society at Little Hay, between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield.

I’ve known this place was here for years, but never caught it open. This time, I made a concerted effort to find out when it was a ‘steam up day’ and popped in.

This was just so English. No entry fee. No charges to ride. Just a bunch of people sharing their love of a fascinating, beautifully engineered hobby in the middle of rolling countryside in gorgeous grounds.

There is a long layout consisting of several tracks – including a miniature one – but on the larger one, which interestingly is dual gauge – passengers sit in or on carriages and are conveyed by small locomotives – today one steam, one electric – through tunnels, over junctions, level crossings, past ponds, signals, signal boxes. It’s gorgeous.

The whole thing is clearly a labour of love.

There were no other attractions, and none were needed: tea and biscuits, and a tin for donations to cover running costs.

All right here on the doorstep, and few know about it. A wonderful thing.

Find out more about Balleny Green at their website here. I’d like to thank the members for a beautiful, life-affirming thing.

April 4th – I had to pop to Telford in the late morning, and was impressed, as I usually am, by the ever-changing flowerbed on the westbound platform, currently full of what I think may be alyssum, purple easter primroses and the most beautiful red tulips, just breaking bloom.

Telford gets a lot of stick (much of it from me over the years), but some bits of it – like this – are thoroughly gorgeous and a constant delight.

March 22nd – A rainy, horrid day: I found myself at New Street waiting for a delayed train mid-morning, in a frankly foul mood. Nothing was moving and I felt stuck. As I looked out from the end of the platform, I spotted this train driver, heading to his post in the rain, and felt an instant sympathy.

Rainy day commutes are horrid.

March 10th – A sign spring is finally upon us happened this evening – I returned from Birmingham just in time to catch the remains of the daylight dying over my homeward commute from Shenstone station. This is always welcome, and it’s nice to photograph this beloved landmark in anything other than darkness and sodium light.

This is just the best station. A great place to depart and come back to…

March 5th – Chasewater was a blessed relief, but a mud bath. The North Heath was so wet, I was surprised to see the red deer browsing it over by the railway, seemingly unconcerned that they must have been paddling in the water.

There was a well-dispersed herd of maybe 14 adults, peaceful and in good health. It’s been a while since our paths crossed, so it was a nice reward to see them on such a grim, unpleasant afternoon.

I noted with some amusement that there’s a deer run developing around the fence by the Nine-Foot Pool – I wonder if they’re using the canal bridge on the far side to avoid the toll road?

February 10th – I had another reason to be in Shenstone, which meant making a call in the village itself, which is always charming after dark – even the hideous clock looks better when you can see the face illuminated rather than the horridly crude brickwork. I loved the shop in Main Street which was almost Dickensian, and the Railway pub, which always looks so warm and inviting.

I stopped, and thought about it: but where I really wanted to be was home. So I put the camera away, and rode off wearily into the wind.

February 10th – After a cold and unpleasant morning commute, and subsequent trip into Birmingham during the day, I returned via the Cross City to Shenstone, my favourite of all night time railway station. Except that when I alighted, it wasn’t quite night yet; there were still fingers of daylight on the cloud-cover and the combination of natural and electric night was rather wonderful.

Glad I made it to Friday, was touch and go for a bit…

February 8th – Back to Telford mid-morning and I noted the tree surgeons at work still clearing scrub from around the pedestrian bridge at the station, in preparation for the new one to be built.

This nonchalant, confident lumberjack was just hanging around about 8 metres up, his chainsaw dangling from a lanyard.

I so admire people who work at heights.

February 2nd – I went into Birmingham late in the day, and 2very tired, I picked my return station to give me best wind advantage.

As I got out my gloves and sorted the lights and things at Blake Street, I watched a second train come through, a blur of light.

Sometimes, that’s exactly how I feel.

February 1st – An odd morning. I had to go to Tipton, then Telford and as it was raining when I left, I headed to catch the train. Sadly, assuming the service I caught stopped at Tipton when it didn’t, I ended up at Wolverhampton. With a 30 minute wait in store and the weather clearing, rather than hang around, I hopped onto the canal at Horseley Fields and rode to Tipton on the canal.

Ninety minutes and a breakfast later, I took a train to Wolverhampton, and then one from there to Telford, so I did a sort of loop around the north Black Country.

It actually felt springlike at Wolverhampton, but the picture doesn’t convey it at all. But the weather was warm, and dry save for a strengthening wind, and there was a definite joy in the spring flower shoots on the towpaths and verges I passed.

February already – where did January go?