| I have always enjoyed travelling on Britain's Secondary Routes, and particularly on it's Branch Lines. And a favourite was the line from Kingham, through Stow on the Wold and Bourton on the Water, to Cheltenham Spa. Another line that fascinated me, though I had not travelled on it, was the ex Midland Railway loop from Ashchurch, through Evesham and Redditch, to Barnt Green. At the latter station, I regularly saw passenger trains coming off the branch, heading for Birmingham New Street. And they were always hauled either by a 2-6-4 tank, or an Ivatt class 4 2-6-0. | ||||
| So in 1959 I worked out an
itinerary for Saturday 11th April that included both lines, plus a
little more besides.
I set from Birmingham Snow Hill on the 9.40am Cornishman, which was hauled by 5045 Earl of Dudley. Both locomotive and carriages were in excellent external condition. This train was first stop Stratford upon Avon, and the route was via Knowle and Hatton North Junction. From Stratford, we continued via the Honeybourne junctions, past Broadway, Toddington, Winchcombe, Gotherington, and Bishops Cleeve, and arrived at Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road at 11.02am. |
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| I walked across to St James station and had a wait of about an hour before catching the 12.15pm service to Kingham. The loco was 2-6-2T no 4123, which had a load of just 2 coaches. The entire journey was a delight, made more so by cloudless sunny weather. Arriving at Kingham at 1.07pm, I had a 20 minute wait before heading west on the 11.45am Paddington to Hereford service, which I hoped would give me a fast run down Honeybourne bank. I was not disappointed. 5042 Winchester Castle took me down the bank with a top speed of 82 mph. My destination was Evesham, where I planned a walk around the town. I recall that after a little sustenance, I visited a record shop where I purchased a Julie London LP. | ||||
| I then walked up to the ex Midland Railway station, and waited for the 2.17pm from Ashchurch, due to leave Evesham at 2.44pm for Redditch and Birmingham New Street. So another ambition was fulfilled. Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43017 was up front, running tender first. We called at Harvington, Alford Priors, Broom Junction, Alcester, Studley, Redditch, Alvechurch, and Barnt Green. We then took the Camp Hill route into Birmingham New Street, arriving at 4.18pm. | ||||
| And so ended a most relaxing, and extremely enjoyable day. |
