Lads trip south
 
 

 
  So who are this lot? 

Well, by those who travelled on the SLOA steam charters in the 1980's, they would be recognized as three members of the "front compartment gang". Two were sound recorders, and the third a train timer. Oh, and one was the SLOA Secretary, and another the SLOA Finance Officer.

We will call them Alan, John, and Brian. The first two came from Lancashire, and the third from the West Midlands. And they had one thing in common. Travelling behind steam was the most important thing in their lives.

In the summer of 1984, they decided to have long weekend together down south, the objective being to travel on the Mid Hants, Bluebell, Kent & East Sussex, and Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railways. 

 And so it was that on Saturday 7th July 1984, Alan and John came down from Manchester by rail, to be met at Rugby by Brian, who had been nominated driver for the weekend. 
 
 

And a clear drive south saw us arrive at Alresford in time to catch the 12.50pm Mid Hants service, which was hauled by BR Standard 4 2-6-0 no 76017. The summer of 1984 was a hot and dry, and embankments burned and black.  So we were surprised by the vigour with which our loco tackled the gradients. We managed three round trips to Medstead and back, changing over at Ropley on the second trip to travel on the other rostered loco, N class 2-6-0 no 31874.

By 5pm we were heading south east, towards the Brighton area, where we hoped to find a B & B. We stayed the night at the Marina Guest House, Newhaven. 

 
 

So on Sunday morning, we headed eastwards along the south coast, and a short drive saw us arriving at Sheffield Park, the southern terminus of the Bluebell Railway. We had two round trips to Horsted Keynes, the then terminus. The first was with 75027, another Standard 4, though this time a 4-6-0. And the second with no 55 Stepney, the elderly Stroudley  Terrier 0-6-0 tank loco.

This was only my second visit to the Bluebell Railway, and I was most impressed.
 
 
Then it was on to the Kent and East Sussex line at Tenterden, with the temperature now in the nineties. Little did we know what was in store for us. We had the USA tank, no 22 Maunsell, and reached Wittersham Road, the terminus, without incident. But on the return we were about half way to Rolveden when the brakes came on hard, and we came to a halt. Down came the windows, and what a sight. The heat had expanded the track to the point where it had risen above the ballast in a semi circular arc. The driver decided he would have a go, and so slowly we edged forward. Eventually the train got back to Tenderden. Services were then suspended for the day.

 
 
The second night was spent at New Romney, at the Grasshoper Hotel, and the following morning we were on  9.35am service, with no 5 Hercules, for a round trip to Hythe. Back at New Romney, we visited the Model Railway, had a drink, and were on no 11, Hurricane, for the trip to Dungeness and back. And our driver was none other than Eric Copping, who gave us an excellent run. We decided to return to New Romney in the observation saloon, where we were served Iced Coffee. It was excellent conclusion to our "Lads trip South" We would have liked to have had another trip, but we had to be on our way, so at 1.35pm it was goodbye to the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.
 
The drive back to Rugby was via the M20, under the Thames, around the North Circular, and up the M1. And Alan and John were dropped off at Rugby station and continued their homeward journey north to Lancashire by rail.

And so ended a memorable weekend. Full of fun, incident, and steam haulage. And you can't get better than that.

So where are our illustrious three now. Well Alan, who in 1984 lived in Rochdale, became a SLOA steward (see picture at top) and continued his interest in steam until he moved to Blackpool, where for several years he ran an Off License. But rumour has it that he has now moved to Fleetwood, just up the coast. John, who in 1984, worked for Manchester buses, subsequently joined the railway. He is now a Virgin Guard. Let me rephrase that, he is a Guard with Virgin trains. He also guards on the Worth Valley line. And in his spare time he is still a rail tour regular, but can also be seen at the special events at many of the Heritage Railways. 

Brian still does the occasional steam railtour, and sometimes a modern traction tour, and is regular at Heritage Railway Galas, where he often meets John.  And he also produces strange railway based web sites.

The pictures at the top of the page show, left to right,  Alan, stewarding on the SLOA Pullman train, John window hanging on a railtour, and Brian in the 1980's his Model Railway room. 
 
 

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