With unbelieveably bad timing, my camera decided to have a funny turn when the central event occurred: the non-stop run through of the double-headed 'Pines Express'. However it was definitely worth seeing and I think most other visitors were either on it, or got a good picture!
Wansford (renamed Midford for the event) seemed busy with visitors, as did the trains, which appeared very well loaded especially towards the middle and end of the day. Hopefully a successful day for the railway, and that a good time was had by all.
Ex-LMS '4F' 44422 stands at 'Midford' between trains.
BR Standard '5MT' 73050 pulls away from Wansford with the 3.25pm departure.
Julian Birley kindly brought along his Bentley for the day. This very car was used by Ivo Peters, a well known and highly regarded railway photographer, to chase trains on the Somerset and Dorset route (amongst others) in the age of steam. The fact that he was able to photograph the same train in multiple locations speaks volumes about the slow, cross-country nature of the route, and perhaps also the speed of his driving! I'm not too good on buses, but I believe this example is an AEC, and apparently served the Somerset/Dorset area. It nicely complemented the Bentley and a large collection of classic MGs which were also on display.
44422 being used in a turntable demonstration - always worth a look.
Wansford ('Midford'), was quite busy with visitors. Many more passengers were on the train to Peterborough and back at the time of the photo, while 44422 shunts the goods wagons.
A bit of an oddity here for an S&D event, although it was nice to see Austerity No.22 (Hunslet 3844 of 1956 vintage) out and about today. It would seem that attempts were unsuccessful to find an example of an 'Austerity' that worked on or near the S&D, so the engine was temporarily named 'Lord Salisbury'. This was the identity of a (very different) Peckett which worked at Norton Hill colliery in the Somerset coal field.
