07:20

We’ve settled into a routine here now. Up by 06:30. Drink coffee, get ready for the day, take Sam to school, then Dawn and I go our separate ways as I get dropped off at the station to disappear on the 08:58 for the day. Today’s another such circuit, but where will I get to this time? Feel free to keep popping back to find out…

09:00.

Here’s the daily pic from the rear coach of the 08:58. Different faces today but loadings are pretty good.

09:20.

I’ve abandoned the London service at Aldershot to do what I did yesterday and swap to the Guildford service which follows behind. In contrast to yesterday it’s a grey old day this morning so the camera’s remained in its bag. I’ve a lunch appointment later but I’m wondering what shots I can get in the interim – and where.

11:02.

I ended up staying at Guildford for an hour due to ‘events’. The first thing I noticed was a track gang busy cutting down Buddleia and other plants in the station yard. Not the sort of thing that would attract any interest from railway enthusiasts (several were there for other reasons) but for me they’re excellent library shots to have to illustrate the railway’s story. A few minutes later one of the few remaining pairs of SWR Siemens Class 707s put in an appearance. Grist to my mill but the enthusiasts were uninterested.

Why? Because they were here for this. A steam engine!

15:50.

Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy. Having travelled via Woking to Winchester I bumped into Dan, a CRN colleague who caught the train to with me. Dan gave me the background on what to expect when we arrived at Shawford. Even so, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the transformation of an old station building that’s been derelict for over 40 years. Waiting for us where some of the folks from Hampshire CRP who’ve been the poerhouses behind this and some other staion cafes. I’ll add more details later, but for now – here’s a few pictures.

21:55.

Now where was I? Oh yes – Shawford! Since when I’ve gravitated to London. I’m not staying in Tilford tonight as I have a silly o’ clock start tomorrow. I’m leaving ‘stabiliser rail’ country for the day to meet up with old RAIL magazine friend and colleague Pip Dunn in Peterborough as we’ve some train tests to do.

Having arrived at Waterloo I had the chance to meet up with other old friends. SWR train driver Steve Upton was on a break when I arrived so we went for a coffee (or in my case sparkling water) when we were joined by another of the gang, Hassard Stacpoole. Here’s the three of us together before Steve chauffeured us back to Clapham Junction, where we are now.

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