L92 leaves Wittersham Road yard

A hive of activity today down at Wittersham Road station and signalbox. A full Sunday service together with Wealden Pullman Sunday Lunch dining train and a special working of L92 from Rolvenden to the yard to be loaded and dispatched back to the South Devon Railway.

The manouvering of this gigantic lowloader provided an interesting show from the signalbox balcony. Travelling down small country lanes then the tight turn into the yard showed real skill as did the loading and eventual reversing out of the yard back onto the tight Wittersham Road.

I was suprised the engine made its own way to Wittersham and was left gently cooling with drifts of steam visible as it was being loaded and even when it finally departed, escorted by a van, for its long trip back to the South Devon Railway. Nogbad turned up at Wittersham just in time to shoot this spectacle as well as the crossing of two trains and the two enginemen who boarded the up train here for a ride back to the Rolvenden depot.

The usual Sunday lunch service was provided by the staff on the Wealden Pullman, excellent soup on the trip down to Northian with a bag of roast potatoes on the return trip.

A colleague was doing his passing out turn at Northian box today. I was apprehensive that I didn't make any mistakes which would cause him any problems. I'm pleased to say he passed out and gracious enough to say that he was pleased it was me that was at the other end! so that made a pleasant end to the duty.

That's my last turn in the signalbox for the forseeable future, holidays, changes to services and other things have conspired to mean there are no more opportunities until the October half term. Unless there are last minute turns owning to illness and the like. You live in hope!