Railway Station

This morning it has been dry so far, but very dull, very cold and very windy. I went to the post box in Station Road which forms part of my 'One Street' project. I took this picture of a section of the Railway Station which joins Station Road to Chalk Farm Lane. You can access the station from either side and you can just see the lane to the right-hand side of the picture. The railway line runs North to South and also runs parallel to the lane; Station Road runs East to West.

The Railway Station is being developed generally by volunteers, over a period of time and is also an on-going project; this should be interesting to record. The station won Best Kept Station for many years when it had two station masters who did it between trains, which were only once every two hours at that time. One of them also used to grow vegetables in a little plot which joins our lower garden. Sadly Jack is no longer with us although Percy the other station master is still alive, almost blind and in a wheel chair. Now the ticket office is only manned on a part-time basis and due to Health and Safety Regulations the ticket seller is not allowed to do anything anyway. The area around the station had been allowed to become overgrown and is gradually being cleared.

Eventually there will be a café, in the building shown, run by volunteers and any profit made will be ploughed back into the development of the station. Tables and chairs will be put on the grassy area, although this currently slopes; it will need to be flattened. There will be tables and chairs in another area looking South which I will blip at a later date. Tea, coffee and cakes will be available to the paying public, but I understand that it will be free for old age pensioners, but the cake to go with the tea and coffee will have to be paid for; that is the theory.

In the true spirit of the project I have included a rhyme. I cannot take credit for this it is all Mr A's own work; his journal today shows me walking Dougal the dog cat.

The railway station and the lane
Pictured here whilst there is no rain
This area joins the lane and line
Looking better than this when there is sunshine
Station Road is to the left-hand side
Unlike the lane it is quite wide
This building will form a café soon
And should be nice to visit in the afternoon
The grassy area will have tables outside
With refreshments for those who have completed their ride

Station Road looking East towards the Railway Station and Chalk Farm Lane looking North