I thought Southern were bad but at least...

[Pherlopolus]

I assume you are involved in the heritage railway movement?

Do you mind my asking which preservation trust? I've been in involved with the Bristol Suburban Railway Society (now the Avon Valley Railway) over the years.

In the mid 70s the trust bought a half mile stretch of track running north east from Bitton Station on the Midland spur of the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway which used to connect Bath Green Park Station with Mangotsfield Station enabling people from the Midlands access to Bournemouth and the south coast via the S&DJR.

I was there pretty much near the start when all we had was the station, the track, an engine shed and the only rolling stock consisted of couple of dillies.

No longer actively involved, I'm please to say that the trust now has 2 diesel locos, a "bubble car" DMU and 2 "Fox Walker" tank engines along with 10 corridor composite carriages in LMS livery as well as having extended the track south westwards to a new halt at Avon Waterside and further north east to Oldland Common where the station has repoened. Plans, I hear, are afoot to extend further up the line to Warmley.

Telford Steam Railway (telfordsteamrailway.co.uk), we are small with big plans

we are in the process of planning our extension down into the Ironbridge Gorge (long time planning, but needs a lot of planets to align - which they slowly are!)

we also run the Polar Express at christmas with a real american loco (midlandsthepolarexpressride.com)

[Pip in a Poke]

Telford Steam Railway (telfordsteamrailway.co.uk), we are small with big plans

we are in the process of planning our extension down into the Ironbridge Gorge (long time planning, but needs a lot of planets to align - which they slowly are!)

we also run the Polar Express at christmas with a real american loco (midlandsthepolarexpressride.com)

Nice little pannier tank! How long's the track at present?

[Pherlopolus]

about a mile in a Y shape (3 stations), eventually we are hoping for about 5-6 miles which is about optimal for a heritage railway. We will ultimately be operating a heritage park and ride into the gorge, and the only heritage railway operating into a world heritage site.

[Pip in a Poke]

about a mile in a Y shape (3 stations), eventually we are hoping for about 5-6 miles which is about optimal for a heritage railway. We will ultimately be operating a heritage park and ride into the gorge, and the only heritage railway operating into a world heritage site.

The BSRS has only acquired an extra 2 miles since 1976 - the problem, as ever, has always been getting BR/Network Rail/Railtrack to agree to sell up. They're not very amenable to the ambitions of heritage railways are they?