The Mid Hants really pulled the rabbit out of the hat with this awesome steam fest. It was non-stop action at Ropley with locomotives coming off shed, the Alresford shuttle services, shunting demonstrations and all the service trains, I had to wait until late afternoon for a break in the action to give me time to buy a tasty bacon bap from the Ropley kiosk. In this video we visit all the stations and a good number of lineside locations to savour the visiting and home fleet engines hauling trains through the pretty Hampshire countryside. At the end of the day when most visitors have drifted away, the best scenes of the day can be viewed as the engines return to Ropley to be serviced and readied for the next day, six locomotives in steam, on shed, with the crews catching up on the day, for a moment I thought I’d slipped back to the age when steam was still king. The best couple of days I’ve enjoyed for a long time, a wonderful way to celebrate the slight easing of lock-down rules and the prospect of normality returning. Well done and thank you to everyone who helped make this event a reality.
Listed below are the locomotives featured on the day –
GWR – C.B.Collett designed “8750 class” 0-6-0PT Pannier Tank – No.4612 courtesy of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway
GWR – C.B.Collett designed “4575 class” 2-6-2T Light Prairie Tank – No.5526 courtesy of the South Devon Railway
LMS – “Ivatt class 2” 2-6-2T – No.41312 – Mid Hants Railway
LSWR “S15 class” 4-6-0 – No.30506/506 – Mid Hants Railway
SR V “Schools class” 4-4-0 – No. 30925 “Cheltenham” – Mid Hants Railway
BR “Standard class 4” 2-6-0 – No.76017 – Mid Hants Railway
Peckett “R3 class”0-4-0ST “Kilmersdon” Works No.1788 – Mid Hants Railway/Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust – on display at Ropley MPD
S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 No 53808 –Mid Hants Railway/Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust on display at Ropley MPD