What was going on at

Ropley, 28th March 2007

From: Stephen Hoadley Sent: 28 March 2007 18:38 Subject: Today at Ropley   Had a look at what was going on at Ropley this afternoon and, as usual, there was a great deal to see! At the west end of the wheeldrop shed a gentleman was screwing in the HLF plaque, acknowledging the fund’s contribution. According to a volunteer colleague, the plaque wasn’t quite level - by about 10 thou. to the right! ;-) A perfect spring afternoon, the local bovines seemed unable to understand all the activity! In the yard, a couple of lads were washing out the Standard 5’s boiler, not one of the most glamorous jobs associated with steam locomotives, especially as it means intimately exploring the far end of the smokebox.     Boiler washouts clearly use a large amount of water and although the effect is spectacular, maybe Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service have a replacement hose they could give you. Locomotive activity was provided by the Ivatt 2 tank on Footplate Experience duty, the participants of which got well and truly stuck into everything they had to do. I chatted to one guy whom I have no doubt will be back for more! Whilst the group looked round the shed, #41312’s fireman kindly allowed me to re-acquaint myself with its footplate. The trainee driver of the last trip had the added bonus of the hauling the RAT bar car down to Alresford.
	A last glimpse into the shed revealed the Class 27 D5353 undergoing bodywork in the paint bay. Those of us with longer memories will wish it better luck than it had the first time it occupied this part of the shed.     This is just a taste of what was going on today. There was also plenty of painting, mowing, paving, gardening, hammering, chatting, tea drinking, laughing… It was a really enjoyable hour or so and as always, the welcome was very warm. I hadn’t realised until a nice man told me so that Netley signalbox was chosen for Ropley so that only three new letters would be needed for the name board. Prudent, I call it…   Stephen
How our railway looked in the 1970s: photos from the early days of the Mid Hants Railway