At 7.00am today, I set off with the GM for a meeting of "The Southern Group" of Heritage Railways.
After a 3 hour journey we arrived at Norden Park and Ride and joined the representatives of other Railways. Andre Freeman was already there having stayed with relatives. A cup of tea and a chat was followed by a look around their "Mining Museum" which was a fascinating insight into the extraction and the movement of Purbeck Ball Clay. If you ever go that way, give it a go, it was really interesting.
We then boarded a train for a short trip to Corfe Castle where we were shown their new Signalbox and had a look around their museum. Again, time well spent.
Then it was off to Swanage where we had our meeting proper. Various matters were discussed including Volunteering, Ticketing System, Shop/Buffet Epos, Catering, the Financial climate, projections for 2012 and how the Olympics would benefit/harm Heritage Railways - depending on where they were sited. A Ploughmans Lunch and more Tea followed.
It was a day well spent and we came away with some good ideas which are worth pursuing.
The journey home took 5 hours 10 minutes - the M3 was shut, the A3 overloaded, all routes to the M25 congested. A nightmare.
