The promise of good weather had a team of 9 meet up at Medstead.
Best feet forward, Adrian N and Brian Hi set off for Alton while Ian J and
Keith H went to Alresford.
The oiling party (John, Eddie, Brian Ha and Martin W) made their way to Ropley to pick up where the team finished last week.
Some of the gear had been left behind Blake’s Crossing, suitably camouflaged,
including the Grayson Mk 3 trolley with a halved skate front and rear and a
motorcycle kick stand as a support leg. A noticeable big saving in weight! We’d
only done about 4 or 5 lengths when the oil dispenser came over all
temperamental, spitting, spurting or nothing, necessitating in some emergency
surgery to remove fine strands of grass and slivers of twig which had somehow
got in?????? That sorted we got underway. We were blown out to let Lion rumble
past and made such good progress we decided to treat ourselves to a repast at
the West Country buffet.
Could there be anything better than sitting outside the WCB
in the sunshine, tucking into a bap crammed with raw bacon! And to enhance the
experience further Lion pulled off from platform 2 in a choking cloud of
exhaust fumes that engulfed the station. I know it would have Neil all excited
but it’s this sort of thing that give diesel drivers a bad name!
With cholesterol levels now well into the danger zone we
returned to the track. The temperature was up, making the rails “jump” as
plates were loosened. Passing Northside hut (note to architect - is the door supposed to bow like that?) we
took time to admire a quintessential MH scene of patchwork fields to the south.
A kestrel hovering nearby and brimstone butterflies flitting around John as he
kept lookout. We returned to the hut for lunch, as it was the only place that
afforded any shade. We made it 4 lengths past Northside Crossing, just shy of ¾
of a mile of track done, when the heat proved too much and the oil ran out.
With necks glowing we called it a day – a really good day.
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