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East Meets West
A sunny morning at Combwich. A rare view showing an ex Great Eastern Railway J15 being tested on the Combwich line. With the Eastern Region of British Railways being the first region to almost totally...
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The Tipsy Tale of Moorewood Colliery
For decades, Moorewood Colliery was a cover up for an illicit moonshine operation. The pretend mine was used as storage for casks of the illegal liquor. Potatoes used in the mash were dyed or painted...
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Pigeon Fiddlers & Piccalilli Fanatics
These are the men who work on the track, all lining up in acknowledgement of the passing goods. From left to right we have Cyril Flagshaft, on days off he’s a pigeon fiddler, enthusiast and Piccalilli...
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Time Shifters: The Eccentric Rituals of Little England's Clock Circle
Here in Little England, twice a year in preparation for the overnight clock change, the ancient ironstone circle has to be moved to reflect the loss or gain of an hour. Luckily these days it’s a little...
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Streamlined SDJR 7F
Rumour has it the Airfix based their well-known plastic kit on the brick, wood and tin engine shed on the one here at Combwich. The unusual feature was the powered propeller over the entrance. This...
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Mysterious Fires, Corpses & The Cayman Islands
July 1965 saw the very last goods train pass the site of Polbrook Gurney Colliery. The pit-head and associated buildings were demolished within 6 months of closing in 1962, with former Pedant &...
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On This Day in History
I was looking for something else and this image from this very day 31 years ago on 12 April 1993 popped up of Pannier tank No. 1618 as it nears Tenterden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. I...
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Whimsical Wonders at Brew Street: Basil's Brush, Waving Willy, and the...
A happy Saturday at Brew Street, Freddy the Flag keeps an eye on the crossing whilst Waving Willy has jumped off the mobile moonshine production steam lorry to watch the arrival of a shiny wagon. Basil...
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Monochrome Madness: Waving Wonders and Exploding Moonshine on Flat Holm
Monochrome Monday. Bob Geeza Cat, Waving Wayne and Waving Willy and in the cab Waving Wally are as usual waving in sync, with Double Denim Dancing Dando having his usual shimmy. Meanwhile another...
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Clever Cat Spots Business Opportunity
Click to enlarge Not front end Friday Click to enlargeA day or two ago the long arm of the law intercepted the moonshiners, Barry Bullhead from The Ministry of Misery looks on at the warehouse which...
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The Thong & Flasher
It’s a lovely sunrise at Combwich West (not many know that Combwich has 2 stations, but that’s a story for another time), as the first train of the day departs. To the left we see lights are on at The...
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Pipe Organs & Spiders’ Web Sites.
Monochrome MondayLittle Andrew Barclay and his trusty loco trundle down the 1 in 20 grade out of the colliery. Stopping is always fun, especially if the rails are wet or greasy or quite often both...
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St George’s Day 🏴
Deliberation Dave and Jimmy Hootsmaloots introduce a new shunting engine to Hubert the conversational Latin speaking horse. Hubert treating every new engine arrival with suspicion, for when not...
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The British Rail Ham Sandwich
Waving Willy and Waving Wayne wave in the arrival of the new covert mobile moonshine production rail car. Bought secondhand from British Rail, Laboratory 20 was originally used to develop food items...
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Bullleid’s Clever Collapsing Loco
Very occasionally the rather unusual Q1 Class locomotive would visit Combwich. And here we see Guildford shed’s 33019 departing with a goods train for Poole. They were very clever in that they could be...
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May Day Madness
May Day madness, and as usual Rufus hound loves to jump around in the crossing keeper’s vegetable patch trying to avoid capture. Such fun! And for any adenoidal types keen to point out that vegetable...
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Knee High to a Grasshopper
#frontendfridayEvery Friday the line past Polbrook Gurney Colliery is inspected. That’s the 1 in 20 grade up in to the colliery to the right which can create difficulties on wet days, but luckily the...
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Through the Square Window
Bob Geeza Cat and Grumbly Eric look at the solitary locomotive standing between the side of The Pedant and Armchair and the line into the colliery. Eric is the driver of the engine, but needed to get...
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Watercress Line Spring Steam Gala 2024
A few photos grabbed at Ropley from the The Watercress Line spring steam gala. Saturday 27 April 2024. Click to enlarge Taken with a vintage Mamiya C33 (dating from 1966), 80mm f2.8 Sekor and a 1951...
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Counting Sheep
Wednesday morning at Combwich, and keen amateur cloud spotters Michael Storm and Freddy Fish watch the engine run around the train that recently arrived from Evercreech Junction. Once ready, it will...
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