The Geat Central Heritage Railway.

Wednesday 10th July 2019 on the Great Central Railway.
Today is the day that we set had aside to visit the Great Central Heritage Railway. It runs from Leicester North Station to Loughborough Station, a distance of just over eight miles. Leicester North was a bit far away to walk, so we took a bus from Leicester's large, busy and very efficient bus station. North of the City centre is the "Golden Mile"- the Asian quarter with its endless Indian shops and restaurants.
A short walk from the bus stop brought us to the Station entrance.

The station had been rebuilt from scratch in the style of the 1950s as the original station had been in such bad condition that it had to be demolished. The new station was only completed in 2009 with the official opening of its canopy.

We decided that the "staff" had been on the razzle the night before as they looked much the worse for wear!

Locomotive 47406, an LMS Class 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0T built in 1926, steamed in at 10:20, exactly on time.

We were delighted to find that the train boasted a buffet car and so we sat down to a proper Hobbits' second breakfast as we travelled along. It is many, many years since either of us could remember having such good food on a moving train! It brought back happy memories.

North of Loughborough Station, the current northern terminal of the line, there is a further ten miles of heritage line that runs to Nottingham. Between the two lines is a gap of just 500 yards! A scheme to reconnect the two lines is very advanced with two out of three bridges already rebuilt and only a short section of embankment needing to be reconstructed. Once completed it will make an 18 mile long heritage line. Something to look forward to!
Rothley station has a World War II theme and we were very amused to see the very appropriate graffiti on the pram to collect scrap.

The station has beautifully tended flower beds as well as a "Dig for Victory" vegetable garden next to the rails.

It also has a period tea room, where we had tea in the afternoon, served by this lovely lady in her attractive Edwardian dress.

The waiting room displayed a rolling video of the war years with wonderful footage of the VE day celebrations including the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

We went up and down the line twice behind the steam engine, then joined the two-coach DMU, where we had the chance to sit right behind the two drivers (one in training) and watch the track.

We caught the last train back to Leicester North and walked back to the bus stop for the bus ride back to the centre.
Our walk back to MM took us past the former Pump House at Friary Mill, next to our mooring, which is now used as a conference centre.

And so back to MM. A brilliant day!
Today, MM had a rest.