The Bluebell Railway (Tuesday 4th August 2015)

I'm pleased to say that the day after my driving marathon went decidedly better. After an overnight stay with friends in Battle it was a relatively short hop to the Bluebell Railway at Sheffield Park Station.

I was one of thirty lucky applicants chosen for a complimentary special afternoon there hosted by Olympus Cameras and Steam Railway magazine. We were all issued with an Olympus E-M10 micro four-thirds camera complete with a pancake 14-42 mm lens (28-84 mm equivalent) and were soon on a steam train heading for Horsted Keynes, which doubles as Downton in the TV series Downton Abbey (and Grantchester and various other TV series and films) clicking merrily.

As well as watching a variety of steam trains puffing in and out of the station we also were taken to nearby vantage points and were given a guided tour of the sidings, normally out of bounds. Some of us also got to climb onto the perilously tall cab of an engine in the sidings.

It was while waiting for the return train back to an awaiting cream tea above the Bessemer Arms on Sheffield Park station that I took the picture I have chosen as my blip. When our train pulled in to the platform, a group of children ran into the driver's cab. Instead of shooing them away, he allowed them the run of the cab and showed them all the levers and dials. It must have made a lasting impression on these young souls.

After the cream tea, we were each given a goody bag that amongst other goodies included an entry form for a competition for which the closing date is today.

The winner will get an E-M10, their picture in a Steam Railway magazine gallery feature and in a 2016 calendar, so I have been busy working through the hundreds of images I took on the E-M10 (those taken on the other camera I was using aren't eligible) ready to submit the maximum of five allowed, of which this is one. Hence the delay in publishing my blip.

L.

11.8.2015 (1910 hr)

Blip #1631 (#1881 including archived blips)
Consecutive Blip #006
Day #1960
LOTD #865 (#986 including archived blips)

Now completed:
Bristol Zoo, 31 July 2015 (Flickr album)
A Canal Walk From Spout Lane, 1 August 2015 (Flickr album)
Bognor Regis, 3 August 2015 (Flickr album)

The Bluebell Railway, 4 August 2015 (Flickr album)

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Grateful Dead - China Cat Sunflower (recorded live, 27 August 1972, Veneta OR)
I left at about 1800 hr and got home around 2100 hr, and found, as well as a welcoming Smokey, a Grateful Dead set that included this piece had arrived in the post.

One Year Ago:
Bowood 2014 #29