A fairly normal gala - full steam ahead at the Mid Hants!

All aboard! The Mid Hants railway is open again as Schools class 30925 'Cheltenham' prepares to depart from Alton with the 17:00 to Alresford on 1st May as part of their 4 day Spring Steam Gala.

With the UK finally starting to get back to something approaching 'normal' as we vaguely remember it following the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time also for many of those things that we used to enjoy to start to come back to life. 

Urie S15 506 climbs towards Medstead & Four Marks working
the 10:30 from Alresford to Alton.

For me this means railways- aside from my journeys to work trips over the last year to enjoy riding on a train have been few and far between, and I realised that is a vastly better situation that many have had who have not been near a train at all. 

The heritage sector has been particularly badly affected by Covid-19 with heritage railways loosing the majority, if not all, of the 2020 season. Some lines were able to present an offering over Christmas with Santa Specials and 'Christmas Light' trains which brought in some revenue but for all it has been a bleak 12 months. 

Now in the spring of 2020 the railways have by and large survived and it is time to look towards a better season with heritage railways starting to open their doors once again. Many will have restrictions in place, at least for now, involving mask wearing, one way systems, reduced catering and often reserved seating. The Mid Hants 'Watercress' line however opted for its Spring 2021 steam gala to attempt to offer something as close as they could to the 'normal' experience. Not fancying having an individual seat reserved on one train for the day, and longing for the free days of gala's past I paid up with great anticipation of a good old day out!

Visiting from the South Devon Railway, GWR 'Prairie' 5526 makes a fine sight after departing Alresford with the midday service to Alton. The train is captured in a suprise patch of sunlight and viewed from the air. 

There were of course a few caveats- masks would have to be worn at all times inside the train, one way systems were in place (with doors marked for entry or exit) and the whole event was run at reduced capacity of approximately 40%- though was not sold out. 

Pannier 4612 was a guest at the gala from the Bodmin &
Wenford Railway. It was employed on shuttles between 
Alresford and Ropley throughout the weekend.

Aside from these minor changes I have to say, the Mid Hants put on a pretty normal gala- and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Passengers were able to do all those little things that we have longed for over the past year; picking the train we wanted to board, opening the door ourselves, choosing a vacant seat, getting off where we saw fit. Yes, the queues may have been a little longer at the toilets and I couldn't get a beer on board, but these things can be lived with. I was even pleased to see that masks were not compulsory on stations (outdoors) and of course the staff were, as promised, cleaning touch points on the trains at each end of the line. Indeed if it were not for the masks I could almost have forgotten this was a Covid gala altogether- the only near disaster was almost missing Pannier tank 4612 visiting from the Bodmin & Wenford railway when it's train was declared full to capacity- another of my party had fortunately already secured a table while I was in the aforementioned queue for the gents!

It was clear to see that the staff and enthusiasts were all pleased to be back- as were the photographers by the lineside who had seemed to arrive in their droves, making parking on the narrow lanes difficult at times. While a gala organised like this might not be everyone's cup of tea just yet it is great to see the Mid Hants proving that it can be done. Hopefully it won't be too long now until all events have that normal feeling once again. 

Across the fields 30925 is viewed descending the bank between Medstead and Ropley.