EbbwJunction1
Established Member
I had two very good days at Seaton on Tuesday and yesterday, and I thought that people might like to hear about them.
Tuesday was a visit to Pecorama at Beer. I took the Bronze Experience tour of the factory and saw among other things the track being constructed. I didn't know very much about how this is done before, and I found it quite fascinating how precise the work is and how skilful the workers are. I then took a couple of trips on the Beer Heights Light Railway, which is a a one mile 7+1⁄4 inch gauge railway inside the site. It was using steam and diesel haulage, and the journey was very interesting. They also have a former Orient Express Pullman carriage, ("Orion") but sadly this isn't open to the public. It's currently open to the public in July and August, and I'd recommend a visit.
Wednesday was a visit to the Seaton Tramway. This was arranged by a local (to me) coach company and included a return journey and a Cream Tea; I also had a separate journey as I had the time to do it. The tramway was very busy, with around four of five trams operating on a regular basis between Seaton and Colyton. The Cream Tea was in the station cafe at Colyton and was pretty good - I hedged my bets on the "Cream first and jam second" or "Jam first and cream second" argument, having both versions!
Two very good days out, which ticked off two of the attractions that I'd wanted to go to for some while.
(I accept, incidentally, that neither of these are, strictly speaking, preserved lines, but I think that this is as good a place as anywhere to include this.)
Tuesday was a visit to Pecorama at Beer. I took the Bronze Experience tour of the factory and saw among other things the track being constructed. I didn't know very much about how this is done before, and I found it quite fascinating how precise the work is and how skilful the workers are. I then took a couple of trips on the Beer Heights Light Railway, which is a a one mile 7+1⁄4 inch gauge railway inside the site. It was using steam and diesel haulage, and the journey was very interesting. They also have a former Orient Express Pullman carriage, ("Orion") but sadly this isn't open to the public. It's currently open to the public in July and August, and I'd recommend a visit.
Wednesday was a visit to the Seaton Tramway. This was arranged by a local (to me) coach company and included a return journey and a Cream Tea; I also had a separate journey as I had the time to do it. The tramway was very busy, with around four of five trams operating on a regular basis between Seaton and Colyton. The Cream Tea was in the station cafe at Colyton and was pretty good - I hedged my bets on the "Cream first and jam second" or "Jam first and cream second" argument, having both versions!
Two very good days out, which ticked off two of the attractions that I'd wanted to go to for some while.
(I accept, incidentally, that neither of these are, strictly speaking, preserved lines, but I think that this is as good a place as anywhere to include this.)