Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return - E. M. Forster

The weather forecast for Norfolk told us to expect a heavy rain today so I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get up, but when I looked out of the window it was sunny so Robbie decided that we should get organised and go to the North Norfolk Railway. Suddenly our life was set on fast forward and somehow we managed to catch the 10.13am train from North Walsham to Sheringham. It is a pleasant journey with some lovely costal views and for a time I was happy to stare out of the window lost in my own thoughts, but after a while I chatted to Robbie about various things. As we pulled into Cromer I sensed that Robbie was not really listening, he seemed to be on auto pilot so I casually mentioned that there was a tiger on the platform, the man sitting opposite looked a bit worried, but Robbie just said ‘yes dear’. I wish he would drag his attention from that blackberry for five minutes!

I enjoyed the North Norfolk Railway. For me the highlight of the day was a visit to the Ladies loo at Weyborne Station. It is a lovely little station, very clean and beautifully kept, it is clear from the many little details that this is a labour of love for all those involved in running this station. The ladies toilets are amazing, very old fashioned with heavy wooden doors, but they are kept spotlessly clean and the walls are decorated with metal posters. The area around the sink is fascinating, like a mini museum, there is a big display case on the wall above the sink filled with all sorts of interesting items and to the side is a display of old money and various other interesting posters. It makes a visit to the ladies a very pleasant and memorable experience.

Robbie enjoyed taking photos, looking at all the stock in their yard and of course travelling on the trains between Sherringham, Weybourne and Holt. His rucksack got heavier as the day went on because he bought a number of magazines from the wide selection of back numbers available at the shop. I enjoyed the views on the trip to Holt and I liked the compartment coaches, it felt like travelling back in time. Robbie wants to go back again on Sunday, I don’t really mind. However if he thinks he is dragging me out to travel behind 47s between Norwich and Great Yarmouth all day on Saturday he can think again, he can go on his own, I have better things to do.

Irony

I read in a newspaper article yesterday that Network Rail staff will have to travel to a staff conference by coach because it is too expensive to travel by train. So that must be why they disrupt services and force rail travellers on to replacement buses, it's cheaper. According to the Metro article the cost of all the staff attending the conference by coach would be £2400 compared to £27000 for rail travel. I don't put too much faith in those figures since the same article claims that that Coventry is in Berkshire! Anyway there is a certain kind of irony in Network Rail staff being forced on to coaches, I hope they are smelly old bone shakers like the ones that we get stuck with each time they mess up our rail services.

The Tip of the Iceberg!

I was very tired on Thursday morning after dealing with the dog during the night. By lunchtime I could feel myself nodding off and I prescribed a cup of tea and a little rest, with Radio 4 for company of course. I had just settled down when I almost choked on my tea. The irritatingly complacent tones of Iain Coucher were intruding into the room. It feels as if I can't get away from Network Rail. It is bad enough listening to Robbie moaning about them every day, and I'd had a taste of their inability to cope with joined up thinking at Northampton Station the night before, so the last thing I wanted was that man intruding into my lounge.

I'm not sure what is going on in Northampton, maybe the council are challenging Bristol for the title of road cone capital of the UK. For months we have endured road closures and road works involving one of the most important roundabouts in the town. Work on the roundabout finished a couple of weeks ago and I breathed a huge sigh of relief, because it had cased me a lot of inconvenience. My relief was short lived, the roadworks have now radiated out to other equally inconvenient sites and the cones haven't gone, they have just moved down the road. The road outside the front entrance to the railway station is closed and they have dug a massive hole in the road, so I was forced to enter the station via the long stay car park at the back. It is an awkward entrance anyway, but visiting the station was turned into a near death experienced by having six massive lorries loaded with huge bits of track maintenance equipment, parked nose to tail along the narrowest and most dangerous part. They must have known in advance that the council planned to create a 'heffalump trap' at the front entrance, so you would have thought that even with their limited resources in the brain cell department, they could have worked out that this was not a good time to block the other entrance/exit.

Anyway back to Mr Complacent on the radio. He managed to cure my tiredness because I was far too cross to be tired. He is still rambling on about what a good job they are doing and how everyone else was at fault regarding the New Year debacle. That old phrase comes to mind, There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.

As usual when the railways are mentioned in the media Christian Woolmer was wheeled out to give an expert analysis. He talked a lot of sense, but he hasn't really got the sort of voice that makes you want to listen, I guess he is the David Bellamy of the railway world - much better in print. His assessment of the cause of the previous delay and the potential for further disruption was much more plausible, I suspect we have only seen the tip of the iceberg so far! Even if Network Rail manage the Rugby shut down this Easter better than the New Year fiasco, weekend rail travel from Northampton to Birmingham will still be a bit like the dodo - a thing of the past!

Robbie's journey to work today (Friday) took three hours and put him in a foul mood, he arrived home at 9.40pm after an equally challenging return journey. I think we would all be a bit more forgiving about blocked lines and replacement coaches if we thought there was a realistic possibility of a better service after the upgrade, but if they don't tell the truth about the present why should we believe the promises about the future!