Trackside….

Today’s tale is most definitely from The Trailway. This morning, in search of a photo for a weekly photo challenge, I visited the little village station at Shillingstone. The Shillingstone Railway Project’s based on the old Somerset and Dorset line, colloquially known as ‘ the Slow and Dirty’. it’s a location I’ve visited on numerous occasions in the last three years as it’s only a stones throw down the line from Sturminster, a lovely walk down the old trackbed between the hedgerows at any time of year.

I’ve always found something of interest to photograph here, there’s a wealth of opportunities on offer, from track to platform. Granted there’s not a great deal of rolling stock yet but enough to offer interest if you look beyond the obvious and over time the work carried out by the volunteers has progressed to encompass both ‘up’ and ‘ down ‘ lines through the station. No mean feat given the expense of things nowadays.

I’ve always called Shillingstone ‘ the station that keeps on giving ‘, sadly I wonder how much longer that will be the case. As with everything, it seems, progress comes at a cost and as the work progresses so do the restrictions to access. Where once it was a simple matter to wander freely there are now the inevitable restrictions imposed by health and safety. Gone is the option to self assess, act accordingly and responsibly replaced by fence, barrier and locks barring access to some of the more photogenic opportunities. That said, this morning still provided nicely thank you very much, it’s always just a matter of looking.