Bradford on Avon - past, present, future

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the opening of Bradford-on-Avon station - a town about half the size of Melksham which is situated on the main Portsmouth to Cardiff line about 6 miles away, and is served by a service that's hourly or somewhat more frequent thoughout the day, and has a bustling ridership.

During the day, a plaque was involved at the station and whilst it would have been fun to go, I had a three way clash and that came in third on the basis that my presence would have been purely selfish. But no such clash in the eveing and I was looking forward to hearing Colin Maggs, MBE, talking on the importance of rail travel at 19:30. Imagine our surprise to walk in a few minutes ahead of that time to find a large, crowded room (circa 200 people?) watching a slide show. And we quietly sneaked in (difficult - door at front of room) and found one of the few spare pews.

Someone (or sometwo to be accurate) had put in a great deal of time over many years taking all those pictures of trains - many very rare workings indeed that they must have awaited for hours. And the picture quality was high, the setting magnificent - from Bradford South Junction at the South East end of the "patch" up to Limpley Stoke at the North West, with Bradford, Avoncliff and Freshford in between. I enjoyed reminders of the "Cromptons (Class 33), the Brush 47s; I saw with a tingle of sadness some of the old southern diesel electic units being towed away for scrap along the line, and I was delighted to see the resplentant Hastings-gauge unit in smart green on its first run in preservation. I was shocked to hear of some past inefficiencies, such as the Monday Only (MO) train from Cardiff to Westbury ... after which the coaches sat in the siding at Westbury until they were next needed ... which was Friday.

It's good to celebrate the past. But two things struck me.

1. We were there to celebrate the station and the railway line. Pictures of the station - a beautiful building that's the last remaining "classic" Victorian station in the area - were conspicuous by their absence.

2. There was nothing looking forward. Here we are in the midst of a major shakeup, with current passengers from Bradford-on-Avon being sardined to work, fewer trains, skyrocketed fares - the pendulum has swung from the laxness of the set used once a week right across to the opposite extreme and no-one was talking about it. It was as if the present and future didn't exist - "We used to have these 143 units occasonally" said the commentator, telling of the discomfort and rough ride. Do you know what, dear commentator, You've got them again now ... and you don't even acknwoledge that or any future

An interval, to be followed by a railwayana auction ("selling off the familiy jewels"), and I would like to thank the chairman of the West Wilts Rail User Group who organised the evening for letting me address the meeting for a couple of minutes - pointing them at the petition and giving a couple of thoughts for the future for both B-o-A (for it was their evening) and the TransWilts line via Melksham. Alas, mostly dead ears from people for whom the past hold much more that the future, but a sprinkling of interest and , bless them, encouragement afterwards from a handful.

Colin Maggs - remember him, the guy who was to talk on the importance of rail travel, was indisposed at the last minute. A fascinating lecture, illustrated, on Marc and Ismbard Kingdon Brunel followed. Most of it was a warm comfort of revision for me - fun to watch, listen and see pictures and hear stories that I knew well retold. But cold comfort for the future of rail travel. "I'm not an anorak" I tell people I get involved with in the train campaign; "I don't really mind whether we have a 153, a 158 or a 170 class train as long as it runs when and where it's required, with comfort and cost considered". And, sadly, the eveing showed just why I sometimes feel the need to take that stance when talking with the railway professionals.

As I said at the end of the two minutes Reg had given me ... "Let's look forward and encourage the provision and use of an appropriate service so that we can be here in another 50 years to celebrate Bradford on Avon stations's 200th Birthday"