Steam!!!!

I'm loading this now, 9.55am, just because I am on a train and I can.

D.C. finally had a good night’s sleep.

Apparently we were too late to score breakfast last night, so we had hot chocolate and lemon flavoured “Yoyo”s (melting moments) with passionfruit icing. The hot chocolate was supplied by the motor lodge and the Yoyos we bought from Wishbone when we bought yesterday’s lunch, only because they sounded yummy. Not because we had plans for it.

So it was a nutritious breakfast.

Yeah, right.

It was raining.

Not heavy, but a more marked drizzle than yesterday. So we got kitted out in all our gear. We’re good Girl Guides so I wore the usual underwear then…

Thermal leggings

Polyprop top

Knee high merino socks

Cotton foot socks (anything longer won’t fit under my boots.)

Merino jumper

Woollen slacks (well 10% wool)

Wool Thunderbirds jumper

Knee high boots

Woolly hat

Gloves

3-in-1 jackets (warm and waterproof)

Waterproof overtrousers

D.C. was dressed similarly.

Walking to the station we felt like Michelin Men – sorry, Women.

We stopped off at Baker’s Delight in the hope of finding something a bit more nutritious for breakfast, but nothing was appealing. We ended up by buying chicken, almond, apricot and cream cheese sandwiches from a café… We haven’t eaten them yet.

We got to the station and there was a train with no engine waiting. As they were TransScenic carriages we assumed it was the TransAlpine.

So we sat down and waited (and had one last pitstop. As much as I love trains, they aren’t the easiest to go to the loo in.)

I came out and D.C. goes: “This is our train!” So we boarded and found our seats. We’re going backwards (sorry, D.C.), but that means we’ll be going forwards for the return trip.

 

Taken by my tablet.

The train started moving at 9.30am on the dot the arranged time for departure. Kiwirail could learn a thing or two.

We haven’t seen the loco yet, but we have seen plenty of steam.

Michael is the Mainline Steam representative – he’s been with them for years! Brian is the train manager from Kiwirail and will be doing the commentry.