Meadow Halt station is behind the far hedge.
Tretheake Mill Railway - Guide Part 2 - The Branch Line Line
| Main Line Guide | Bridge Junction, the start of our "short drag" and the 1 in 33 climb to Meadow Halt. This gradient makes the engines work, if the driver is not on top of the job at the bottom then the train won't make it to the top! It is a very interesting part of the line, the upper garden takes on a different feel to the busier lower garden. The first section of the branch line, seen here, is built up on cages filled with rock, as the site used to be the river bank and stream. The stream is on the right and below the bridge. | |
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The climb
continues as we pass through the "anti-cattle" gates. The
engines will usually pick up speed here, but easing the power is fatal as
the next curve will "bite". Meadow Halt station is behind the far hedge. |
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| As we approach Meadow Halt we have the lineside hut on the left. This is used to house the signalling equipment for the branch line. |
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Meadow Halt has a centre island platform. Trains can pass here. The up line is on the left and the down line on the right. Up to 3 trains can be on the branch line at any time, all properly signalled. Meadow Halt is a welcome sight, all trains stop here, it gives a quick respite to the engine before continuing up to Weir End. | |
| Above Meadow Halt the climb continues but after the first short nip it is more gentle. Weir End station is in the far distance. Weir End is just down from where the weir and mill pond used to be, the water from the stream was collected here, then it ran down the hedge on the right as you go up the garden, just visible near the top of the line. |
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The site of Weir End station in 2003. This will have a turntable and run round loop. For the latest info on the building work please see our News page. | |
| Top of page | The view looking down from Weir End. It has hard to believe that on one garden railway there can be such different environments but up here it is a truly a quite, rural setting compared to the busy main line areas lower down. After fighting the gradient of the line on the way up, the journey down is just as difficult, keeping the train controlled and slow is an art. There is a 2mph speed restriction going down hill. |
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