PRESERVATION’S newest station was opened with due ceremony amid high winds and driving rain at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on June 5, all under the watchful eye of Collett ‘14XX’ 0-4-2T No. 1450.
The opening of Hayles Abbey Halt was overseen by Lord Neidpath, the Earl of Wemyss and March from nearby Stanway House, who along with other invited guests boarded visiting auto-trailer No. W238W at Toddington for the short hop to the re-created halt.
Also on board were Sir Martin Harris CBE; Colonel Mike Bennett, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire; the Mayor of Cheltenham, Coun Klara Sudbury; as well as representatives from English Heritage, Cotswold Conservation Board, Winchcombe Parish Council, English Heritage, No. 1450’s owner Mike Little, and several of the volunteers who built the halt over the last year.
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The ceremony itself took place in near-horizontal rain, where Lord Neidpath unveiled the halt’s nameboard with a little help from the wind.
Read more in the July 2017 issue of The RM – on sale now!
