{"id":2425,"date":"2022-07-29T00:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T23:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teignrail.co.uk\/scouting\/?p=2425"},"modified":"2022-10-22T17:52:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T16:52:38","slug":"70-hamworthy-junction-to-salisbury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teignrail.co.uk\/scouting\/70-hamworthy-junction-to-salisbury\/","title":{"rendered":"70 Hamworthy Junction to Salisbury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After stopping at Charlton Marshall Halt in 2019, there remained only four stations in Dorset that the scout had not seen and so he intended to visit them on a ride the following year<\/strong>. He could not have known that it would be three years before he would again venture up the “Green Line” to complete the challenge that he had set himself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His outing to Bridport had revived the routine and so when the utilicon <\/em>left Christow at 0429 it did not seem as strange. The 0510 St. David’s got the scout to Yeovil Junction at 0615.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The member of staff, like the last time, was busying himself around the station. In the car park, where he was collecting litter, the scout complimented him on what he thought must be the best kept station. He was appreciative and told the scout he was a C.O. 2 (Clerical Officer, grade two) but couldn’t bear to confine himself to the booking office. He said that if there were a change in working practices, he would be glad to help passengers at the station in a new role. He told the scout that the huge temporary building in the former goods yard was the new traincrew block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scout climbed the hill from the junction and was soon following the line once again between the former Town Station and Pen Mill. With his breakfast bought from the Co-op, where he mastered the coffee machine, he settled on the platform just as the sun was coming out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeovil Pen Mill<\/p>\n\n\n

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Noticed on his last visit, but not commented upon, was the bicycle shed containing electric scooters. The scout thought that these were not permitted on the roads but learnt later that Yeovil was one of the towns in which the Department for Transport had chosen experimentally to introduce “E-Scooters.”
The “micro-mobility” service is provided by Zwings<\/em> at no cost to the local authority<\/a> but with its co-operation. The scooters are charged by a fleet technician equipped with an electric van, which explains why there are no charging points to be seen. The scooters are tracked and their movements restricted.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Pen Mill is an unusual station. Having lugged his bike over the bridge, the scout wondered how many people in the old days (before sliding doors) took a short cut through a waiting train. Hearing the signal wires snapping beneath the platform edge took him back to his youth. He despaired at the fakery of only applying corporate livery to just above eye level, no matter the tattiness of the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n