Isnt that fantastic? I'd seen plenty of photos of the 1985 Melksham station reopening, but never something as detailed as that
Some poignant bits too, with the former stationmaster being interviewed and also the following :
3 or 4 services were expected a year after opening, but significant improvement didnt occur until 2001. Interesting that (as with other reopenings of that era) it was seen as a little acorn that would grow and develop, and also interesting that the possibilty of stopping excursion trains was raised.
The experimental nature of the service was mentioned, with BR empowered to close the station at any point if the service failed to attract passengers. However "if the service continued to attact the support it did on Saturday, there seemed little likelihood of this happening, not until another Dr Beeching comes along anyway...." I am reminded of the "What a difference a train made" photos on the Save The Train Pledge Campaign pages (link below.)
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/sf.htmlThe scenes filmed at Wootton Bassett are ironic as well.
