It had seemed like an age since I last took part in a Society fixture. I was on just one during 2020 (our Devonian Crompton tour, just before the whole world changed) and hadn't visited a minor railway since 2019.

Not long ago I went to over 30 in a year. Anyway, none of that was my fault, honest guv. Some others hadn't experienced the same minor railway drought in the last year or so. Our host for this visit finished his private 5" gauge back garden agricultural tramway (mainly for freight) in Feb 2020 and had it almost to himself for 15 months. Then it had to be lifted as he was moving house. There was just time for a brief swan song before it was all ripped up and put in the back of a removal lorry.

And that was why small groups of miniature people started to descend on a normal suburban terrace in Cambridge on the last day of May 2021. Group size was limited by the 'Rule of Six', to five, plus the one owner/driver/platelayer/etc. Actually, even without Covid rules we wouldn't have wanted many more in a group, there was quite a lot of track in a perfectly normal size garden and we had to be careful not to squash the salad crop as we walked around here. The train could accommodate two passengers on the main runs and just one on the really 'rare' track.

I was in Group 2 (of 4), we waited in the street until Group 1 had finished. Some well known and very happy members emerged from the passage, and that was our cue to go in. The layout was a stylised, elongated 'W' (plan is thanks to Martyn Brailsford).

The main line ran from the back door (Wharf), the first couple of metres slightly raised on something in between bridge rail and a viaduct, running to the diametric opposite corner of the garden (Potting Bench). Off it were branches to Compost Heap and Workshop; off the latter was a further line running into Polytunnel. All in a delightful cottage garden setting, which I would describe further but the Editor told me to avoid flowery language.

Motive power was mostly 0-6-0 steam loco 'Madge' and a two seat bogie coach with more than a hint of garden bench about its slatted seats. This took each group in pairs up and down the mainline plus the Workshop and Compost Heap branches. 'People power' was then used to explore the Polytunnel branch. I hope you like bodyboarding said the General Secretary as he left, and I thought he was pulling my leg. But he wasn't, the method was to lie across a pair of flat wagons and adopt a 'superman flying' pose as someone pushed you along. Soon another member was literally pulling my leg to extract me.

Group 1 established the modus operandi so Group 2 covered every line with 25 minutes to spare. Is there anything else you want to do? asked our very friendly host. Well yes, actually, thanks for asking. A quick shunt moved the loco to the other end of the coach and the Compost line was cleared of stock, the latter by a member picking the trucks up and carrying them across the garden; some things are much easier at 5" gauge! This enabled the coach to kiss the two sets of buffers it hadn't before, giving us maximum possible coverage. (I had literally kissed the buffers in the Polytunnel as it was head first!)

The whole experience was a delight, and an oddly appropriate way to get back in to minor railways fixtures. Lines don't come much more obscure than this, and almost total coverage was achieved (the Workshop itself was out of bounds due to the state of the track). Many thanks to Zach for his hospitality, both with refreshments and with his understanding in dealing with our odd requests.

Readers may have noticed the use of past tense throughout the report. It is sad to note as I write this, that just 10 hours after the fixture, the Romsey Horticultural Tramway was no more. Let's hope that its track and stock find a new home as good as the old one. The owner, Zach Bond, has written a 21 page dissertation Minimal Gauge Railways: their application to horticulture, construction and working. He has kindly agreed to it being distributed with e-BLN 1381; there is much about his tramway with illustrations. You may notice similarities with Sir Arthur Heywood's Minimum Gauge Railways mainly about the Duffield Bank and Eaton Hall Railways; that is available free at: https://bit.ly/3wEP9il



As the 31 May was a Bank Holiday Monday three keen members from Group 1 were then able to enjoy a standard gauge steam trip on the Mid Suffolk Light Railway followed by a brakevan trip (diesel), on the standard gauge Whitwell & Reepham Railway in Norfolk, the adjacent 7¼" Top Field Light Railway (steam) and the threatened 10¼" gauge Wells Harbour Railway. That wasn't the end of it; driving 176 miles non-stop to Wednesbury Parkway (West Midlands Metro) the excellent day out ended with the trailing crossover out of P2 on the 20.52 tram to Library when the line to Wolverhampton was closed.