After such hard work to get the Rocks by Rail Museum ready for its opening on 16th September, there remained two important aspects unresolved and unknown – the weather and the number of visitors!
To much relief, the day dawned bright and from a chilly Autumn morning developed into a warm and sunny day which was a fantastic bonus for the opening.
The volunteers need not have worried about visitors, guided to the initial event by local and national press coverage, the local Rutland Radio, community leaflet drops and the steady word of mouth in the area.
In fact, the unforeseen problem was the capacity of our large car park which was tested to its limit during the day. With popularity like this, perhaps we need to bring a car park extension up our priority list! We estimate that around 1,500 visitors called in to see the event during the first day of operations.
Having started tentatively in the morning with passenger services as well as full operation in the quarry area, with diggers, trains and shunting in full swing, a brief pause at 2pm allowed birthday celebrant Ed Milner, his wife Val and their train mad three year old son to cut the tape to dedicate our new platform to much cheering and loco whistling!
Surely the 16th September 2012 will be remembered in the history of the Charity as one of the defining moments.
For photos of the day, click here – taken by our member Jeff Hodgson. More photos to follow!