Peculiar Pretty Parkway

It Must Be Right - It's In Wikipedia

And there it is; on a long list  of "Parkway" stations in he section for South, South East and East.

Has fbb missed something. Certainly some of those stations listed above are existing stations with "Parkway" added - so perhaps, unbeknown to fbb, this label had been affixed to Swanley in Kent. It is a station on the now-nationalised South Eastern franchise, formerly in the hands of GoAhead.

There it is between St Mary Cray and Farningham Road with NO Parkway; and it doesn't seem over-blessed with parking ...

... at the southern entrance. 

There is even less on the north side ...

... unless you are riding a bike!

Yet again, a picture of the car park at Swanley Parkway Station shows plenty of cars parked!

But the station seems even more basic than the original Bristol Parkway!

Oh, fbb, you are such a tease!

As usual, always be aware of the limitations of the internet. There IS a station called Swanley Parkway and you find it at a car park; but that is about all it has in common with the real thing!

Take a careful drive along the narrow, hedge-lined New Barn Road, Swanley ...

... pass a few houses ...

... a kiddies paddling pool and a bouncy castle ...

... and you will quickly come to the car park at Swanley Parkway station. You are at one of the two entrances of Swanley Park.

From the adjacent Swanley Parkway station ...

... you can catch your train for the three minute ride ...

... to the terminus back at the paddling pool and bouncy castle.

The line is a lollipop shape with a short stick at its terminus. After a chequered history it is now run entirely by volunteer staff. 

But what sets it apart from the usual "kiddies" miniature railway is the huge range of locomotives available to haul the little trains. We have seen a "Western" above but here is a few more:-

The railway has a wide variety of diesel models ...

,,, but the stars are the live steam engines.

These are just samples from the whole fleet.

Another start of a different, technical kind, is the  signal box ...

... all fully functional.

There is complicated pointwork to admirer and a pleasant ride through the park ...

... and we end where we began, as it were, by picking up passengers at Swanley Parkway Station.

Lovely!

Sadly, getting to the park by bus is less than helpful. Arriva 477 offers a paltry 40 minute frequency from the big rail station to the end of the narrow New Barn Road whilst GoCoach 429 gets you a bit closer but with very few useful journeys. fbb guesses its either a taxi or a brisk stroll with a good map!

Needless to ssay, nobody produces a bus map that is any use!

 Next Bourne Again blog : Thursday 5th May