Winter operations

Last year was a poor year for running trains on the H&DLR. During the autumn and early part of the winter, predations by the blackbirds (mainly) have uprooted four platform benches, broken two lamps, demolished a building at Holzapfel, dislodged the scenic items in the loco siding at Birkenhof and thrown all the accumulated moss all over the track, and scraped all the earth down the bank onto the track. There's no immediate prospect of trains running all the way round. Apart from that, everything is hunky dory...

There was definitely another building and a platform bench here last year.

Well, the lamp at least still works.

Moss liberally strewn around the railway.

I don't think this lamp will work again, which is a shame because it's a very nice lamp (and it wasn't a cheap one, either).

There's a railway under there somewhere.

The most frequently operated train on 2023 was again the first one out in 2024.

Although a short inspection train did get as far as Birkenhof.