Model Railway Forum

Just watched the Southern News and it looks as though Basingstoke is almost cut-off. The M3 is closed in both directions between Hook and Winchester. There are trees on the line - so no trains between Basingstoke and Southampton - and the town is grid locked. Plenty of food in the freezer!

Just saw Whitchurch (Hampshire) on the news - looks as though they are coping it there. R-

Twice we have gone to Dubai. Twice before we left it snowed. We are going again on Monday. Guess what?

Glencairn

The snow held off here until early evening - we now learn that most of the main roads with any kind of incline weren’t gritted and have now been closed.
Fortunately I don’t need to use any of those roads but I still had to try three different routes home from work before I found one that I could get the car up.
Yes, I live on a hill.

Our road slopes up at one to a T junction that slopes up to the left and down to the right. That road isn’t too bad but ours is not gritted and OK if you are lucky but once it starts to slip you are doomed.

One thing seems to come to mind here is the lack of attention to the roads in the southern part of the country. Up here in the North and Scotland they grit everything and nothing much is missed from what I have seen. The road care seems to be a number one priority up here. We have only lived in the Boarders for 9 months so we we may have things to learn about the area.

It’s the same old story, in the North you get snow every year, down here it’s occasionally. Gritters and snow ploughs cost a lot especially if they are not used regularly.

They occasionally grit our road but it doesn’t go anywhere so there isn’t any through traffic. Vehicles haven’t been held up on the main roads.

Dont mean just where you live Brian. A few in others are having more than just trouble it seems. We dont get snow every year you know. in fact last year before last we hardly had a frost. It was a few wet winters, we were in County Durham then. It is not outer Mongolia up here we are only a few hours drive away.

But you are more likely to get snow. In my 37 years at Heathrow there was only one day that I couldn’t get to work. Got up at 5 walked to the end of the road to see what it was like, slipped over and watched a milk float slide sideways down the hill. Went home, rang work, went back to bed.

It’s the same every year, and Brian makes a good point - it’s worth spending money on gritters and snowploughs in areas that need them often but down here the investment is harder to justify for a couple of days use each year.

What is inexcusable is not using the equipment when needed. Kent County Council have been bragging all winter about their new shiny fleet of gritters but last night they didn’t send them out on some of the hills and motorways round here until after the traffic had ground to a halt.

ANd to add to Brian’s last point I believe that I too have only failed to get to work once due to the weather - 1987. Drove in on day 1, walked two hours each way on day 2. On both days only five out of seventy staff turned up so the Bank decided we should shut for the rest of the week - that was my excuse for day 3.
That year we still had snow on the ground two months later.