Itinerary

The itinerary was meticulously planned and local SNCF management were given copies of it in support of my application for permits which enabled them to see how the visit to their installation fitted in with the overall plan. All accommodation was booked in advance through the Campanile Hotel chain. This is how it looked and happened:

Saturday 12th November 1994

Jago the Rat arrived at Newport from Lincoln the previous evening and we tucked into our traditional curry on the platform delivered by no less than, The Railway Tandoori. Departing on time from Port Talbot, we made excellent progress due to no engineering work and had made sufficient time to call in at Tonbridge Stabling Point and Dover Yard on the way to the Ferry. Customs thought it mighty strange that the boot was filled with beer on the outward journey, but after telling them we were railway anoraks, they just shook their heads in disbelief and beckoned us onto the Ferry.

Whilst the driving conditions, light rain, weren't ideally suitable for long distance driving, we sped through the french countryside on the motorway to Chalons-sur-Marne and tucked into Nouvelle cuisine at the hotel which left us both hungrier than when we started the meal. However, several bottles of local bubbly later, we hit the pit only to be wakened up by the alarm clock at six o'clock the next morning.