At Ferry station today

Well, since Am Tec seem to think that they can flog you 10 hacksaw blades that have bent ends, misplaced pins and rust on them, I had to go into town to pay through the nose for some from B&Q.  So, while I was there, I thought I might as well go outside town to visit the wonderful station in the last post.  I didn't realise Ferry had a station house till after I'd posted, but the house is still there and beautifully kept.

So off we toddled down a tiny dead end lane and there was the Station house right in front of us.

I knocked on the door and a very nice lady welcomed me in and offered to show me the old ticket office and waiting rooms.  Original tiles in the hall and evidence of the original M&GN green paint.  Amazing.
I took pictures and she showed me her own collection of photos, of which this was one, showing the general layout.

The cobbles, bottom left are there to this day.

Note how the rails don't actually go by the station house platform, which is also still there, though it is and appears to have always been, very short.

I understand that changes were made to the house during M&GN ownership as the M&GN Circle have plans which I will send for.  Clearly, the portion of the building to the right of the front door is built in stretcher bond, clear evidence of a cavity wall, whereas everything else is Flemish bond.  A wee mystery to solve.

The main brickwork is surprisingly fancy, with yellow string courses.

I would think the square gutters and downpipes are not original.

The lady thought these were the original chimney pots, but couldn't say for sure, but they're very fine.

And she also thought the stained glass door window was original, but I really think that's pushing it a bit too far.  Nice door though!

So, now I need to find track plans and details of the goods yard and that building that is no more.

This is where it was. The concrete posts are originals, made by the M&GN at Melton Constable, the railway's main depot.  William Marriot, the Chief mechanical Engineer, developed re-inforced concrete back in the mid 1880s and made a good separate business of it.  Even the station name board was concrete as were signal posts, bridges and even the very first concrete sleepers, something which now blights our landscape universally!

The building I was really attracted to was just where that little tree grows now