It was very much a last minute thing, but at the latest club night, a few members of my radio society were asking about Railways on the Air which, we thought this year we were not going to participate in. However, earlier this year the club moved QTH to a new location which is pretty much adjacent to a now disused railway station. A few calls were made to the organisers of the RotA event which made it clear we could operate in the spirit of the event from our clubhouse. Great news indeed – because this meant albeit at short notice, we would be able to participate in Railways on the Air.
So, I managed to get the NoV from OfCom – which is a pretty easy process nowadays for the special event station GB4RRS, for Rhiwderin Railway Station and we were pretty much set and ready as no equipment needed to be transported or set up remotely on the day.
The station is now disused, and has been for many years with the old station building now a private residence. The line is still used though, with heavy goods trains transporting materials to and from the local quarry several times a week. There is also an automatically controlled level crossing to avoid nasty accidents!
Not sure how many QSO’s were made during the three or four hours we participated, but the ads were certainly very busy with RotA stations seeking contacts.
Here’s the view of the station and private residence as it stands now.
All in all a very enjoyable few hours during the afternoon.