Santa's Grotto

Revision as of 20:55, 6 April 2015 by WillSalt (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Santa's Grotto is an important part of the SVR's Santa Special services, and is located at Arley station. The grotto is constructed every year starting in late October, a...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Santa's Grotto is an important part of the SVR's Santa Special services, and is located at Arley station. The grotto is constructed every year starting in late October, and is dismantled early in the new year.

The grotto consists of a short train parked in Siding 1 of Arley goods yard, made up typically of ex-postal vehicles 80328, 80329 and 81013, together with a Siphon G van for storage purposes. The fence that normally forms the rear edge of Arley's main platform is partly dismantled to enable visitors to exit the train onto the platform. A large marquee is erected on the other side of the grotto train, filling most of the space in the goods yard between the two sidings, to provide cover for visitors queueing to enter the grotto.