A scheduled train over the Welland Viaduct

So there I was on Melton Mowbray station this afternoon waiting for a train back to Leicester, when I saw where the next train was going.

There is one passenger train a day in each direction that takes this route, presumably because it is regularly used for diversions and so drivers need experience of it.

It is a line of tunnels and viaducts, so much so that it is known as 'the Alps' among railwaymen.

Its chief landmark is the magnificent Welland Viaduct - the longest masonry viaduct in Britain.

You can see the shadow of its arches in the photographs below - I could not resist catching the train.