The obstructed loco release road with the damaged tree to the left, the lightning bolt had split it in half from top to bottom.

Front Line Branch Line train services to Wootton Station were brought to a standstill on Sunday, 21st June 2003 when a massive Cedar tree, growing on land adjacent to the loco release road, was struck by a bolt of lightning and brought crashing down onto the track The obstruction was discovered by Operating Manager Ron Lee, making his morning rounds to unlock the station car park.

The 1947 Fordson Major driven by Pete Snashall removes debris from the site.

Within an hour a team drawn from across all sections of the railway and led by Dave Walker of the Civil Engineering Department were on their way to the scene to begin clearing the debris. Local Tree Surgeon Jim Winter also responded to the call out and used his heavy duty chain saw to safely slice through the massive trunk so that its remains could be removed from the track. Initially a 1947-built Fordson Major tractor, owned by a group of railway staff, was pressed into service to remove the debris but the quantity was such that it was decided to operate an emergency works train to carry the remains of the tree back to Havenstreet for disposal.

The remains of the tree were loaded onto the works train.

W37 'Invincible', in steam to power the Front Line Branch Event 'Military Train', was diverted to the task, eventually making three return trips between Havenstreet and Wootton before the line could be reopened. Following a final safety safety inspection of the Permanent Way the Wootton Section was declared open to passenger traffic, allowing the final two trains of the day to call at the station. Thanks to a magnificent team effort by railway staff in clearing the fallen tree and ensuring that the section could be reopened to passenger traffic safely and in an exceptionally short time only 5 trains between Havenstreet and Wootton were lost .

The remains of the tree were unloaded in Griffins Field, Havenstreet.