Steel Steam and Stars 4 - March 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 2015

There are 2 operational, one in red and cream and the other in GWR chocolate and cream.

 

Top and tailing trains isn't out of the question for special events, and peak days. SSS will probably only end up having 1 x 6 or 7 coach set as the biggest anyway, so even that wouldn't tax a 9F too much.

 

No but it looks a lot nicer and 7 coaches is long for Llangollen and it does seem to make a difference to even the bigger engines. A 9F with 7 on and a 2-8-0 or Bullied on the back might have to bark up Berwyn bank!

 

1450 now officially announced by 6880 group. One more to go now.

 

I stand to be corrected, but I'd be surprised if anything other than maybe a freight was top n tailed outside the Carrog - Corwen section, something like:

• Loco A arrives at Carrog,
  
• Loco B hooks on rear and train does a return trip to Corwen,
  
• Loco A unhooks at Carrog as Loco B takes train back to Llangollen,
  
• Loco A lays over at Carrog until Loco C arrives
  
• Loco A assumes role of Loco B on the previous trip.

 

I'd say that sort of thing would be best. I haven't spoken to the timetable writer recently or even started thinking about writing my own for next years 60's weekend yet so don't know much in the way of details for it. Weather every train will work to Corwen, or have every other one going up there and having 'local' trains going half way, or to Carrog. One thing I'm going to play on for the 60's will be Glyn. Now the half way point on the railway, so running shuttles from each end and terminating them there will have an easy balance.

 

Latest update on the 6880 website, including the news that 4270 will join the confirmed guest lineup of 34092, 92212, 3205, 1450 and 4270.

 

Not what I was guessing, but a nice choice. So, spam can. 14xx and 2-8-0t. Very SSS1! Not that I'm complaining.

 

Sorry, apart from 34092, it doesn't "float my boat", and I'm not traveling all that way to see I 9F I see on a more or less monthly basis, nor loco's I've just recently seen, never mind if the scenery's different....... sorry if I sound so negative, but apart from the flat top & the 9F, its loco's "doing" the circuit", but they don't do it for me.

 

Got to agree, a 9F is all right, but 4270 doesn'r excite me at all (and of course, being at the MHR, the same for you I presume) 1450 and autocoach, again, nice, but meh, seen plenty of times, unless the MHR gala line up is a nice selection of GWSR locos I think I'll be going there. (unless of course I could do both...)

 

I'm thinking the same. Nothing really stands out at this gala at all and I know it's hard to get hold of locomotives but I think moving it to March has made it harder as engines will be going to other lines or still undergoing winter maintenance.

Also the gala will be taking place during GMT not BST.

I'll think about it and see, but as others have said money could come down to it. I get paid monthly and at the end of the month just like many people so a full month's pay would need to cover three gala events. I'll always try and attend the SVR & WSR events simply as they are both within 90mins from my home. Travelling around 3hrs to Llangollen makes it a long day and the fact I did the 2014 spring gala makes my reason for visiting even less.

It's as if the Llangollen Railway have taken it for granted what SSS brings to the table for them. Just because people go in April doesn't mean they will go in March. That's three 'big' galas on exWR lines in March. No doubt people have other interests too like going to sport events, music/comedy/art possibly even going on holiday which means money won't stretch.

 

I believe it was 6880 groups choice to move it to March, to fit in around the railways plans for 150th celebrations and other events during the year.

No matter when you have an event it's going to be difficult getting locos in. Although moving the event away from Easter time, and the general start up of most railways seasons has possibly made it easier to get the 5 locos chosen by the group.

 

nothing in this list for me either. Past galas have had a lot of passion, imagination and creativity that i'm just not seeing this time round, and its not just the locos.
To me at least, the messaging seems flat ? - is there a theme to this event influencing the list that I'm missing ?

 

The Llangollen Railway must get something though and ultimately provide the infrastructure for the event, and surely the final say of when it is held is up to them?

 

We basically hire the railway to the 6880 group, although all operating staff are Llangollen Railway personnel.
The railway retains responsibility for health & safety, & overseeing of all 6880 operations to ensure that they comply with our safety management system.

 

I'm not finding a lot to complain about here. OK, so the fact it would be my first visit to Llangollen is a selling point anyway (a special event this long makes it more feasible for me than other Llangollen galas have been in the few years I've been back around railways), but the mere fact of five guest locos at an event and the varied and intensive service that permits seems immediately tempting in itself. The 9F and Wells are good headliners. I've had 4270 and 1450 at three different lines each (GWR/SCR/MHR and SDR/WSR/MHR respectively) in the last few years but doesn't mean I don't also want to see them in Wales. And I can see 3205 pretty much any day of the week as I live in Totnes, but I'm still very much looking forward to hearing it on a line with steeper gradients than the SDR offers - it's entertaining enough on the flat.

I understand that some of the previous SSS events had truly staggering line-ups and this doesn't match up to the Morayshire/Royal Scot or Britannia/Tornado/Strathspey's 828/Super D years. But it could still be one of the best galas of early 2015, and as soon as we've figured out who takes which weekend at work next year, I'll be sorting my Llangollen plans.

 

I know exactly what you mean.

During the build-up to SSS and SSS2 some members of the organising committee (such as 6880rules) regularly posted on here, keeping everyone informed, asking for opinions and suggestions and generally keeping everyone's mouths watering as to what was coming up. As a result, Nat Pres members got behind it. They wanted to go, wanted to help, wanted to get involved with the project. Unfortunately these more vocally enthusiastic members have parted company with the 6880 group, and no-one seems to have stepped in to replace them as regular posters to Nat Pres on behalf of the group nor the SSS events. This showed in the build-up to SSS3, and even more so this time around. I'm pretty sure that no-one from the organising committee is monitoring this thread.

Perhaps they think that they have an established brand now and don't need to try so hard to market it. They certainly don't seem to have considered, with SSS4 being two three-day weekends rather than a single nine day event, that they ought to revisit the ticketing arrangements (which I never did understand) and make it more suitable for the event that they are putting on this time.

 

Whilst not monitoring, people from 6880 do read what is said on here.

And the ticketing for SSS4 is you buy a 1-day ticket, with a reduced price charge for an additional days. A further discount is then offered for a full 6-day ticket.
http://www.6880.co.uk/6880-shop/