Toddington GW 175 Gala

Those who stayed away are missing a very, very good show. Braved the rain on Saturday after The Cornishman was cancelled still needing a steam fix. There were locomotives galore and due to the top & tailing and tight timetable they were being worked hard. The standing start from Gotherington proved to be the impetus for some volcanic departures, Bradley Manor and Foremark Hall in particular raising the decibals. Although short, the auto workings over Stanway were extremely rewarding and I look forward to travelling further very soon. I must admit that after the landslip I thought twice about going the gala as it has cut the run down a fair bit. I am so glad i did attend, especially given being an SVR member I know how important it is support railways in times of hardship and £20 is very good value for a show of this quality. I hope this event is very successful for the Gloucs Warks and the trains continue to be well filled as they were Sat aft. Hold a re-opening gala & i'll definitely be there!

 

Excellent day at the GWR today, six engines out working including the 'new' 8F, platforms and car parking field were pretty full by lunchtime, plenty to see in the normal car park, viewing platform open to the rear of the shed.

Had a ride behind all six engines, bargain for £20

 

Great day out today...thoroughly enjoyable

Pics will be up later

Lewis

 

Annual membership is £16 and a volunteer's work permit is free, so a bit of real commitment could have saved you a few quid and given you the satisfaction of contibuting to the heritage scene.

 

A very good gala with, somehow, a different feel to it from many galas:a combination of gala and depot open day perhaps. Although there were large crowds it didn't feel oppressive and it was quite easy to find your own space somewhere and watch the trains go by:- Winchcombe in the sunshine is a superb location for that and the intensive timetable meant there was always something to watch. And for the quieter moments, two lovely traction engines in steam on the forecourt, one of which starred in the "Titfield Thunderbolt".
A real scoop to get 5322 on the line and I never tire of 3717 (aka 3440). A brand new 8f, fresh out of the box, looked and sounded superb. Seven coaches and top and tailing was making the engines work hard:-some of the best sound effects I've heared this year.
The exhibits in the model engineering tent were breathtaking. Unbelievable skill. And the nameplates exhibition is well worth a look, with a complete set of shed codes being particularly impressive.This would be a really good gala for a weekend. To keep it up for a week will be quite an achievement. My £20 kept me entertained for 7 hours:-my local pub can skin me out of that much in a lot less time!!!

 

Of course that makes the assumption that I have no real commitment and contribute nothing at the moment and that this is the railway that I may choose above others.

Paul

 

My photos are now up
http://lewismaddox938.fotopic.net/c1855303.html

Please view and comment

An amazing day really, the GWSR certainly put on a great show One of the best gala packages I have been too

Much Appreciated,
Lewis

 

http://railways.mjspencer.com/gallery/v/gwsr175/

A few photos from yesterday at the gala

 

A few shots on video from the first weekend. Thanks to all at the GWR for all the hard work put into the gala.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWECUPv0D18

 

Great gala guys, well done. Best £20 I've spent at a rly for some time, the value for money was excellent. Spent most of the day behind 5322 myself which is absolute beast, but everything you had on from the Gotheringham open day to the Stanway trips and the sideshows at both Toddington and Winchcombe. The t/t was very good too, esp with the constraints you had. Sad I can only make the one day as I'm sure the rest of the gala wont disappoint.

 

RASDV is first with the news!!
Here it is then! The very first photos, video and comment on the GWSR's 2010 Cotswold Festival of Steam. I visited on Saturday 29th May. Rained on and off for quite a lot of the day. Never mind! Great show put on by all locos and crews. Super stuff.
Video
Photos:
Comment
The video includes all locomotives in operation today including lineside footage!!
Please do rate and comment: you're feedback is welcomed.
Enjoy!
Anyone who didn't go. Watch and see what you missed out on!

 

Just wanted to say thanks to all at the GWSR for making the Gwili lads feel welcome up at Gotherington so far. "Olwen" in the guise of GWR 1144 (in BR Black) will be giving rides in the station yard at Gotherington all week up until the end of the gala with a toad brakevan, it is being crewed (in the main) by Gwili footplatemen so come and say hello.

The original 1144 used to work in Swasea Docks and was cut up in 1960. Visually it is very similar to Olwen, here is a photo
http://www.steamlocomotives.photos.gb.net/p64957535.html

 

We had a superb time yesterday, with both the family and then when Dad & I got to play on our own. Nice touches included the free bouncy castle which the mini-Coullses loved - and yes, the pay once, do everything was a grand idea. We ran out of time, arriving at 10.30 and leaving after close of play - and still didn't get to see it all. If you are in any doubt about this, try it. I'll put a blog up later, and Gotherington is a gem - and the catering van there does the most AMAZING sandwiches!

 

My photos

Photos = http://lewismaddox938.fotopic.net/c1855303.html

Lewis

 

A bit late but it's been a busy Bank Holiday for me, a selection of pics from Sunday 30th, complete with lineside pass offering a few new views along the line: http://david1984.fotopic.net/c1855897.html , the fast moving sunshine and cloud making photography a headache that day but everything within the Railways control was well handled and a enjoyable day was had.

Anyone know why the roster with 5322 got changed out of curiousity ?.

 

Slight adjustment required to 1 loco so diagrams got swapped.

 

This is an excellent gala and I would encourage anyone interested to go. The best thing to me was the amount of loco action, the landslip has actually made for a better gala as adding a loco at Wichcombe to top and tail the trains has created operational interest. The trains are far heavier than you would normally get on this line so there was plenty of noise from the engines especially 5322, which has a very loud exhaust blast. I spent most of my day travelling behind this engine as it was so unsuual to get it working outside of Didcot. The 8F has obviously had a very thorough overhaul, you could smell the new paint in the train when travelling behind it, and the motion was silent, just a nice 1-1, 1-2 beat from the exhaust and even this engine was working hard on the departures from Gotherington. There is plenty to see and do at the stations as well, very well organised, good value for money.

 

Just a quick note - having come home for one night before i'm back on duty tomorrow. We have had a lengthy discussion about trying to fit in some extra freight runs early thursday morning but due to operating constraints (crews/gaurds/signalmen etc it is not going to be able to happen other than the already timetabled runs. I have been at toddington since friday and everybody is on a bit of a high, the early morning shed scenes are something else. If anybody has any pictures/video of todays freight with 3803 i would be grateful as i was driving! 4 days to go!

 

To add to my last post about the the freight train, we also are looking into running a proper charter in the near future using 3803 and the GWR freight. We want to know if there is any interest. Of course with a properly organised event on a non public running day we can take full line possession and set up several shots/runpasts etc. Let me know your thoughts!
The name plate display was sadly only available for the first 3 days, but the auction takes place this saturday and the model engine display is quite amazing with the quality.