Swithland Steam Gala 26th – 28th April 2013

With a red 8f going the other way.

 

Just a quick question. How long does it take to walk from Loughborough (Main) to Loughborough (GCR)? Thinking of going on Saturday if 6023 is repaired in time.

 

Dan. It depends on how fit you are. I would do it in just over 15 mins when I was 19-20, nowadays at 66 it's more like 25 mins.

 

Just so that I know what time to set my alarm clock on Saturday morning, can anyone give a rough idea on when the first locomotive movement is due to occur at Loughborough Central?

Thanks in advance.

 

Many thanks (Google Earth seems to make i look longer than it is). It turns out I won't be going this weekend but do want to visit the GCR at some point (maybe the Autumn Gala)

 

It's near enough a mile, Dan. And mostly slightly uphill.

 

The first movement to head south out of Loughborough is booked for an 08:40 departure, though being a positioning move could probably run early if everything is ready. What other movements take place around the shed before the first train will probably depend on whether things are left in the right order the night before...

As for the lineside photography restrictions from Rothley to Swithland, it seems entirely sensible to me that with the promise of the yard being shunted throughout the day, the last thing you want is lots of folks wandering round getting in the way and generally putting themselves in danger. I'm sure this is a greater consideration that the ambience of the view from the viewing area.

Presumably the note about presenting a lineside permit to travel on the bus is for the benefit of those permit holders who do not otherwise buy a travel ticket.

 

Thanks for that. Fingers crossed for the weather now!

Cheers,

 

Have just popped into Loughborough this afternoon (Friday) and can confirm that 6023 King Edward II is repaired and running.
For those who may need to know, it's facing north. All other advertised locos appear to be running too, or being steamed this afternoon.
Here's to a great weekend!

 

Having just witnessed the three-ring circus that is normally a nice little exhange sidings, I feel compelled to say that if anyone attending the event wants to get anything like an authentic view of the site then they should invest in one of the excellent-value lineside photography permits (or, even better, a working members permit ) and return on a "normal" gala weekend !

Flip

 

46521's tender in the dirt whilst on the mail set by the looks of the pic i have seen this morning... Dont know how this is affecting the timetable.

 

Uh oh, looks like 46521 has come to grief this morning :- <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...26266965.22362.100001353641068&type=1&theater>

 

Oh dear. Looks like it ran through the catch points? Apparently the line is clear now though.

 

Just got back from Gala.The incident at Quorn threw the timetable upside down for a bit but they soon got it back ontrack which is more than you can say for the loco.

 

The passenger trains ran for most of the day, but there were no freight or TPO trains -trapped by the Ivatt. This rather killed the intensive service plan for Swithland. Later in the afternoon a possession was taken at Quorn for the breakdown train, with the pass trains on the single line. This led to extended delays for the later trains - the 1715 left at 1817....

Quite a crowd at Quorn to watch the preparations for the lift - they hope to do it under floodlights tonight.

 

Further to the above, if you haven't already seen a picture of the Ivatt off the road, I have one, together with a series of pics of the Mountsorrel branch, at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carpentr/sets/72157633351083909/

 

Hi all , just to update a little, i drove past earlier on my way home from work , 46521s tender was hooked up to the rear of the Pway train with 37198 at the helm, while D123 at the head of the 45T steam crane was making preparations for what would appear to be the final lift, the front end appeared to be "back on" but the back end was way off still, must have been about 15 men down there working on it

 

My footage from Saturday morning.
http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&video_id=t7oEUqbUW6w

 

Wrong link dude

 

hello
some pics of saturdays action at www.stevebottrill.zenfolio.com i have decided not to use any of the derailment
as this can only spoil the lines reputation and preservation as a whole !!!
regards