'Strange' events

It has often struck me that some heritage railways do come up with some rather odd themes for their special events and these often seem to have no obvious railway relevance.
Examples include Sci-Fi Weekends and Farmyard Friends; and I've just found a 'Hawaiian Sunday' advertised.

So. . . what's the strangest advertised event you have see on a heritage railway? Did you go the event? What did you think of it?

(For the purposes of this thread, obvious childrens events are excluded. Road transport events don't count either (as they are at least transport related)
Only events hosted by the railway count. So nearby events that the railways are supporting also don't count unless the railway is the organiser).

 

Wild Wild West Lakes at Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

 

Where even the sheep carry weapons and fight back!

 

Star Rails at the Middleton. Not often you see a Star Wars stormtrooper driving a Manning Wardle. Mind you, I have not watched all of the films

 

Not at a railway, but the Shuttleworth is currently advertising “Sex, steam and success”. The mind boggles!

Tom

 

it's just a jazzed up version of 'See it, Say it, Sorted!"

 

Had to look at that to make sure it wasn’t James!

 

Thinking back a few years , it could apply to the Epping and Ongar after some commercial "filming"

Cheers, Neil

 

Only a tenuous link to railways but our football themed event at Oswestry grows ever popular.

 

Well if they keep doing new prequels, they'll get there eventually.

 

No, John, not me!

The Old Warden Shuttleworths are not related to us (and we’re not related to them!). They were boat builders and then agricultural engineers. My family come from Gawthorpe, Lancs, although we’ve been in Hathersage since 1685.

Interstingly (and completely off topic), during WW2, there were three Richard Shuttleworths serving as pilots in the RAF: Richard Ugtred Kay-Shuttleworth, Richard Ashton Shuttleworth and Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, all three of whom died during the war. The first was Lord Shuttleworth (Hurricane pilot shot down during the Battle of Britain), the second, my uncle (Blenheim pilot shot down over Holland in 1941) and the third (crashed during a training exercise in 1940), the person after whom the Shuttleworth Collection was founded, by his grieving mother.
JS

 

Or even further back to the Mid Hants about 1981
Certainly woke a few bodies up on a sunday morning.

 

Even the Fairbourne Railway had some racy calendar shots taken inside the (then) Butterfly Farm in the Ellerton era.

 

An Internet resource on dubious films shot on heritage railways beckons (And no, I aint doint it)

But back in 1981 somebody wanted to charter MV Prince Ivanhoe & PS Waverley for some 'Glamour' filming sessions, - the one on Waverley never happened & Prince Ivanhoe sank, BUT it didnt play well with those living by the piers they used.

 

Nothing to do with Shuttleworth the hamlet by Ramsbottom? Shuttleworth is scyttels worth in olde English meaning gated enclosure, but I guess they didn't have engine sheds in those days !

 

Indeed. As I said earlier, we are a Lancashire family (from Gawthorpe Hall, near Padiham), so there would very likely be a connection with Shuttleworth. Equally names can often become corrupted over time to sound similar and later become the same word but from entirely different origins.

JS

 

Well a few months ago I accidentally arrived at the GCR during a Steampunk event. Obviously I was reassured it wasn't a knitting fest or something to do with dogs and it did have steam in the title. However I was really intrigued by the amazing costumes and the fact that some of the participants were older than a I am (65). I took as many photos of the outlandish costumes as of the railway! I don't know how it measured up in terms of profitability, but for me it was an unexpected joy. I did however have plenty of time to reflect upon my own boring gricer gear. So a strange event but one I hope will be repeated for those who might have known it was on and missed a treat!

 

Middleton has held a Steampunk event for the last three years. Well attended and different. Not a patch on events in Whitby on Goth weekends though, when Steampunk is also much in evidence, as long as other interesting sights. (I still remember the blonde in pink basque and stockings draping herself over everything.) Nothing to do with the NYMR, though although you do get them riding on the trains.

 

Quite a few railways host Steampunk events. While they certainly meet the 'strange' criteria, I do think they at least have a some small connection to heritage railways with their focus on steam and Victorian style, so I can understand the attraction there (not just the blondes in pink basques! ).

 

Didn't the Yorkshire Dales Railway at Embsay run some Wild West events way back, when the train was "attacked" by cowboys or something.

Maybe an idea for railways who are currently running "1940s" events? Get a Spitfire to strafe the train?!