MHR Autumn Gala 23rd - 25th October 2015 - LMS theme

Timetable is up! Great to see the railway making full use of the freight

http://www.watercressline.co.uk/shopimages/products/extras/Public Timetable Autumn Gala 2015.pdf

 

It will be very good to see the vans out and being used again.
I also noticed that there is a shorter formation being used for one of the passenger services this time. The Local is formed of three carriages and one van. So the T9 and 46521 will probably take turns on this I guess.

 

I got to be careful here as I dont want to give Druid and his team to much of a complement here... he wont let me forget it. But the MHR has a huge amount of quality and varied wagons (in my view one of the best collections in the country) which we have always said isnt used as well as it could be and this gala they look to be finally using it all. I am really looking forward to seeing the T9 on the local and I'm hoping the Ivatt or Wadebridge gets a chance to haul the crane set.

 

On behalf of all in the wagon group, I'll take that as a compliment.

Surprised no ones spotted the Ransom & Rapier crane is also out for a spin.

 

Definately looking forward to that crane being out, would the Ivatt 2 be allowed on a full rake or will it have to, as green five says, take it in turns on the local with the T9?

Must say though, looks like a good timetable, especially in terms of the freight

 

Wait for the loco's to turn up, and which way they're facing, before the allocations are released......... I for one can see the T9 being nose out of Alton to pair with Nellie......

 

According to the timetable, the Ivatt and T9 will face Alton, and Crab will face Alresford. Although it does say that this is subject to confirmation...

 

Is the gala one of the last chances (or indeed the last chance) for Bittern at the Mid-Hants? (Apologies if the answer to that is common knowledge or somewhere obvious in this thread or another) Just checked back to the original Icons of Steam announcement about the A4's stay and it mentioned 2015 generally, and obviously post-gala there's not a lot of 2015 left - just half term and Christmas running, and from what I've seen of loco roster checking through the year, Bittern hasn't been out a lot on normal service days.

Hoping to be at the gala for the Friday - Crab, T9 and seeing on the timetable that the crane will be out and about are big selling points - but got some work things to resolve to make it happen. If it was going to be my last shot at an A4 out of Alton for a while then that would probably tip me over the line into fibbing/bunking to ensure I was there...

 

Yes, my understanding is that this is likely to be (one of?) the last chance(s) to get behind Bittern outside of there being a sudden acute shortage of motive power.

 

Thanks LC2, will get plotting.

 

IIRC correctly the deal that was done was up to the end of October, so the gala most likely will be your last chance to ride behind her before she heads Oop North to await overhaul.

 

Plotted successfully, can be at the gala till 3.30pm on Friday before heading to work - so now eagerly awaiting a roster to see if my checklist of Crab up the big hill, A4 up the big hill, T9 up the big hill and a reasonable photo of everything is workable. Thanks for the Bittern info.

 

You're welcome.

Enjoy the gala.

Just keep yer pinkies crossed, the weather gods play ball............

 

Just a reminder that the clocks go back 1 hour on that weekend, makes Sunday morning a bit more leisurely.

 

Ah I'd forgotten about that. Means I leave work at 5am rather than 6am!

 

Andy Ford is running his gauge 1 model railway stand at this event. Anyone interested in possibly modeling in gauge 1 should visit his model railway stand for all the latest info in the gauge 1 world.

 

Weather forecast says it will be dry Friday and Sunday but raining on Sarurday

 

Loco Allocations now up:
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/shopimages/products/extras/Autumn Gala 2015 locos.pdf
Bittern on the Crane looks like an interesting roster.

 

It seems to change every time I look at it! Still, I'm very much hoping to come, especially after seeing the loco allocation. A run behind 30120 the full length of the line is very appealing.

 

10 miles behind 46521 is also an appealing prospect.
Friday & Saturday are Dry at the moment (Ropley) according to MetCheck.
I guess at this point, the one thing you can say is that their will be weather at the weekend.