'Along Birkenhead Lines' Steam Gala - Llangollen, 3rd to 5th March

The Llangollen Railway hosts it's Spring Steam Gala from Friday 3rd March to Sunday 5th March, and has been given the theme 'Along Birkenhead Lines'.

The weekend marks the 50th anniversary of two significant events: the last steam-hauled 'Cambrian Coast Express' and 50 years since the last through working from London Paddington to Birkenhead (Woodside). Work is in hand to make this Gala one of the most historically accurate and authentic steam events yet achieved. Expect to see cameos, displays, recreations and all the appropriate paper ephemera!

We are pleased to announce that the first visiting guest locomotive will be ex-LMS 8F No. 48624 from the Great Central Railway.

The 8Fs were no strangers around the Wirral and North-East Wales during the 1950s and 1960s, including hauling heavy goods train up the notoriously steep climb to the nearby Brymbo steelworks. In 1967, a now long scrapped member of the class, No.48697, hauled the final passenger train through Llangollen on an enthusiasts railtour.

Download our FREE Advanced Information booklet for all the latest news on the gala from: http://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/event/spring-steam-gala-3rd-march/

 

The next visitor to the gala is 43106 'Flying Pig' curtesy of the Ivatt Class 4 group and the Seven Valley Railway. A third visitor will be published shortly! Watch this space!

 

The third visitor to the gala is the welcome return of Black 5 - 45337. This type of locomotive were regular performers on the Shrewsbury to Chester stretch of the Paddington to Woodside expresses in later days. A fourth visitor is to be announced shortly.

 

Wouldn't is be wonderful if one of the Fairburns could escape from Lakeside!?

 

Didn't see any of these on the Birkenhead - Paddington line around this time. Maybe they came out late at night.

Bob.

 

6960 is 4th visitor apparently according to a post on facebook!

 

Don't quite get why 43106 is going as I wasn't aware of these locos being at Birkenhead but conversely I am very pleased to see Llangollen are having it visit.
I saw it at the Mid Hants gala in October and the crews there really rated it highly saying it was a good steamer and a more comfortable ride than the hard sprung 76xxx.

 

43106 is a decent machine, it also seems wherever it goes it earns itself some more new friends, have to say I love this beastie I'd love to see how it'd get on over somewhere like the NYMR. Anyhow back on topic, 4 visitors? Fair play thats a decent looking line up.

 

I remember an ex Lower Darwen fireman talking to me saying that the 76XXX were good engines but that the Ivatt 4MTs wouldn't steam, both were used for banking freights up Wilpshire bank from Whalley.
The MHR crews told me the opposite, that they thought 43106 was easier to fire and that they really liked having it.
When 43106 was at the KWVR it suffered from priming on the day I was there and we stopped short of Haworth platform for a blow up.

 

Llangollen always put on a good show irrespective of what visiting locos turn up. More than a little gutted that I've already got plans this weekend which are going to prevent me from getting over to Llan.

 

Reading into what the organiser has said somewhere, the loco travelled to the SVR via frodsham, Chester and Ruabon to avoid going under the wires. So there's a local connection in a minor sort of way. The Birkenhead theme is based around the joint line to Chester as opposed to purely Birkenhead only, with other recreations planned for Wirral / north Wales rail tours or services. An 8F hauled the last passenger run through llangollen station as far as goods jnc, and there's the 50th anniversary of the final CCE.

 

Perhaps the water in the boiler one time settled in the Llangollen Peninsular in ice-age times as well!

No matter it is a great choice for a visiting loco and I look forward to the event.

 

Would of loved to see a 9F, but still one of the best lineups LR themselves have put on. Now how to avoid 12hr nights to visit this...

 

Would have been nice, but we've only recently had one. I guess transport costs for one the right colour may have been another factor.

 

Excellent start to the season in the Dee Valley. Nice to see that there will be three visiting locos plus most of the home fleet running.
Will your specialist paint kit be coming out for this one Iain ?

John Bennett
Director 26B Rly Co

 

The organiser and I were discussing doing one loco.

 

Can't wait for this. I'm fed up that Keighley have moved their gala to this weekend and I would have gone to that if this one hadn't been so good. Nice to see a 69XX at Llan. They can't half make a noise!

 

Except it's Llan who have moved their gala (presumably to coincide with the actual anniversaries being celebrated).

KWVR have always had an event end of Feb / beginning of March, with LR normally being 3rd weekend of April.

 

We haven't moved the Gala. Llan have