GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam - 25 - 27 May 2019.

Failed at Churnet,Failed at ELR day 2 but ok day 3,failed at NNR day 1 and back to Scotland .Back south to GWR and failed day -1 and day 2.Will it make EOR?
Hardly done well or completed its tour but looks great and enjoyable when it works .

 

A great day out at the gala today. By all accounts it was much quieter today than yesterday, due to the dodgy weather, so it looks like I picked the best day crowd wise.

419 being confined to Winchcombe was a bit of a disappointment but these things happen; other than that I had a great day. I managed to ride behind every operating locomotive.

I managed to grab a quick "on the move" shot of 419 from the window of a passing train; that is the closest I got to her all day.

 

You should have got off at Winchcombe and visited C+W, great views of it there!

Well another day done, as noted noticeably quieter today, Sundays seem to be quietest of the three days for us and the weather didn't help. That said, there were some outbreaks of sunshine. Also managed a ride behind the B1, made a lovely noise going through the tunnel!

 

Half the information being provided in your comment, perhaps we should expand?....

Bo'ness - Performed running in well from reports. Gala/photo charters with no issue, first hand observation. Was used on Black Bun Specials with No. 1 due to size of train requiring double heading for 419. Also used on a private charter, first hand observation again.

CVR - Performed well during photo charter and a private running day. During gala, ran a warm con-rod during the last run on Saturday which was attended to and fixed overnight. Was pulled while up at Ipstines during Sunday due to concerns, nothing of serious issue but signalling system meant it had to sit out a rather large chunk of the afternoon up the line until another Ipstones service.

ELR - Did it fail? Can't seem to find any reports of it on National Preservation, but have seen photos of it out on all three days?

Swanage - Flying Scotsman weekend, was only ever rostered as a spare locomotive and station pilot but did so with no issues. Friday of gala weekend, late out in morning due to a cottor pin issue, appeared throughout rest of the weekend. Was doubled headed for majority of time as on a previous test run on March 20th, did not have the water capacity for doing full runs solo.

North Norfolk Railway - Withdrawn Friday afternoon after setting fire to lineside, declared fit for Saturday morning. Withdrawn further again on Saturday afternoon with steaming issues, steam leak found and decision made to not attempt a repair for Sunday of the gala.

Returned to Bo'ness and repaired. Another photo charter, first hand observation, certainly no issues. Has taken part in several days of service between April 20th and May 19th, one day was withdrawn during Thomas weekend due to slightly warm bearing but appeared resolved the following day.

GWSR - As the thread has pretty much explained.

So yes, not a glowing performance by any means but not as horrific as the original message suggests. However, it has managed to clock up at least 60-70% of her runs without issue, and I'm certain that the maintenance team at Bo'ness will be keen to get down to the issue of this warm bearing and try bring that reliability performance up.

 

I had a great time on Saturday - thanks to everyone involved for putting on such a fantastic show! Although it was a shame the Caledonian tank failed, it was good to see it up close at Winchcombe. I was also fortunate to get a ride behind it up to Toddington! I wonder if brake van rides could be given on the freight - it could be a good way to make a bit more money and an added attraction. As others have said, loved the 'B1', especially the whistle and it made a great noise going up to Toddington on the last train of the day when we got held at the signal off the viaduct.
But, a personal highlight, as a long-standing friend of 2807 it was great to finally get to drive her a little bit at Cheltenham!

Thanks everyone for a super day out - hope the last day goes well

Here's my video:

 

Indeed, this was news to me when I first heard it mentioned yesterday; was fine when I was there and likewise, don't remember it being discussed at the time.

Regardless of (perceived) reliability issues, I'm still delighted it made it all the way here, and much as it was a disappointment to those hoping to have a ride behind it, I was delighted to see it playing with the wagons at Winchcombe. Give me a bit more notice and we could have done a couple in pseudo Caledonian livery to match!

 

Unfortunately the LMS brake van in use is not vacuum braked, precluding its use by passengers. If we end up doing similar next year I'll try and suggest extracting the Queen Mary or the Toad for use instead, might be possible then. Personally, I'm hoping for a return of a full line freight train next year!

 

Oh right, good to know thanks
That would be lovely to see again, I hope so too!

PS: My photos from Saturday are now here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FtTrKwpUANvbhEQT8

 

My gallery from Saturday can be found here... http://preservedrailway.weebly.com/gloucestershire-warwickshire

 

My latest footage, enjoy.

 

I'm not sure that it "failed" as such on the East Lancs, but it was having steaming problems at Ramsbottom late on Saturday which resulted in 2890 being sent on the front of another train from Bury to "rescue" it. I was on a train going the other way and so I don't know whether 419 made it beyond Rammy on that trip or whether 2890's assistance was required, but I seem to recall that it had made it back to Bury when I returned from Heywood.

 

Please no! Full line freights are fine for the lucky few who get to ride in the brake van(s), but not so good for the passengers who have to wait the best part of an hour for the next passenger train which will then probably be full as it's effectively taking two train loads of passengers,

 

Great time yesterday at the gala. Thank you to all who worked so hard front of house and behind the scenes. The timetable had decent dwells so it was not a rush which was welcome. Great line up of locomotives and services busy but not full. Highlight of the day was driving 4270 at Cheltenham on the driver for a tenner! The train crew were friendly and very helpful. We rounded off the day with a super meal at The Plough in Ford which I would highly recommend

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

That's the entirely understandable reason why they haven't run the past few years. But with all 4 rakes in use this year and CRC and Broadway passing loops unused (the latter should be available for passing trains next year) there ought to be space for a freight train without adversely affecting passenger trains.
I was talking to a loco dept. guy yesterday who was enthusing about the idea of a full line freight train arriving at Winchcombe and being re-marshalled before going on its way again, leaving a few wagons behind to be shunted by the standby engine! I think that may be a little ambitious for now, but I would like to see our wagons used a bit more - the small wagon involvement this year was very welcome, and looked great behind the Caley tank and was a fantastic compromise given its problems.

 

It was actually 27 Al; two rakes of 8, one of 5 and one of 6, and we were quite amazed too! That said I think we'll stick to saying 24 of them were in good condition... Many thanks for your compliment though, will pass it on to the rest of the department.

 

Another enjoyable gala at the GWSR, a shame about 419 but was well utilised at Winchcombe. Was lucky to be on its one passenger run of the entire gala! Here's my video and a few photos from the event.

 

My video coverage of the GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam. I hope you enjoy this feature length special.

 

I've always felt these weekends should be more than just the engines; I enjoy watching a a rake of freight wagons thunder/trundle through and it adds something interesting to the event. With most lines having 10-15 minutes between stations, the wait for the next service would never be quite as long as an hour surely?

Wish I'd been able to make this weekend, especially as the Caley is now pulled from the EOR lineup. Thanks to all at GWSR for the Western tank though - that's something I've personally wanted to see for a while now!