Cholsey and Wallingford

Jessie from the Pontypool and Blaenavon railway is at the Cholsey and Railway this weekend

 

Currently running at the Cholsey and Wallingford railway is S160 5197 topping and tailing with 08507 on the Polar express.


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Are the times and dates available for the Polar Express? I see it’s all sold out but thought about possibly going along to see it one evening.

 

Saturdays and Sundays and mon-Thu from 20/12 departing Wallingford 1120, 1255, 1430, 1635, 1810 and 1945.

Fri 10, Wed 15-17 Dec 1500, 1635, 1810 and 1945.
These timings are approx.


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Great thank you!

 

Just spoken with the event manager and 15-17 Dec 4 trains a day.

 

If you are coming down to see the Polar express please keep off the tracks. This photo was taken on Saturday.

 

These boofs are not helping railway stay open Keep of the tracks. These idioms are what will get lines closed or themselves killed off.

 

Yeah we gave PNP a call and we'd been given duff info. We now have a lie in those mornings!

 

You could do with getting that published through the railways online presence. Most people on NatPres know not to trespass.

 

You might want to crop the picture @middy if you send it to the press

 

Don't suppose there's any post-Polar S160 action planned between Christmas & New Year for those of us who like rugged goods locomotives but can do without dancing conductors?

 

Unfortunately not


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Sadly not this year - our small operation is at full tilt delivering Polar at the moment, after Christmas we need to pack up and have a rest! In the run up to Christmas we are running 9 days in a row which is something we have never done before. Whilst there have been some teething troubles, the Polar experience has been overwhelmingly positive for our line and taught us so much about delivering events at the next level. The income generated will also be very useful for our development plans.

See below a picture from our resident photographer Phil Warrington of the S160 departing the 'North Pole' bound for Wallingford. The view is framed by Church Bridge in Cholsey.

 

The s160 is a grate engine. I was hanging out the back of one in Painton and it made a lot of noise so I would advice this railway to keep it for some normal runs when they can.

 

What coaches are they using - look a bit like they might be Mk3s?

 

Same for the Batt Holden reps, you can count them on one hand! They all want time with their families over the Xmas period, and Cholsey isn’t exactly on the doorstep.

 

I heard that you were firing Jon Jon - so the Polar Express passengers can expect some black smoke.

 

Very pleased to say that last week we won a National Railway Heritage Award for the Wallingford Canopy. We were honoured to receive the Chairman’s Special Award - The Theo Steel Award - for the resited Brunel Maidenhead Canopy. Looking forward to getting the plaque up at Wallingford next year!

When it arrived in hundreds of pieces 5 years ago or so in the yard I thought it would never happen, but with determnation from our current chairman and the support of the Railway Heritage Trust, the structure has transformed Wallingford Station. There is still much work to do, but we are on the way to a headquarters we can be proud of and the money from Polar will help that happen sooner!