Great Central Railway Autumn Steam Gala: 29th September - 2nd October 2022

Visitors:
41312 From Mid Hants Railway.
65894 From North Yorkshire Moors.
BR Derby Lightweight Railcar "Iris" From Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

Home Fleet:
46521 [Last gala].
48305.
73156.
78018.
78019 [Subject to completion].
92214 "Leicester City".

https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/autumn-steam-gala/

 

Website says selection from the home fleet which also includes 73156

 

41312 sure gets herself about, doesn't she?

 

I believe 73156 will be unavailable…

 

Yes, thank goodness! Delightful locos, handsome for a post-war loco and look righ on practically any line.

 

The question 3ABescot is, which way will the theme swing? Will it be another Southern theme? A Midland theme? A Welsh theme?

 

As there will is likely to be just one other visitor, I suspect it may be difficult to get a credible theme. IMHO that doesn't matter as the GCR can be relied on to offer a good, busy and varied event. Achieving that in the face of coal shortages, rising prices, drought, etc. would be enough for me!

 

Website line up now shows 6990 "Witherslack Hall" now withdrawn from the line up

 

Ben Jenden, how come?

 

D7076, it still says 73156 on the website, then again, it is early.
I suppose if this and the Hall are out of action, this is going well.

 

Loco page says it's currently withdrawn for repairs. Precisely to what I don't know

 

All the talk about 73156. Its been booked for the NYMR gala the weekend previously. The NYMR gala page on the website confirms this

 

With the recent period of diesel-only running due to the heatwave it has been a little while since I was last on-shed, but 6990 was suffering from a couple of leaky tubes previously.

 

78019 might be back by then

 

NYMR thread suggests the J27 is going to the GCR in the Autumn, will this be the second guest?

 

Been officially confirmed by GCR today

 

It is confirmed on the GCR website.

Sent from my SM-A125F using Tapatalk

 

The GCR have also announced this afternoon, that subject to contract, BR Derby Lightweight Railcar "Iris" from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway will be in-use at the gala. Also scheduled to be running at the Diesel Gala and Railcar weekend.

 

I'm giving some serious consideration to going to this event, engineering works permitted as I found out that the journey by train from Haywards Heath to Loughborough Main isn't as long as I thought it would take.

I'm going to the North London Derby on the Saturday, so may attend the Sunday (but I'm also keeping an eye on the Epping Ongar Railway's London Transport Event the same weekend). If I do go it'll be the first time I've travelled on the railway since I was 2/3 years old and my first visit to Loughborough since 1998 (when I was 7 and even that was just a visit to the bridge over the loco yard!)

 

Hi Dan
I'm sure you will find that the GCR has changed quite a lot since 1998! It will be a busy timetable with lots of variety that's for sure.