GWSR Cotswold Festival of Steam 25th-27th May 2024

Please do, having been unable to make the gala this would be a small consolation!!

 

Whoops! I was typing that on aforementioned brake van to be fair, only just got home having put all the toys back in the right place

Thanks to all that came, we enjoyed it, we're glad you did too! It makes all the effort worthwhile, and I can confirm it was a financial success too, even our FD is a happy man. The charter with the Grange was a great way to finish off, but we're all a little bit tired now, tomorrow a day off, next week, start planning the next one?...

 

Thanks Martin and all at GWSR putting on yesterdays charter. My video link below:

 

Well it seems like another Gala Day went well. Congratulations to everyone involved. The Gala season does seem to have got to a good start. I particularly liked the freight trains, they reminded me of my childhood when and early teens when I lived in Warwickshire on the northern part of the line.

 

Here's my video coverage from the festival, the personal highlight being the double-header with 6880 & 2999 - great to see two new-builds paired up!

 

Many thanks for letting us know that the guest engines were also going to run on some normal service days.

I wasn't able to attend the gala, but visited the GWSR today and was rewarded with a round-trip behind 6880 Betton Grange, with plenty of seating as no gala crowds and no coach parties. Excellent!

 

For those wh0 don't have access to Facebook. <BJ>

''Not only will 6880 Betton Grange be out this week, but the West Somerset Railway Mogul No. 9351 will also be out and about too!
This is the last chance to see the Mogul in Gloucestershire before returning home to Somerset, so come along and see these two locomotives work our Purple Timetable''.
www.gwsr.com

Note. It's probably best to confirm which days 9351 is in service by contacting the railway

 

Some footage from all 3 days of the gala, featuring shed scenes on Saturday morning. All 3 visitors featured including 2807, 7903 from the home fleet!!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The loco roster has been updated on the GWSR website for the whole of June, as a result I will be paying a visit Saturday for the Grange and Saint!

 

Absolutely marvellous!
It was a brief, but a well worth while visit, so glad I decided to go, great to see 6880 turn up and prove its worth.
Though, no matter what anyone says, 2999 will always be the star to me.

 

It's not a Star it's a Saint

 

Cracking day Wednesday, both locos sounded fantastic. Type 4 sounded nice too.

All the best

 

Very funny 6026 King John, very funny.

 

A little late, carried on further south for a few weeks holiday, so first chance I've had to put some shots up. Wonderful time, 3 days running around with rover tickets , trying to achieve haulage by every loco and combinations. Thanks to all for their efforts making it a weekend to remember.6880 made it as we are all now aware, killing off the naysayers!

 

My belated pictures of the aftermath to that excellent gala. We went on 4th and 5th June as we couldn't make the Gala proper. It's marvellous how the railway kept on their celebrity visitors, and it should have paid as the excellent service was busy, mostly with "normal" people.

 

We found the line a very well run and friendly, as on previous visits. The cafe at Toddington was in our view much improved, without the hanging about to be served we've previously experienced. It had a wide range of sandwiches, toasties, cakes together with pies, pasties and bacon butties. The shop was well stocked and the buildings are very well managed. Broadway already looks as though its been there for years although work on the northbound platform , signalling etc. is ongoing. It's nice that both terminii retain the character of through stations.