Watercress Line Autumn Steam Gala, 4th to 6th October 2024.

It will still be at North Norfolk Railway https://nnrailway.co.uk/autumn-showcase/

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You could be right. The Facebook update doesn't mention the possibility of other visiting locomotives.

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The "more to follow" has since been removed. Looks like this is the final line up

 

4144, 6695 and 34072 are listed as the visitors.
506 and 41312 are the home fleet.

It seems however Thomas has replaced Percy on the driver experiences.

 

Gala timetable https://watercressline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Autumn-Steam-Gala-timetable-2024-V1.pdf

 

As well as the timetable the "theme" for the gala has been uploaded onto the gala page on the Watercress Line website:

"Picture the scene at a busy joint railway hub with Southern & Great Western trains and locos hauling express trains and local shuttle and freight. This gala event is intended to go someway to recreate this scene.

The day starts with Southern engines at Alton and Great Western engines at Alresford with trains only running part way on the line. The idea will be to operate as two separate railways for a time, GWR at one end and SR at the other end.

As the day progresses, inter-regional mainline trains begin to appear at each end of the line, with branch shuttles connecting in and out of the mainline trains."

 

Quite right! Keep those GWR and SR locos separate! In fact segregate the GWR and SR fans as well! Please can one rake of coaches be repainted in chocolate and cream to keep those of us in the GWR camp happy?

 

The timetables don’t quite do this at least not on Saturday but good to see some different thinking and a nice intense service. Hope it all works

 

Doubt it, but it would nice.
Bright side, they do have a goods run booked for both GWR tank engines, perhaps the toad might come out to play?

 

Good heavens, for once I am agreeing with a GWR enthusiast - at least the segregation comment. Yes indeed, keep the GWR fans at Didcot and Swindon for that weekend, and the SR enthusiasts anywhere South of a line from Waterloo to Exeter and on to Ilfracombe.

But we could meet up for a game of football somewhere in no-man's land - Westbury perhaps?



Bryan B

 

Many thanks for that.

Some difficulty downloading that pdf - in the event I had to briefly turn off the filter that won't allow me to download steam loco details for locos with numbers only four digits long, and it then got through.

I wasn't going - but 41312 (aka 31312) on the shuttle and 34072 on the ACE are enough for me, along with 30506 of course. Might have to be the Friday via the dreaded M25, as I have an appointment on the Saturday morning followed by the possibility of 34046 on the Golden Arrow - in Kent of course.

 

Been informed that all guests have arrived, everything facing Alton except for 4144.

 

Slightly less 'starry' but significant in its own way; the freight rake will include the sole surviving BR ventilated Meat Van B 870067 which passed its FTR last weekend after its restoration; it arrived from Bodmin in 2019 but hadn't run for some considerable time before then.

 

Interestingly 4144 was also intended to be facing London, but it wasn't able to loaded on the trailer that way. If it had arrived London facing, would that have been the first gala all the locos were facing the same way??

Unloading Locos by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

 

Looking at my photos it looks like at the Autumn Gala 2016 everything faced Alton. I do prefer the locos facing Alton if possible - it seems to offer better photo opportunities. Doesn't do any harm to having something facing the other way though.

 

I think you are right, even 53809 was facing Town!

 

Something doesn't look quite right on the gala timetable. Set B arrives at Alton at 13.51 and set L departs at 13.55. I'm assuming they pass in the loop and one of those times is wrong.

 

B set arrives 13:59 having waited in the Meon Loop (arrives 13:50) whilst the 13:55 departs and passes

The public timetable does indeed have arrival as 13:51 though

 

A more detailed day sheet for the Gala is now available to download here: https://watercressline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Autumn-Gala-Day-Sheet-2024.pdf

 

Still got the incorrect 13.51 arrival time. I wonder whether anyone is going to get caught out by this and think they can go into Alton with 506 and depart with 6695 or 4144 only to see their intended train pass the in the loop.