GCR Winter Steam Gala | 23rd-26th January 2025

And your solution would be?

 

Only thing i can think of is add another coach, but lock the front and rear set of doors on the first and last coach so no-one can fall out at the stations

 

A gloriously sunny but cold day greeted me on arrival over a hour later than planned (Thanks Northern Rail) for Saturdays Winter Steam Gala.

Photo link in usual place in the photography section

78018 had failed the previous evening, not sure why if anyone can help please? but a full service till ran, weather from Friday, and Sundays forcast being a bit wet meant all the trains were full to standing
as people taking advantage of the sunny weather, i stayed till about 4pm then heading home, everything from Loughborough to Leeds ran to schedule till it was time to get the TPExpress service home to Huddersfield via Brighouse, what a nightmare 60 minute journey!!! arrived home about 8:30pm (Thanks TPExpress)
I did one round trip then spent the rest of the day at Quorn & later Loughborough. Highlight of the day was the doubleheaded Grange/Hall service

 

Friday's timetable and locos being the same as the weekend's was a big help and pursuaded us to go on Friday.

All the action and you could get a seat on every train. Blissful!

 

Had a very enjoyable day yesterday. Spent the day running behind the 3 visitors. Got most of a round trip behind both 3850 and 6880 and a full round trip and short blast from Loughborough to Quorn behind 6695. Didn't manage to get behind '68067' or that many pictures of it though (the sun seemed quite bright at Loughborough, which made taking pictures there a bit tricky.

It was extremely busy, every train I saw was standing room only, I stayed until 3850 took the 5:35 (which left 10L, although delays seemed very minimal throughout the day) from Loughborough and that had a few of people standing on that and that was the penultimate departure. I was on the 3850 run mentioned by @Diamond Gaz and it was rammed. I was in a vestibule from Leicester North and by the time it got back to Loughborough there was 5/6 of us stood in it, plus others in the gangways and down the carriage. I was expecting it to be busy, but it seemed busier than the Winter Gala I went to 2 years ago. I did get lucky with seats twice, mainly by jumping onto trains as they came in, I spent a couple of runs stood in the Maroon BG on one of the sets which had plenty of standing space.

Here's a few mobile pictures I took.

 

Unfortunately the length of trains, busy services, and the liek has always been a side issue of the GCR Galas, but is generally more exacerbated at the Winter event. Most other railways are shut, so the GC get quite a surge of people heading to this one. I’ve been to every one since 2016 and they’ve always been the same, particularly where a visitor is on the front. I think the run with the K1 a few years back was wedged to the point where people couldn’t actually get out at the station they wanted. Some friends yesterday gave up, and just went on the lineside because they couldn’t get on trains.

It did seem strange that the rake with the Kitchen car in was effectively only 4 coaches for the public, given the 5th is effectively 1/2 a Kitchen, 1/2 brake. Personally I would have thought there would have been some element of sense to marshall the Kitchen vehicle at the Loughborough end, effectively meaning a 5th passenger coach could be added and all 5 would be platformed.

It’s a very difficult position for the GC, with limited chance of platform extension, and the necessity for additional staff to deal with locking doors out to add more coaches.

 

Quorn and Woodhouse was incredibly busy by 8.30 yesterday when I went to get my ticket but what must be said was how friendly absolutely everyone was. I suppose the good weather helped keep everyone jovial.

Anyway, two of my favourites from my day.

 

Afternoon everyone,

My Son and I visited the GCR for the first time yesterday, we were both VERY impressed, the staff were very friendly, very smart, and very approachable. The Stations, each with their own ambience, were lovely.
The trains were very busy, although we didn't have to forego travelling on any of them. The worst problem we had was trying to find a 'free' open window to enjoy .
The tours of the Engine Shed at Loughborough were very busy, but also very appreciated. I hope that our donations help towards the restoration efforts.

What also added to our enjoyment was ignoring the timetable in the booklet, and to enjoy whatever turned up next. Superb!.
We shall hopefully make return visits, although being currently unemployed, and without transport will make it a little difficult.

A final word to sum-up our experience - Unforgettable!

Thank you to everyone involved.

 

I'd also add to that and say it is a railway that is quite accessible for visitors from both the North and South, especially by rail, as well as locally in the Midlands. I myself came up from Sussex on a Thameslink straight to St Pancras and EMR from there to Loughborough.

I think it might have been the kitchen car set (I assume it was the one doing the all day breakfast, bacon rolls etc s?) that was the overcrowded train with 3850, as I was standing in that area and bought myself a cup of tea.

It does seem like it will be a very successful event for the railway luckily and I look forward to coming back again soon.

 

Well my personal solution for some years has been not to attend. In days past I would have at least been able to say the trains are too full for me to be bothered to try and travel on, especially during in the middle of the day, I will go and photograph instead. But all those recent housing developments restrict even that option.
I may be prepared to be jammed into a tube in London for 30 minutes, but at 73 I am no longer prepared to drive 4 hours each way and pay for 2 nights hotel for such discomfort. Maybe as a group of 4 you could grab a table and let the locos come to you all day, but I am always a solo traveller.
An extra coach may help but that will delay unloading/boarding so in turn may lead to fewer trains, and hence achieve nothing.
It is a shame, great place with the double track and hence lots of trains, but it means they lose my money as do the hotels, guest houses and eateries.
Unless there are many others like me why should the railway care anyway. Trouble is of course they are unlikely to be able to know the answer to that.

 

Just reflecting on my day yesterday, and where it does and doesn't align with the experiences reported yesterday.

I focused on travelling, and especially experiencing locomotives I'd either not had, or had very little of. In the end, that led me to stick with Set B all day except for a lunchtime interlude with "Iris". Like the others, it was 5 carriages - TSOs at each end, an SK inside each, and a BG in the middle. That made it relatively consistent with the seating on the other sets. The only train I joined that was uncomfortably full was the 15:15 from Loughborough, which was one of very few passenger turns with 6695, and filled up heavily at Quorn and Rothley, though as a single car DMU it was quite well laden.

Planning my day, I found some odd lulls in the passenger timetable, which limited my ability to juggle diagrams - one of the reasons I stuck with the one set, and let locomotives come to me. It was busy enough that, as a solo traveller, I didn't follow my usual habit of changing ends on each journey - especially in the afternoon, many people seemed to have settled on "their" tables".

Punctuality seemed fortunately good, though a couple of runs north from Leicester seemed to be held around Rothley - not enough to be dsiruptive, but could have affected people trying to make a day's itinerary work.

A 6th carriage on each set - ideally a TSO - would be welcome, as would catering on all vehicles.

But, from my own experience and judging by those around me, I think the organisers got it pretty well right.

 

On all vehicles? Or do you mean sets?

 

Some video clips from yesterday and including from a charter in the week with 6880. Rather annoyingly the video didn't switch on for the 6880/6990 double header but never mind, other's I'm sure got it!

https://youtu.be/j0WkjAfZY2g

 

I did indeed mean sets - tghough honourable mention should go to the steward on "Iris" who came round offering coffees

 

Footage from yesterday’s Gala featuring mainly the visitors. Great Gala/Weather and never a chance to get Bored.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Go and spend your money next weekend when the visitors are rostered without the crowds ..

 

Thanks to anyone who came to see us on the 2857 stand, and special thanks to anyone who lightened their wallet for us. It was my first experience of a GCR gala. It will not be my last.

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18zziSxwLy/

Quite busy at Kinchley Lane, including at least one NP member clearly visible.

 

It would be interesting to see how successful from a financial perspective the event was, its great saying a 4 or 5 coach train was rammed full but that's a bit like saying a tandem bike was heaving as 2 people were on it!

 

Fair comment, though this visitor also observed how all of the stations were busy.