Watercress Line Spring Steam Gala: 25th - 27th April 2025

The fires were between Medstead and Alton. The up goods stopped a couple of times for the crew to deal with them. Everything was roughly 30 late after that.

 

There were also earlier fires between Ropley and M4M but a number of us lineside were able to extinguish them without causing much, if any, slippage on the TT

 

Eagle-eyed denizens of Nat Pres may note that 52322 is sporting a fire prevention device in this picture taken on day 2

A class on the freight by Stephen Morley, on Flickr

 

I wondered when I attended on Friday if it felt way busier than I'd been used to at the Watercress because my last few gala visits have been on Sundays instead and maybe the difference was that I've usually gone on quieter days, but it sounds from everything written on here like this was just an exceptionally successful gala.

Highlight for me was certainly the T3 - its last run out of Alton on Friday night was an incredible experience from one of the windows in the front coach. I've found it very entertaining on Swanage's hills so had high expectations but it exceeded them. What a beautiful and enthralling engine it is. 52322 was great up the bank to Medstead too but didn't quite live up to 563.

The timetable slipped by 20-30 minutes while I was there, which I didn't think was too bad for a complex timetable, big crowds to manage swapping trains and a couple of fires (which looked at least like they were inside the railway boundary - or at least the one I saw between Alresford and Ropley was - and quickly dealt with).

Great choice of guest engines, very well driven, and a nicely imaginative timetable, thanks to everyone who made it happen.

 

I must say it is quite impressive that the majority of delays were caused by lineside fires despite the complex timetable! Clearly all the moves very well planned out.

 

Action from the lineside today. Very glad to have finally seen the T3 in action! A top gala from all involved at the line:

 

We had a cracking day out on the final day of what has been one of the best Galas of recent years.

Everything seemed to work out really well for us. Arriving at Ropley just after 11.00 we had to park on the far side of the field. Fortunately the rush at the ticket office was gone by this time so we swiftly picked up our tickets and boarded the packed 11.40 service with the T3 for a lively run up to Medstead. There were really large deposits from the exhaust coming in through the windows.
We changed services at Medstead to head down to Alresford to get some food before the hectic lunchtime rush. We took our chips to enjoy on the front half of the waiting Express service. We had to grab some seats as the train filled up quickly again. Later the T3 arrived with the four coaches that would form the rest of the set for the express. The departure was delayed due to reports of lineside fires again. But what followed was the highlight of the whole event.
Running behind schedule we departed Alresford with a gentle start. No Bulleid slipping today. Further up the line 35005 was encouraged to work harder as she chattered away towards Ropley.
CanPac was eased a little before entering Ropley. Then as we approached the station she was opened up in magnificent style to thunder past the yard and boiler shop.
The sound from 35005 was superb as she relished the challenge of taking 8 up the bank and the looks on the faces of the people watching us pass through said it all. Bloody brilliant!
At Alton we caught the 14.45 departure with 52322 for an equally impressive (and very noisy) climb back up the bank.
Leaving this service at Ropley gave us time to get an ice cream and browse the stalls. The three of us spent a fair bit on the Urie Locomotive Society stall. My Dad bought himself a baseball cap, my sister snapped up one of the teddy bears and I treated myself to one of the excellent hoodies. It was also good to chat with the nice lady on the stall. I really feel for the society with the unexpected withdrawal of 506. They were really looking forward to running her with the T3 at the Gala. Hopefully the T3 can come back again when 506 is back in action.
We also purchased some items from the Southern Locomotives stall: three of the high quality 34058 badges and a print of 34072.
Our final trip of the day was a round trip on the last shuttle service to Alresford behind 11456. Retuning from Alresford we had our first trip in the Queen Mary Brake van. A very enjoyable experience behind 11456 in perfect weather conditions and a great way to see the railway.

We ended the day with a nice cuppa as we watched the locomotive's returning to Ropley at the end of a superb Gala.

Thank you to everyone involved with staging this excellent event. The three of us really enjoyed ourselves. The express with 35005 brought a smile to my Dad's face as it must have brought some memories back for him of his travels behind steam in the 1960's . The dementia that he has is taking so many memories away from him so it was great to see him really happy today. I think we have also converted my Sister over to steam gala's. It was the first one that she had attended and she really enjoyed it.

Like the CanPac event in March there was a wonderful atmosphere around the railway.
Congratulations to all involved for delivering one of the most successful Galas in recent years.


Here are a couple more shots from the final day of the gala:






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There was the added comlication

There was the added complication of removing a coach to make 3 to add to the 5 in P2

 

Reference 52322. We saw the spark arrester being fitted when we arrived at Ropley on the 0935 on Saturday. On the same day it worked the 1445 Alton and went steadily up the bank at 16-17 mph then drifted to a stop at the summit. Antone know why?

 

Fantastic event, 563 is an absolute picture and even this Brighton die-hard has to admit it's one hell of a machine.

Some photos and a video below;