ELR Summer Diesel Gala 2025

Annual paraffin can bash starts this Thursday 3rd July for 4 days and promises to be the usual excellent event with one or two new twists.
Timetables with loco's on the website:
https://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/events-activities/summer-diesel-gala/
Good weather forecast for first two days, bit iffy for the last two.
Looking forward to it as usual.

 

Had some business to do this morning, so a quick round at Burrs this afternoon. Most trains appeared well filled for a mid-week. Few shots below:

 

Shots from today (Friday), cried off early dodging the showers and increasing darkness. Off riding tomorrow as the forecast is for wet , as is Sunday. The crane looked great as the extended it to a great height whilst in the refuge siding at Ramsbottom. D5054 looks at lot better in its' new livery, better than the dull monochrome brunswick.

 

Day 3 (Saturday) and had a riding day as the forecast was wet, in the event it was nothing more than the odd patch of drizzle, but the old currant bun was conspicuous by its absence. Unfortunately Richard Cranium and The Simpletons were in attendance crowding corridor ends singing and chanting with bad language, windmilling out of the windows hurling obscenities at whoever they could see.
Everything ran very close to time but had us all on edge with the first train. On arrival at Ramsbottom 31108 was to haul the stock to the sidings as usual for run round before returning to Bury (and onto Heywood). Across went the gates, up went the peg and off 31108 went on its own, leaving the stock in the platform. Apparently, the shunter with 31108 unaware of the usual run to the sidings jumped down on arrival in the station and uncoupled the loco - whoops! Stop, quick reverse, re-couple, shunter hides in loco all is forgiven.
Few shots from today: