Great Central Railway Autumn Gala Thurs 04 October to Sun 07 October 2012

Just read in Heritage Railway that Cheltenham is to appear at the GCR's big Autumn Gala.
Also, according to Heritage Railway, Union of South Africa has been "earmarked" for this year's Gala.
Looks to be a great gala this year, but it's a shame that it clashes with the WSR's Autumn Gala too.

 

but this time it isn't at least clashing with the K&WVR.

 

Some more news from the GCR website:

Visiting courtesy of the National Railway Museum - Southern Railway Schools Class No 925 “Cheltenham"

• Adding a second touch of Southern express glamour, another National Collection Locomotive - King Arthur Class No 777 “Sir Lamiel” fresh from a repaint into Malachite Green.

• A first time visitor is GWR Pannier Tank No. 9466, a powerful machine at home on freight services and short passenger trains.

• The ever popular GNR N2 No 1744,
• The magnificent red liveried LMS 8F No 48624.
• Immaculate BR Standard 2 No 78019 and Ivatt 2 No 46521
• LMS ‘Jinty’ tank No 47406 - (proof that the best things come in small packages).

And also some info about Swithland:

After twenty years the double track project is finally complete. The final element, ‘Swithland Sidings’ signalbox, is now open for business. It adds long loops where where freights can be shunted and slower services turned in, while faster ones pass by - just as a main line should be.Swithland will be a mecca for lineside photographers and a thrill for passengers. The effect of the new signalbox will be felt along the line, as frieghts, passenger trains and postal expresses roar along the double track. In short, our galas are about to transform again.

So we’d be delighted if you could join us for the Autumn 2012 event. The first time when we put Swithland through its paces. When the Great Central Main Line evolved.

 

Had a look a few times, might have missed it, does anyone know whether it is possible to advance book tickets for the event either online or over the phone?

Many thanks.

 

Passenger Trains timetable for Saturday is now on the GCR website: http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/Timetables/2012_Autumn_Pass_WTT_Sat_v1.0.pdf

 

Two locos in steam on Thursday and three on Friday. Is that a gala? Bit surprised at the use of the DMU on Saturday as well.

 

Great news to see the timetable online, hope KWVR follow suit.

DMU is very odd......

 

Passanger only same as KWVR apart from you do have loco allocations, however as KWVR have confirmed all loco's will work each day then no matter which day yopu come you will see what all loco's working, maybe you should try getting one for severn valley, not that I nocking SVR as they do provide a nuts and bolts roster, just trying to get some balance in the debate. You will also find NYMR,wsr and most other major gala's doing the same.

 

Luckily all the railways that put on diesel galas provide free rosters, where as when it is the turn of some of the same railways to present steam, they are witheld.

Diesel - a very high percentage of those attending are travelling on trains, so loco allocations have to be provided to bring in the crowds so people can plan their visits.

Steam - more on the lineside than travelling, so rosters are witheld / not required.

That appears to be the basic argument from the management of the railways.

 

I'm led to believe 925 will be split from her tender over weekend 29th & 30th Sept for road haulage to GC.

 

And will hopefully be turned while away so she faces Alton... But that's for the MHR thread!

I am disappointed that I can't make this event - I guess at some stage 925 will run the TPO? The DMU confuses me though... The only reason I can think of is if the GCR are concerned whether 777 will be back in time? It's already missed the MHR gala, and could be on the verge of missing another one!

I will be back at the GCR for the Winter gala though, could the GCR request 925 visits again?

James at SVN

 

Is there any public access to the Swithland Sidings area now? Or is it still lineside pass-holders and staff only? From the photos I've seen, it looks like a splendid display, but my impression from the train was that you don't see it in its full glory. A discretely roped-off area for visitors, with a couple of stewards carrying collecting buckets, might be a useful addition, if such can be arranged safely.

 

AFAIK there is no public access to Swithland Sidings, though I would be pleased to be proven wrong. It'll be lineside pass holders only I expect, and the novelty will probably mean that a lot more of them will be there than has been the case in the past.
How long will it be before Swithland Sidings becomes as much of a cliche as Kinchey Lane I wonder?
Besides finding somewhere safe for spectators at rail level, there would also be the problem of providing space for visitors to park their vehicles. The road passing under the railway at the northern end of the sidings is quite busy, so I'd expect that the police and local authority wouldn't look kindly on anyone they deemed to be causing an obstruction.

 

Previous quote:

"The DMU confuses me though... The only reason I can think of is if the GCR are concerned whether 777 will be back in time? It's already missed the MHR gala, and could be on the verge of missing another one!"

Sir Lamiel was back at the GCR at the end of last week, so I asume it is now a race against time to get the motion back on and the engine painted into malachite green for the gala. The tender has been at Loughborough for some time and I think the repaint is virtually done on this.

I pass the GCR regularly during the week so I'll keep sticking my head over the bridge and report back any progress.

 

There will be no public access to Swithland Sidings. The access road is narrow, and on a blind bend, so access for anybody unfamiliar can be a hair raising experience, especially when you pull across the lane for oncoming traffic, and a car appears around the corner doing 50 or 60mph. The DMU is in the timetable purely to be looped at Swithland, it makes two or three trips each day, and a steam service also gets looped at Swithland, in addition expect most freight services to be looped or reversed there too.

 

Finding somewhere for public viewing at Swithland really ought to be an aim to be sorted out at some point, waste of time having such an asset if only a few people can appreciate it in all it's glory.

 

Passenger timetables are now on the website for all four days. Thursday has 925 and 9466 operating a two train service, while on Friday they are joined by "another loco". Sat and Sun are of course the only real days to see the GCR Gala spectacle. The timetable appears to be the same for both days but with different loco allocations.

 

I think you're missing the point - the advantage of Swithland is the operational flexibility that it gives: freights can be slotted in-between passenger trains more easily (and longer ones than can fit in the sidings at Rothley too), things can 'disappear' and 'reappear' in a different order as and when required, the dining train can dawdle a bit more (as it likes to do) without holding everything else up... none of these advantages require a load of linesiders to be stood watching in close proximity. And Quorn will still be the most interesting place to watch trains from ("wonder what's coming next?" etc.)

I think the best place to view any 'action' at Swithland will be from the right hand side of a Rothley-Quorn train which goes into the down loop. Hopefully in the years to follow our timetablers will find clever ways of ensuring that people get to see something happening while they're looped there. Maybe for the future, get looped, watch a train come off the branch and shunt wagons into and out of the yard before shuffling off to Rothley or running round and heading back up the branch, for example.

Now, is it better to create a viewing area which will allow some people to see all this FOC (necessarily, since there is no station nearby and we couldn't police it), or is it better to convince them to buy a ticket and ride on the train to see it?

It's a no-brainer really.

 

Who said anything about free of charge ?, I'd be happy to pay for such a facility and im sure many others would feel the same, it's all very well suggesting you can get the view with a lineside pass, but not everyone is eligible for that, what about those who can't afford it, spare the time for the H&S courses or are even physically fit enough to pass said courses, why should they be denied the sight of the only passing loops and freight branch/exchange sidings in the country in preservation ?, especially as many of them probably helped pay for it through ticket sales and other streams of revenue.

Im not saying Swithland should be opened up overnight, but I really think it's something that should be looked into, a public viewing area somewhere on the western side of the line, with say a £5 entry fee, that way everyone could enjoy what has been created and the GCR gets some £££ out of it too, I dn't buy it would be impossible to Police, if there's only one access point to it and one man standing on the gate so to speak.

 

You make a valid suggestion - actually one I have made myself in the past, so don't assume I'm dismissing it out of hand. The reason I say it would be FOC is simply because it would be impossible to police it otherwise - maybe at galas someone could stand there checking people in and out of a gate, but the rest of the time nobody is likely to want to do this, so it would become a free-for-all by default. Then there is the problem of parking - it would have to be roadside, but the council may not be happy about that - there is no pavement on the side where the gate would be, would they insist on one? - and if you're not physically fit enough to get a lineside pass, you may struggle to get up the inevitable 40 or so steps. You couldn't use the railway's access road for public access (junction is on a blind bend and quite dangerous). And then there is the obvious problem of site security, which wouldn't be helped by creating another access point.

As I say I don't particularly dislike the idea - I just think that when it comes to it, the arguments against will probably win over the arguments for, particularly when the 'do nothing' option is infinitely cheaper.

Phil