Cholsey and Wallingford Railway

I got to Wallingford in time for first trip, and in sun - nice run until that climb up into Cholsey station - stalled and needed to regain steam. I felt that there were bigger fish to fry than bothering about the headboard, so I photographed 'as was'. I got plenty of shots with Cholsey's fine station buildings in the background, and later did the 'compulsory' shot with Cholsey church in the background, and it was a pleasant day out.

I can't help wondering whether an arrangement with Didcot to provide a vintage bus joining up the two sites might be beneficial to both? A 14xx auto or a GWR railcar (preferably the steam one, but let's not be too fussy!) would look great at Cholsey bay platform and running on to Wallingford of a balmy summer evening.

 

Stalled? That doesn't sound like our engine. Hehe. Mind you it does take a little getting used to.

I don't know if anyone concerned with the operation/loan of the loco is on here but I shall be down from Shackerstone this Saturday (10th Dec) to see how the engine is getting on. Hope to see you all and the engine then. Will hopefully be there whilst the engine is still on shed in the morning. Best regards, Sam

 

There were no problems towards the end of the day, so it looks like a matter of just getting used to the loco. It was certainly good to see Sir Gomer in action. Unlikely to make the pilgrimage to Cholsey this side of 2012, but hope to renew acquaintance with both Cholsey and Sir Gomer before long, even if in different locations.

 

Just our guys getting used to the loco and being a bit cautious, there were no problems the rest of the weekend. I had a go on the shovel later on Saturday and was very impressed!

Not taken by me, but here is a video of him crossing the Wallingford by-pass - Steam. Santa's tank engine at Wallingford level crossing. "Sir Gomer" Dec 2011 - YouTube

sir gomer - I've sent you a DM about this weekend.

 

[video=youtube;mstWoQ8Heug]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mstWoQ8Heug&feature=youtu.be[/video]


Very friendly little railway with alot of potential and a great atmosphere. Wish you all the luck in the future and hope that our engine has done well for you overall. Wish you best of luck with steam in 2013. All in all. A very nice visit. Sammy's World: Christmas in Cholsey: "Sir Gomer" on Holiday... (my railway blog write-up). Thank you all. Sam (Sir Gomer Support Crew).

 

Nice footage -definite atmosphere of everyone having a good day out. Thanks for sharing this.

 

Great video sir gomer and nice to meet you on Saturday.

Don't forget Sir Gomer is running for the last time this weekend. No need to book, just turn up! Hourly departures from Wallingford 1105 to 1605 and from Cholsey 1135 to 1635.

 

Just to update we ended up having an excellent Santa season with lots of happy faces and full trains - thanks again to the Battlefield Line for helping us out at short notice with the hire of Sir Gomer. Birkenhead has now left us for attention to the crown stays at the Plym Valley Railway.

We're not running trains until Easter, but there is a lot of work to do between now and then! I walked the track at the weekend with our P-Way manager to assess the extent of work required this winter. Thankfully the wooden sections seem to be better than we though and only 15-20 need replacing to keep on top of things. This is largely thanks to the massive efforts made over the past deacde replacing life expired wooden sleepers. We plan to replace another section of steel sleepers near Cholsey bridge - some of these are over 80 years old but still in remarkably good condition! If anyone has a few hours free on a Saturday come and join the P-Way gang - we're always looking for more volunteers! The work train usually leave Wallingford at 0915, but do check before turning up.

 

Steam returned to the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway today for the first time in over a year in the form of 'Northern Gas Board No. 1' which is on hire for the next 2 years from the Darlington Railway Preservation Society. I had a go on the shovel this afternoon and was very impressed - I look forward to having a few more turns on her over the summer. Ivor was also fired up today at Wallingford ahead of a visit from the boiler inspector during the week. This means that for the first time in many years we could have two operational steam locomotives on the branch this summer. We're hoping to have them both in action on at least one day quite soon. Do come and pay us a visit if you can!

 

Great news! Will make a visit out to Didcot and Cholsey over the summer for sure.

 

Busy couple of weekends coming up on The Bunk!

This Sunday and Monday for the first time in nearly 20 years we'll be running 2 steam engines together on the line! Normal timetable in operation but with lots of combinations throughout the day including double heading and banking. The line up is Peckett's 1555 (Ivor) and 2142 (Northern Gas Board No.1).

The weekend after (Aug 30th-31st) we'll have NGB No1 in action for the popular music festival BunkFest http://www.bunkfest.co.uk/ - well worth coming along to if you haven't before. Lots of free music and a great beer tent (which I'll be working in on Friday evening!).

Hope you can come on down and support us over the next couple of weeks.

 

My first visit to the railway on 30th August, BunkFest weekend.
My video from various locations: