GWSR General Discussion and Operations

Since arriving from S&CR in 2003 I believe its only visit was to SVR in 2005.

 

It went to OOC a little while ago for their "do". I seem to recall it went to Llangollen at some point in its first ticket, paired with a tender down there to save on transport? Before my time so only a vague memory of someone telling me something though!

 

A road and rail trip to Didcot then - that won't be cheap.

 

Llangollen visit was 2005... http://preservedrailway.weebly.com/llangollen-railway/great-western-summer-steam-gala-2005

 

Do you really think that's wise, sir?

Halls that enter Didcot tend to not to leave Didcot as Halls.

 

What is left to do in the 2 cylinder 4-6-0 GWR lineage?
Saint, Hall, Grange, Manor, County all exist nowadays, County 4-4-0 in hand, 47xx in hand...
'Kruger' possibly?

 

Start with the prototype ...



(Via: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prototype_4-6-0_No.100.jpg#mw-jump-to-license)

Tom

 

‘We decided the tender and wheels would make a good new build Hawksworth Pacific, and the copperwork will form the basis of a new build Great Bear...’

 

As reported by Jo in this blog post (towards the bottom), there are a couple of things to report, or rather, now that they've been made public, can be further reported!

Firstly, passenger figures for year end were 144,000, up from 101,000 in 2017 before Broadway. The big question is of course to what extent this will be sustained last year. Obviously we won't see the numbers we did in the first couple of months of 2018 as that was directly attributable to Broadway being "new". However, with a new cafe and car park at Broadway plus we're running two steam trains midweek from April onwards increasing our capacity particularly for coach parties, I don't see why we should expect much less for 2019.

Secondly, we've purchased some offices and yard on the station site at Winchcombe, currently a builders' business. Exact use hasn't been pinned down yet but it will certainly be useful, the offices may rehouse Admin from their portacabins and the yard may be a new and improved home for S+T, who desperately need an upgrade. This in turn could allow more room for our carriage shed, which is gradually coming closer on the horizon.

Hopefully a substitute for the boardroom blog will appear soon, we've been promised something to improve communication soon which I'm looking forward to. It would have been good if rather than try and rely on the same 1 or 2 directors to update the blog open it out to all 16 to lessen the workload but never mind.

 

You can certainly count on at least one more visitor in 2019. I had intended to come and visit the line last year, but things became too busy. Now it is firmly on the "must do" list for this year. I can personally say that the excellent communication that the railway engages in with all the blogs is a big part of what has attracted me. As a die-hard LNER fan who can't tell the difference between a manor and a hall, the fact that I am so keen to visit is because of my reading of the blogs. Reading the extension blog is now a part of my weekly routine, and the informal style in which it is written has meant that I almost feel I know some of the folks on the team, despite never having met any of you hardworking people. Either way, it all contributes to GSWR being at the top of my "to visit" list and I'm sure I can't be alone. Keep up the great work, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in flesh soon! Hope this year is just as successful as the last!

Joshua

 

+1 from another LNER die-hard.

 

I would encourage anyone who hasn't been to the GWSR to do so at the earliest opportunity. One of my most frequent destinations of the last couple of years and a very impressive line. Delighted to see their fantastic growth in passenger numbers last year and hope it continues into the future.

Here are a few pictures from the 2017 visit to wet appetites:



Steven

 

That seems an age ago now already, strange to think it was only a year and a half ago!

On another note, I've just finished watching this new DVD of the GWSR. It's really very good, with some excellent archive footage of all the stations along the line in the 1960 and some bits and pieces right from early days with extensive coverage of the last year or so and everything in between.

 

We enjoyed a two day visit in May this year when services were running to Broadway. A well run line.

I wonder what opportunities there will be for a 14xx and Auto train to operate regular trains given the increased popularity of the line.

 

Looks quite dry to me!

 

Pedant Mode On: shurely "To whet appetites"?

 

to paraphase Mrs Beeton - first find a 14xx and an Auto Train

 

I did wonder if I had got that right. Before Word had a grammar as well as spell checker (i.e. a bit like Chrome is now!), I was famous for using a word that sounded right if you said it but was the wrong spelling - as my French Teacher said when I took up Latin - 'You'll like Latin - everything is said as it is spealt'! I always felt there was an element of criticism there!

And, judging by how full the Auto Train was when we were on it, as it gets busier, a one coach train may also be less suitable, but still good for Galas.

Steven

 

It’s been a great year and a worthy reward for all the hard work put in. Although the plc has just taken on another paid member of staff (process assurance manager) the fact that we still have less than 10 staff (not all full time) means that the corresponding increase in turn over will allow the railway to make substantial improvements to things like the loco dept mess facility whilst also maintaining the upkeep of the all important infrastructure. It’s also good to see that on a case by case basis the railway are able to assist projects like the broadway footbridge steps. The winter p way works see the relaying of some of the earliest laid track at toddington back in 1981 whilst toddington signal box is to receive new windows. Although we are running on a few less days in 2019 (Fridays in August dropped) we are increasing steam usage that will see a lot more two steam diagrams.