Mountsorrel Railway Opening Weekend 24/25 October

After seven years this former industrial line off the Great Central Railway is ready for its official opening.

The Opening ceremony will take place around 11:15-11:30 on the 24th October at Bond Lane, Mountsorrel, with the first train of the day reserved for VIPs. A further five public trains will be available on the Saturday and ten trains on Sunday the 25th. The train will be top and tailed with 2 small steam locos and the coaching stock is hoped to be a Suburban brake compartment coach alongside a small saloon, accommodating around 60 passengers.

Guides will be present on each train to explain the history and renovation of the line. Ticket holders may also take a guided tour the Heritage Centre site which is expected to open early in 2016.

Tickets for the event (adults £5, children 2-15 £3) can be obtained on-line from http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/mountsorrel-railway-opening-weekend-24-25-oct/. Tickets are NOT available by post, phone or at any of the GCR's ticket offices, although some tickets (cash only) may be available on the train. Priority will be given to advance ticket holders.

Further details can be found on the Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre Website at http://heritage-centre.co.uk/news/grand-railway-opening-24th-october/

This will be the only time trains will run on the line this year.

 

Suburban coach M43289 arrives on the GCR at Quorn & Woodhouse on the 5th October, 2015.

It is anticipated that the coach will be used for the inaugural services on the Mountsorrel Branch over the weekend of 24th and 25th October, 2015. Booking for this event may be made through the GCR website.

Further details are on the GCR website at http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/2015/10/suburban-coach-arrives/

Note: First train of the day is already sold out. Tickets still available for 4 services on Saturday and 10 on Sunday

 

Tickets booked for the Sunday. I'm sure it's been mentioned elsewhere but which Industrials are to be the motive power for these trains?

 

Sorry. There are rumours doing the rounds but "we" haven't been officially informed as to the locos that will be used as yet.

As soon as "we" get notification I'll post information.

 

Thanks. Which locos are used is not important but just nice to know what to expect.

 

Well, given the GCR is trying to recreate the main line, they might take inspiration from the current main line trend, which seems to be steam on the front, class 37/47* on the rear for shunting purposes/ETH/fire risk/leaves on the line/other*.

* - delete as applicable.

Coat, door etc...

James

 

From the http://heritage-centre.co.uk/news/railway-opening-weekend-qanda/ website:-

The GCR are bringing two locos in for the event. 0-4-0 Pecket “Teddy” http://locoyard.com/2013/08/10/teddy-the-peckett/ named after the rev Teddy Boston of the Cabeby Light Railway fame (Teddy is also very similar to Pecket “Doris” that used to operate at Mountsorrel) and “Colin McAndrew” https://www.flickr.com/photos/23689245@N08/3888550179. Both are fantastic little locos and it is wonderful that they will be here to make history with us!​

Also arrived, especially for the opening, is a newly restored suburban coach. The coach belongs to Alan Voase who has spent £100,000 on a complete refurbishment over the past 10 years. The coach is effectively brand new and we are so lucky and grateful that he has made the coach available for use on the branch line. The other coach in the train is the GCR’s Arrowvale observation car. This is a small coach with seating areas at both ends.​

 

Re: Mountsorrel Railway opening weekend 24 & 25 October

by BeePea » Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:08 am

Unfortunately steam loco "Colin McAndrew" has had to withdraw from hauling the opening weekend trains due to a mechanical fault. The loco has been replaced at very short notice by LNER Y7 from the Middleton Railway.

Advanced tickets for some of the weekend trains had sold out, however additional advance purchase tickets have been released for all of the weekend's trains. Tickets can be bought from http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/mountsorrel-railway-opening-weekend-24-25-oct/ until 4pm on Friday and will be sent out by email.

 

I paid a visit on Sunday and travelled on the 12.30. I would like to congratulate all those involved in the project. What a wonderful job you have made, all of you should be very proud of your efforts. I was in the observation saloon right behind "Teddy" and it was brilliant, especially the departure from Mountsorrell. Look forward to seeing the finished project.

Well done

Jon

 

Hi Jon

Thank you for your praise. It was an amazing weekend with every train sold out. The press coverage was outstanding (links to the various interviews, videos etc can be found at http://heritage-centre.co.uk/in-the-press/pictures-from-the-official-opening/

It is hoped that trains might run in the spring of 2016 when the Heritage Centre is expected to open.

Thanks

B

 

For some reason I get an "access denied" message when I click on that link.

 

The website uses a couple of "off-the-shelf" security packages which attempt to stop spammers and hackers. Unfortunately its list of "undesirable" IP addresses is not infallible and it occasionally blocks valid users. You may find that the link works fine tomorrow, however if you wish to message me your IP address then I may be able to check to see why it is blocking you.

BeePea

 

Two things struck me when I was reading through http://mountsorrelrailway.blogspot.co.uk/
1. The amount of local participation, there seems to be such strong support from people giving their time in groups
2. Grants and sponsorship, it certainly looks like multiple avenues have been explored and you've clearly devoted the time to getting people to contribute
Top job