Severn Autumn Steam September 21-23

campainr: Thankyou for sharing those truly atmospheric night-time images.

 

31806 yesterday morning.

Rest of my shots at Severn Valley Railway Autumn Steam Gala - a set on Flickr

 

A few of my photos from yesterday. It was a very good day, was hoping to be on the lineside today but the weather didn't make it worth it.

Flickr: DaveStubbings' Photostream

 

Thank you all for another stunning gala, only the SVR can put on such a spectacular event. A brilliant selection of locomotives this year, 3 which I had never seen before. The T9 is stunning and to have it over the full length of the line was an added bonus. It was also my first ride behind 34053 and it handled Eardington with dismissive ease. Best performances of the day was 5164 which flew from Bewdley to Kidder with its local train and some full regulator thrash behind 42968 out of Arley (a fitting goodbye, hopefully not too long..). Also nice to catch the didcot pannier and I am also a now a big fan of 31806 which looks, sounds and performs beautifully - a credit to the boys at Ropley! While the trains were very busy, I travelled on a brisk early evening local behind the coal tank to Hampton Loade. After it had shunted into the siding there was a lovely 10 minutes while it sat in the evening sun and peace and quiet descended, a welcome break from the earlier hustle and bustle.
Yes the timetable was robust, but I too missed a connection at Bewdley. Why this time were trains using platforms 1 & 2? The previous couple of galas has seen a switch to using 2 & 3 to cross, which means a simple cross platform change and no rushing over the bridge. This is a much simpler solution as the platform handles full length trains unlike platform 1, especially as it seems you still can not guarantee connections at Kidderminster either. Perhaps there is logical explanation(?) but it was a minor grumble on an otherwise superb day yesterday when the sun shone and more memories were created on Britain's premier steam line!
A few shots are included taken with my trusty old compact which has seen a few SVR galas now!

 

hello
thanks to everyone who made the gala run so smoothly
i went friday and managed to dry out enough for another go on saturday
some photos at Zenfolio | steam photography
regards

 

Unfortunately, weather wise, Friday was my chosen day to attend. In spite of the rain an excellent time was had and judging by how busy everywhere seemed to be it was amazing that it was only a Friday and not Saturday or Sunday. Another SVR gala that showed the railway off at it's very best. Well done to all involved. My photos can be seen here Severn Valley Railway - Friday 21st September 2012 - Paul Gildersleve's Photos | SmugMug

Regards,

Paul

 

What a superb gala. Well done to all concerned.
I was only able to attend on the Saturday but boy was I lucky. Wall to wall sunshine.
My photos are here and I hope you enjoy taking a look. Slideshow option provides the best image size.
Clive Hanley Photography | 22 September 2012. Severn Valley Railway Autumn Steam Gala | OK. The balloons are in place. Let the Gala begin.

 

Well, spent an excellent 16 hours on the SVR over the weekend. I was lucky in that I chose the right day to go (Saturday), although I did feel the cold a bit (too cold, too soon!). What can I say about 34053? As the 10AM train from KR yesterday was rammed, I didn't get a chance to watch it perform during the day, and I had to get off at Bewdley anyway to meet my 'landlord' for the night and have breakfast (I'd been up since 4AM). However, she looked absolutely splendid, and got more than a few people talking. However, I had the privilege of a trip behind her at night from HY to BH, and seeing the bright orange glow of the fire dancing on the smoke and trees was magic. It was also amazing to see the electrically-lit gauge glases in the cab showing through the steam! I think she suffered a couple of times from the aforementioned 'dead-centre' piston syndrome, as we had to set-back a couple of times to get steam into the cylinder. However, it was all part of the experience, and she sounded fantastic on Eardington. The T9 was another excellent attendee, and I had four short trips behind her. Everyone seemed to love the Drummond 'watercart' bogie tender! Aside from a failed point at Hampton Loade at 23:30, the day passed without incident. Well done to all concerned, but especially SLL for the fantastic job they've done on 34053. Now I've seen her in action, I think the share was definitely money well spent, and I intend to support the overhaul of 34072 next!

 

Sea evening 22.26 ex BH tested one's patience at HL already 15 late stood there another 15 to clear the south points - signalman faffing around no explanation from on board staff - ah well night trains seem to drift a bit

 

I was one of the 50 or so others at Bewdley Tunnel for the 10.00 ex Kiddy, a fantastic sight. A great Gala and thanks to everybody involved in the SVR

 

It was great to renew acquaintance with 34053 at the SVR Gala, and very smart it looks too. Sadly it appeared to be in some difficulty on Saturday evening and was withdrawn from service on Sunday morning with several steam and water leaks. Hopefully it won't take too long to get it back into service again. It was an excellent gala as usual with an interesting timetable. The stars for me were the T9, the coal tank and pannier 3650.

 

Having returned from 5, 18 hour days working at Bridgnorth. Despite the weather I have not heard 1 single complaint.
If anybody missed the T9 this weekend, she is working on members and shareholders weekend on October 13/14th.

Personally. For the amount of information that is included in the full WTT. Its second to none. The issue with the print on the actual WTT rather than the following pages was due to publication issues, which are already being modified for March. If olly5764 didnt have a full WTT for the gala. There were spares at every station and plenty at Bewdley or Bridgnorth. (I know, I delivered them down the valley).

Everybody who had a turn on the U or just got in the cab came to the same conclusion, WE WANT TO KEEP IT!

So after 5 days of tiredness, head scratching, bathams bitter and sleep deprivation. All for the fun of it. it was a damn fine weekend.

 

You must have been quite close to me for that picture of 31806 (No. 11 on your slideshow.) Mind you, the world and his wife seemed to be waiting for 31806 at this spot! I was using my trusty Pentax K-1000 (i.e., a film camera), so I haven't seen how my picture of 31806 looks, but if it looks as good as your picture, I shall be delighted.

 

Excellent photographs. Thanks for sharing Clive. <BJ>

 

Like many others on this forum, i should also like to add my appreciation of all the effort that went into organising and operating this wonderful event.

On a linked point, and here, I do appreciate that opinions vary, I personally am always very happy to pay the £5 for the full working timetable. I enjoy looking at how the timetable is constructed, the pattern of operations, the operating notes, and the loco and set diagrams. As a volunteer on the operating side of another line, i find this of natural interest. I would not wish the svr to stop offering this for sale.

It is also a way of ensuring that everyone who wants this information - the enthusiast who just travels, the enthusiast who just takes pictures and the enthusiast who does both - pays a contribution to the event and its viability and profitability. Not everyone who travels would necessarily want this information and thus may not want to pay for it through a sudden fare hike.

 

You can't have 31806 just yet, we want her back in the "Alps". You can try asking the owner for her after 2014...............

 

Just noted a couple of errors in the public timetable (non-WT) regarding the visiting locomotives. Where it claims that the SVR 'is almost certainly the furthest north for a T9', a T9 (30304) had worked on a Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society AGM Special to Towyn on 24 September 1955 (see here: 24/09/1955 - Welshpool. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!). Also, note that 31806 was originally 'River Torridge' and not 'River Tonbridge' as per the typo in the booklet. Sad to hear about 34053's continuing niggles; thought the water pouring from beneath the footplate was because the slack pipe had been used. Never mind, on day all these problems will be ironed out.

 

With some excellent phots and vids already posted, here's my humble offering
Severn Valley Railway Autumn Gala Sept 2012 - YouTube

I can only echo other comments and say thanks for a great gala

 

I've got to agree, some good shots there Clive.

Like yourself I was a bit frustrated not to get a shot with the balloons in. I was on the top of the hill for 429689 (pic 3) fantastic amount of exhaust as it climbed the bank and sounded marvellous!