So what makes a good/sucessful gala?? Questions Questions!!

As the gala season comes to a close I have read many posts about how much NP members did or did not like a particular railway gala. Many reasons are quoted but are these because each individual takes different things out of our hobby?

So what makes a successful gala?

Ultimately for the railway in question I presume it is full trains & loads of money made with the end result being a handsome profit? But is running as many trains as possible with as many engines in operation a priority for railways as well?

For the traveller/haulage/track bashing crowd are you looking for busier than normal intensive service running? Are you not bothered how many double headed combinations you get?

For the photographer is it the right engine on the right stock. No double heading?

My personal opinion is that some railways put out too many engines which leads to odd double headed combinations & the 'guest' engines hardly getting a look in, which I find a bit bizarre when they have no doubt come to the railway at a considerable cost. Also some railways seemcreate there own problems with such a complicated timetable that it inevitably leads to late running trains.

I don't know the answers just asking the questions!

I've not named any particular railway as I think the above applies to a lot of lines both big & small, fledgling & well established.

 

I guess it depends on the theme - is it an 'anything goes' gala or a 1950s one, for example. Both have their merits and require a different approach.

 

1) A theme can be good, something either related to a particular line (e.g "The Somerset & Dorset") or a gathering of locos of a particular class or from a particular railway company if possible. It seems better than just a random collection of locos.

2) A number of visiting locos - yes, I know they are expensive to bring in, but the idea should be to run something that cannot be seen on a normal running day.

3) Having the right combination of locos and stock is good, but I think we have to accept that few railways (except perhaps the Severn Valley with its wide variety of coaching stock) can do this.

4) Double-heading is good, but only with sensible combinations (i.e. locos of similar classes or those that realistically would have run together in steam days). Also, let's not overdo it - having two 9Fs or Pacifics on a 5 coach train looks daft.

5) Freight trains provide some interest but should be used sparingly so as not to take up paths at busy times of day when people want trains they can ride on.

6) Having a variety of different workings and a varied and interesting timetable is most important. The Severn Valley usually gets this right, the West Somerset used to until someone decided to have a simple one train per hour timetable. You don't have to have every train going the full length of the line, and not every train has to be 8 coaches or so!

7) For me having some good beer is an added bonus. I think a number of my fellow enthusiasts would agree!

 

I think the previous poster nailed it.

I went to the EOR Gala earlier this year, having the Met coaches from Keighley + the Suburban, IMHO added more to that gala than anything else..
the railway had the ambience and a collection of tank engines that all fitted the stock and the line very well... 4744, 4144, Met no1 and 5521 in Red.. all looked spot on with the stock and the line, no pacifics, no hundreds of engines.. just a well selected collection that matched the feel.. and wow it did.

tbh having Duchesses on a countryside trundle, or A4's running tender first don't do anything for me. Similarly does engines completely out of character to the furniture.. for example A4's on GW lines.


Personally I think gala's of the future are going to mature, the days of "hire the biggest name you can get", or "hire as many as you can get" are coming to an end, and instead the next theme should be "everything should fit the picture".
Not too sure about the "gather every member of the class" kind of gala, but renamings/renumberings/shed plates etc (done properly) cost nothing and add masses of interest to a gala.

Railways need to focus on the stock more... Blue and Grey Mark 2s with an engine not run since the 1950's just doesn't cut it.... there are exceptions of course.. Keighleys anniversary reopening gala harked right back to the early days of playing trains, which is precisely what the gala was celebrating.

 

Steep gradients and loud engines!

 

And that's why getting four Manors together with a Castle and a Hall at the WSR made it superb.

 

Like Foxfield you mean....

 

The WSR have never done local services on Saturday/Sundays of SSGs/ASGs as far as I know, apart from maybe one MD-BA shuttle per day. Thursday and Fridays they used to yes but with a restricted 6-7 trains full line service, as was the case at the Winter Steam Festivals and Somerset in Autumn events. The WSR are restricted in what they can do as the only intermediate stations with sidings are Dunster, Washford (which they can't use) and Williton. The SVR as they are a shorter line but have an extra two loops (even if one is just for goods/ecs at Highley) so can have more variety in their timetables, and also the 3rd platform at Bewdley aids them, plus all intermidate stations have sidings where they can chuck a train over to get out of the full line services' way.

 

For me, a gala is more than a train service, it's all the sideshows too, doing things that aren't usually available to do on normal operating days such as sheds being open, photograph displays, trade stands, walk on dining such as breakfasts etc. Shunting around of goods is nice to see too, even if it's just repositioning the brakevan.

Goods trains where possible are nice to run, but sadly some lines seem to run them at stupid times. For instance the WSR ran a Saturday Goods at the ASG 2012 and SSG 2013, leaving Minehead in the morning to cross the first train off BL at Crowcombe, so if you wanted to ride the trains you couldn't get a good picture of the Goods from the lineside going uphill. However freeloaders could easily see it. The way back was better as the goods passed the last train to BL at Williton so at least passengers could go somewhere like Nornvis Bridge to see the train climb up the bank, walk back to the station and then ride the last train back. The WSR got rid of this for the last ASG which was a shame and I wonder if this was due to a lack of passenger numbers on the goods at the previous event. Is this because of the direction of service? Surely more people start their day at Bishops Lydeard, and so running it BL-MD am then MD-BL pm would make more sense?

I also like seeing trains going through non-stop at some stations during galas. The WSR have seemed to got rid of the non stop through Stogumber these days, but 3/4 services a day uphill used to be great, a treat to see at the station and also around it as the trains were generally going faster as they had/weren't going to stop. I have never understood why the GCR do not run a few services (even if its just 1 or 2 per day) non-stop through Quorn and maybe even Rothley (if possible) considering they going on about being a mainline railway and this was the most common sights at these stations!

 

The line up was incredible but I think the gala could have been a lot better, timetable/roster wise. Having the Manor shoot at Minehead Saturday night was a little daft cause then it meant all had to be at Minehead at the end of the main day. The whole gala had much more potential than what it actually was in my opinion.

 

From the photography point of view, one essential for a good gala - SUNSHINE!!!

One general feature that makes a gala successful is extended operating hours. The SVR overnight running has a solid following, although I must admit I like my sleep too much for staying up all night! However, 17 years after the event, I can still remember the West Somerset's S&D 30th anniversary of closure gala in March 1996. I had arranged to stay with some relatives of mine who (most conveniently) live about 2 miles from Crowcombe Heathfield Station. I got off there at about 8-9PM, having boarded what was the last northbound departure from Bishop's Lydeard and then headed off into the darkness along the country lane towards their farmhouse, listening to the loco (which may have been 88; I can't remember) setting off towards Minehead - the sound of the exhaust echoing into the still night sky. A truly wonderful experience that you can't normally enjoy because trains don't normally run on the WSR at that time of day.

Extended operating hours also benefit the photographer. As is often mentioned on this forum, the Mid Hants is not the easiest of lines photographically unless you have a PTS, but with the first Alton-bound train arriving at about 10AM on gala days, the sun is at the right angle (if out) in a few spots which it isn't for the normal first departure at 11AM. Just hoping for sun this Sat. It would be good to get a few pictures in the morning, (as all the visitors seem to be facing London) then travel in the afternoon.

I've got to admit, I don't really enjoy crowds, although obviously, full trains at galas are needed to justify the costs of bringing in a guest engine. I therefore appreciate it if the hire period can be extended for a couple of weekends either side of the gala. The Bluebell hired 60800 Green Arrow in 2003, and it worked the services for two weekends before the gala as well. It was good to be able to have a run up to Kingscote and back behind this splendid engines a couple of weeks before the crowds descended for the gala. Likewise 34007 Wadebridge stayed on after the autumn gala into November 2007. The SVR also seem to arrange a hire period for some of their guest engines that goes beyond the immediate gala period, although I appreciate that this isn't always possible.

I personally quite enjoy seeing an engine which may not be appropriate historically to the line concerned. I mentioned 60800 at the Bluebell. Arguably you could say that its visit marked 50 years since V2s were among the engines drafted in following the withdrawal of the MNs following 35020's mishap at Crewkerne in 1953. However, no V2 came anywhere near Sussex during that time, so that argument doesn't really hold, but the bottom line is that with its normal operating base was the North of England, it was good to have the chance of seeing an iconic loco on my doorstep, rather than having to travel 200-300 miles.

Just a few rambling thoughts.

 

Engines being worked
Variety in the diagraming of locos/stock
Offering something different from a normal running day (extended train service)
Intensive service, for SSS2 I wrote a timetable where people didn't have time to stop/think. If they do then they soon start finding things to complain about!
Extras (as we did SSS2 - Bike Rally / Miniature Rlys / Trade Stands etc). Give people a reason to get off at every station.
On-train extras (Ride a Freight Train etc)

 

Whilst not a "gala" (apologies for being a tad off-topic) I can thoroughly recommend a trip on one of the WSR's Dunster by Candlelight specials. The later afternoon trains travel in darkness, non-stop from Bishops Lydeard to Dunster, and go on to Minehead. The return trains leave from Minehead, stop at Dunster and then it is non-stop through the night for miles and miles and miles. Good on board, good if out and about. These are popular trains, usually sold out long before the dates in early Dec, rare to see an enthusiast on board...but great opportunities to enjoy a good long run in the dark. See http://westsomersetrailway.vticket.co.uk/product.php/16/dunster-by-candlelight for details

I doubt we'll see similar night time trains on the WSR at special events due to the long working day. But I sense the WSR is already reviewing its approach to special events...

Steve

 

So what makes a good/sucessful gala??


Hard work, team work, plenty of volunteers, support (inc financial) from the Board(s), decent weather and luck.

Also helps to know your market...

 

I'll throw in a heretical viewpoint and say that for me, visiting engines are pretty low down my list of priorities.

If I go to a gala on a line I seldom visit, or have never visited before, then even the "home fleet" will generally be unfamiliar. A trip behind 30053 at Swanage or Calbourne at the IoWSR or the S15 or Schools at the NYMR is enough of a rarity to me, as an infrequent visitor to each line, that I don't feel I need a visiting engine to attract me. Indeed, I've been to "mega galas" that, while enjoyable in their own right, I could hardly have told you which was the home engine and which the visitor. So much for the visitor being the main attraction! (And it is worth reading Maespoeth's post in the WSR Spring 2014 gala thread for an interesting take on the costs of "mega galas").

Instead, I'd want:

- Frequent service
- Opportunity to see behind the scenes, particularly with tours guided by knowledgeable people who can explain what you are looking at

I'd also make a plea for proper carriage stock: whatever is at the front of the train, it is the carriage that you actually spend your time sitting in, so increasingly I only visit lines where there is the opportunity to ride in interesting carriages. I'll often plan galas on the basis of maximising the opportunity to ride in interesting carriages. Coupled with that, increasingly I'm attracted to events that are wider in scope than just making the engine the sole attraction. I'm not 100% keen on wartime events, but one thing I do like is that the atmosphere often pervades the whole railway, to which the trains are just a part of the "show". I'd like to see more railways try to do similar events, but with themes other than the 1940s. (And with luck, you might find the re-enactment societies (*) are quite happy to come along for free, keeping down costs!)

Tom

(*) Would probably draw the line at the Sealed Knot for a railway gala...

 

A couple of things not already mentioned...
- All locos on passenger service on each day of the gala (i.e. no locos sitting it out on shed on Saturday and only working Sunday etc and no locos solely on goods trains).
- Give passengers time to swap trains at stations where trains cross. I don't like paying the higher fares for a a gala day rover only to see the train I wanted to catch depart and be faced with a half hour or so "fester".

 

Oh forgot to add........

Timetable avaiable in advance also loco workings too..........and no extra charge for said information.

I consider charging for the TT and workings a rip off.....(yes I know others have different opinions)...if a gala charges for TT and workings then you wont get my custom.

 

This is very well, but I'd take a guess at most people at a railway's gala tend to be ones who have been to that line before and have rode the home locos. I don't mind seeing home engines out, not at all, but the problem I've found at the WSR in recent times is the tendancy to stick to 4160 and 88 as the operational home pair at every gala, whlist 3850 and 9351 stay on shed/driver for a fiver etc. It has happened several times at the WSR where 88 and 4160 have covered two round trips each, with the guests or more recent editions to the homefleet 7828 and 6960 (which are more 'exotic') sometimes doing one round trip each. I have not paid an extra £5 + programme to bash/photograph train formations I can find on most given days at the WSR. The SVR seem to get it right, swapping between residents on different duties at successive gala events (generally).

 

I think this is to stop people turning up and taking photos/videos for free, which I fully agree with and I always ride at galas too.

 

Big valve.