South Devon Railway 40th Anniversary Gala 5th-13 April

More helpings of 6695 to come! The SDR roster shows her working this coming weekend. Coupled with the Bodmin and Wenford Railway steam gala (both the ex Par Harbour locos Alfred and Judy working, presumably yard only, but also an intensive service with the rest of the 'home' fleet) also this coming weekend should entice more people to come to the Westcountry.

John

 

Yes a great gala went for all four days the atmosphere around was good too evryone seemed to be having a good time which was the most important thing.

I have also uploaded my pics onto my fotopic site but unfortunately havnt had time to caption them yet

 

A few pics from Sunday, yes I did get the date wrong as its headed April 13

http://michaelsgallery.fpic.co.uk/c1682869.html

 

Hi Ray glad you enjoyed yourself, we certainly did................

Seriously though its good to get positive feedback and maybe Ganger can pass on your thanks to Rod & Russ who also made my day special.

 

What a Gala! Who needs lots of tender engines........tank engines are fun and I think everyone enjoyed themselves immensely (however I must admit to enjoying firing 3803, thanks Russ!). GWR/BR(W) tank engines with appropriate stock and in correct settings and fantastic weather, who can ask for more? Mustn't forget the Beer Festival either, though I only got to sample it on the Saturday evening by which time the cider had nearly run out (Ganger, next time please order more cider!!!). Regarding some comments about the lighting in the auto-trailers, I thought it was ok.....very cosy.

Well done SDR on organising a brilliant event, as owners reps we certainly had a great time (hope we didn't annoy the crews too much!) and thanks to all the staff at SDR (there are far too many names to mention) for their hospitality. We look forward to coming back soon.

 

http://5944.fotopic.net/c1683053.html

My photos from Monday 6th April.

 

Lighting in the auto coaches may be ok for cranks but not for the general public! It certainly needs to be sorted if used again at night.

 

I think 'cranks' is a bit harsh! I know the management were unhappy about the need to find some form of emergency lighting. I am given to understand it will be sorted next time they are in use. As an emergency replacement I enjoyed the atmosphere. Some will always find something to complain about.

 

My photos are now up:


http://mark-walker.fotopic.net/c1683006.html


Thanks to the SDR for hosting this great event!!


Cheers,
Mark

 

I personally think this was one of the best gala's the SDR has run to date, and I've been to a few, the only problwem is they now have something to live up too with future ones!! =D> =D>

Even given the few operational difficulties it ran smoothly and I think everyone there had a great time, or at least I know I did and severyone I spoke too did.

 

Well done to the SDR on a top event. I prefer Branch locos to Express and boy was I happy! Triple 4575s on Sunday morning, I nearly fainted. Thank you for putting on this great gala, now do one for your 20th Anniversary of Operating the line in 2011 [-o< .

Pics here from Easter Sunday = http://joshua-evans.fotopic.net/
Video here = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVh5kVO7ZMA (watch in HQ if you can)

 

Hi everyone and firstly a very BIG thankyou for all those of you who were kind enough to support the gala by visiting us fopr one or more days.

The event was by far the biggest ever held on the line in its 40 year history, and although we had a few minor operating problems to overcome on a couple of days, in the main the trains ran as booked. When planning the event and the timetables we made a very concious effort to try and recapture the branch origins oif the line (and indeed some of the other West Country branches too). In order to do this, prior to the gala we repainted not only 5786 but also ex GWR coach 6515, and the Mk 1 buffet into Carmine & Cream. This allowed us to provide uniformed rakes of coaching stock, and also the two coach ex GWR 1950's branch set. Loco's were matched where possible to appropriate stock and this also seems to have been popular.

By the main Easter weekend we also managed to open up the new veiwing area alongside the line just beyond Buckfastleigh station. The area was well populated throughout the main Easter weekend and seems to have been well recieved. No doubt further enhancements to this area will take place in due course.

In addition to reading the many kind comments posted about the event, we will also take on board the constuctive critism's and other suggestions and make changes where appropriate. With regards to the auto coach lighting, this was an unfortunate situation whereby both vehicles suffered from lighting failure on the Friday. We had two options, the first being to cape the auto workings and replace the services with conventional train sets. Although this sounds quite easy it would also have meant having to find at very short notice an additional diesel crew to drive the shunter to perform shunt and release movements at Buckfastleigh. The second option, and the one we chose to go with, was to equip the coaches with temporary lighting thus allowing the booked services to at least operate. Not ideal but the better of the two options, and as some have pointed out, the atmosphere was quite nostalgic inside.

The notes about the real ale festival have also been taken on board and yes, in hindsight (always a wonderful thing) we should have provided better heating and lighting in the coach. The lighting issue was in fact resolved for the late opening on Saturday.

Our thanks to the owners of the four visiting locomotives for their support and assistance. 6435 and 5552 have now departed back to Bodmin, however the mighty 6695 remains and will have a few final outings this weekend, being rostered on Saturday, Sunday and finally on Monday.

After many hundreds of hours planning the event it is nice to be on the recieving end of so many nice comments. There were many highlights for myself: driving 6695 (and being able to give the owners a chance also to enjoy a drive on our line), the 1950's branch train, 5786 in black, but probably the best bit being able to get back on "old friend" 6435 after nearly 10 years.

Yes the question has already been raised about how we "follow that". Rest assured we do have further ideas for similar events, but perhaps not so many days, and yes the idea of clebrating 20 years of SDR operation in 2011 has already been thought of. Until the next BIG event, please do not foget that we have several other smaller, but hopefully equally enjoyable events during the remainder of the season.

Once again many thanks for all your support and kind comments.

Regards

Ganger
On behalf of the SDR 40th Gala Committee

 

Ganger,

Thanks for your response on the points I raised and it certainly was an excellent gala. I got some nice shots of 6435 on Sunday am on the double headed freight which i think you were driving. If you pm me I will send you a scan.


Ann :

.

'Train Cranks' and 'Train Loonies' are terms used by many enthusiasts to describe fellow enthusiasts. Just as older enthusiasts use the term 'gricer' (what ever that might mean!). Crank started in BR circles as in the description of railtours as a Crankex (as per Footex, Adex, Sagaex, Boatex, etc).

The lack of lighting/heating directly impacted on the revenue at the beer festival and perhaps you wouldn't have enjoyed the ''atmosphere'' in the autocoach so much if you like the families on Friday night had been stuck in a dark carriage for over 90 minutes following the failure of 5542! Sorry unacceptable in 1939, 1959 or 2009 and I am pleased it is going to be sorted for next time.

Regards,

 

A Very very enjoyable gala!
I had the pleasure of seeing it from both sides of the fence on various days over the gala.
From the footplate side it was a treat to get to have a play on the visiting locos, 5552, 6435 and 6695!
But also a great sight was a certain freshly repainted ex GWR pannier in BR early black. How long have we waited for that....?
Getting to speak to some of those who attended the gala to celebrate 40 years in preservation was a bonus and the number of people who appreciated the time and effort put in to make the place look presentable and the cleanliness of locos and matching stock seems to have brought the line back into the spotlight.
I'm sure that now the standard had been set for future events, and as it has been mentioned before, it'll be a hard act to follow.
However with a new emphasis on generating atmoshere, recreating the past and also providing something a little unusual, I'm sure our gala planners can bring in the goods, (hopefully of the 20 wagon variety again!).
Cheers to all those who supported us to make it a great gala, come and see us again.

 

Sorry Hunslets finest but I thought I would point out that it was actually 5526 which failed not 5542, and rather than being at Staverton at the Beer Festival I got stuck on the stranded train, although I'm not sure which was the better location as it was quite interesting and unusual seeing the 25 on an autocoach something to remeber I'm sure!!

 

Quite right...my only excuse is GW engines all look the same especially in the dark and even more so after three pints!

 

Thanks for putting that one right Scorpion, I was beginning to think I'd missed something!!


John

 

Don't worry 5542 performed well during most of the weekend on the rest of the Autos as 5526 luckily wasn't booked to run on the Saturday. I also got some good pics of her doing so, anothe rold friend to the line!

 

What a brilliant gala! I was also on the train when the 55 failed but to be honest I don't think it really affected the evening too badly at all. It was dealt with very quickly for something that late in the evening, and there were still other trains running. Also the timetable was changed to fit in well. The lights were a problem but to be honest it was light enough to see safely and it WAS nice and atmospheric, especially with the working steam heating! =D>

 

Was unfortunately unable to attend the gala but from the phots don't the GW coaches look FANTASTIC in early BR livery!!!!!!!

Given the number of GW locos which carry this livery if would be brilliant to see more of these paired up.