South Devon Railway Winter Steam Weekends 15/16th & 22/23rd Feb

The first gala of the SDR's 2014 season will take place over two weekends in February. The theme will be very much branchline trains with an intensive service of varied train formations running on all four days.

More details to follow however we are pleased to announce that visiting traction will be provided in the shape of ex LSWR M7 No. 30053 which appears courtesy of the Swanage Railway and Drummond Locomotives Ltd.

The M7's were once regular visitors to the West Country, working from Exmouth Junction, but the visit to the SDR of 30053 will be the first time the class has operated on the former Ashburton branch.

Good progress is being made with repairs to the recent landslip, so please come and join us at the gala for our first trains of the year.

 

Can't promise, but you're bringing in an engine that will certainly tempt me!

 

Unfortunately we are going to miss this one as we shall be on a CME on one of these days, all being well.

Don

 

Further update on the gala.

Loco line up is now as follows:

M7 0-4-4t 30053 (visiting from Swanage)
2251 0-6-0 3205 (making its first public runs in British Railways lined green)
57xx 0-6-0pt L92
1366 0-6-0pt 1369 (subject to completion of winter maintenance)

To add to the branch atmosphere diesel railcar W55000 will have a couple of trips each day.
Diesel shunters 204hp 0-6-0DM D2246 and 350hp 0-6-0DE D3721 will also share a Buckfastleigh to Staverton and return goods working each day.

There will be three separate passenger sets:

2 coach Great Western set
3 coach Carmine and Cream Set
4 coach Chocolate & Cream Mk 1 set

There will be a variety of Goods, Milk and Parcels trains over the four days.

There will be an intensive passenger service on each of the four days with late trains on each Saturday.

The Mk 1 set will include an on train real ale bar.

More details to follow in due course.

 

Thanks, Ganger. Too good to miss for any devotee of the branch line scene!

 

Said it here before, the inventiveness of the South Devon events and how much variety they pack in is always fantastic. This will be a brilliant start to 2014.

 

Passenger train times have been put up, see below. Is it known what the 'hot food' is on the 1810 departures? Will it need to be booked in advance?

http://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/file_uploads/File/2014 Feb Half Term A4 in word.pdf

 

As we have now booked the CME on 22nd Feb, we will be attending this Gala on 15th. (That's going to cost me at home ....) It was very good last year. Travelling by Worst Late Western this year so fairly limited time and need two of the engines for haulage and hopefully get a decent shot of 30053. When will the loco allocations be shown?

Don

 

Full working timetables with loco and stock allocations now completed and will be appearing on the various SDR and associated websites shortly.

Food on the 18.10 is likely to be chilli one week, and curry the other. No need to book in advance, but it is offered on a first come first served basis. Also, for the first time at any of events, each Sunday morning on the 09.40 and 11.10 round trips from Buckfastleigh there will be hot bacon baps and sausage baps available on the train.

Unfortunately it looks as though 1369 is not going to quite make it for the event so L92 is substituting. There will still be lots of variety on offer, and it is also planned to use 30053 on Friday 21st in addition to the normal service (which should be in the hands of 3205).

The event is shaping up to be a great start to our 2014 season. More details in due course.

 

Well, you really are tempting me for Saturday 15th! I've already mentioned my enthusiasm for 30053, and the prospect of curry or chili is also very appealing. I've got to travel from Gloucestershire to Tavistock that day, and it's not much of a detour to go via Buckfastleigh. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread and on the SDR website. I just hope you don't get any more landslips and that half of Somerset won't be under water by then

Do you have any idea what will be in use on Monday 17th?

Thanks

 

Collett 0-6-0 3205 is alloxed to work on Monday Feb.17th.

Timetable Link here;

http://www.southdevonrailwayassocia...s/WTT_Monday_17-Thursday_20_February_2014.pdf

 

Thank you for this. I see all WTTs (including loco allocations) are now on line. Looks good, and really hope to come, weather permitting

 

Does anybody know which way the engines are facing?

Don

 

If you go to SDRA website - http://www.southdevonrailwayassociation.org/News-and-Press-Releases/2014_Winter_Gala.html#WTT - , you'll find the WTTs, and the last page (rolling stock details) shows this information.

John

 

The Devon Diesel Society's on train bar will be providing gala visitors with a selection of ales, both on cask and in bottles, along with traditional cider. Proceeds from the bar are being donated by the Society to the railway to help towards the landslip repairs, and our thanks to both Tavy Ales for their support and sponsorship for the real ales, and Teign Cellars in Newton Abbot for their sponsorship with the cider. The bar will be open on both weekends, including on the late trains each Saturday.

 

Just looking out of my window here in Totnes and hoping the absolute lashing we're getting from the weather this week isn't hampering the South Devon's landscape recovery. Really looking forward to the gala and will be home to enjoy it on the second weekend.

 

The weather hasn't been kind to the repair work and at times made the working conditions far from ideal, however thanks to a great team effort involving our paid staff, volunteers and contractors, all is progressing well and ballast was dropped this afternoon ready for tamping sometime tomorrow. We are on target for 15th, and thankfully no further problems due to the latest bad weather.

 

Glad to hear it. Not a brilliant forecast for the next few days, to put it mildly, but I hope 30053 will arrive safely onto a repaired line and that it will be a great weekend. Looking forward to it

 

Owing to Dawlish we will now be driving so will be there by about 9am

Don

 

Some good news. Following ballast dropping this morning, and then tamping, the line between Buckfastleigh and Staverton is once again suitable for the passage of passenger trains. Everything is coming together nicely for the start of services on the 15th. There are still many smaller jobs left to tackle at the landslip site, including much tidying up, however the track is now back in, so all looking good. More gala details in due course.