Wsr autumn steam gala 3-6 oct 2013

Eek! Is Minehead that rough in the evenings, then?

Tom

 

Full loco line-up is 5029 (which may be getting renamed/renumbered as "Harlech", "Criccieth", "Montgomery" or similar)
7812. 7822, 7827 and 7828 (7820's overhaul is over-running)
9351 (Last outing for the "Mogul" before the 10 year overhaul)
6960 and 4160. Plus Corris/Talyllyn Number 3 which will be on a weltrol as though on the way to Workshops.

There are 2 photo shoots being held. One at Crowcombe Heathfield on Friday night with a "Manor" and Number 3 and one with the "Manors" on Saturday night at Minehead. Details can be found at www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk (where there's fuller info about the whole show and a chance for discounted rovers in advance) or wsr.org.uk.

 

Bang, that is a great line-up. Actually, that is a huge line-up. Too bad that this is not a 2 weekend affair.

 

I vote for Herlech being a Welshman and supporter of our national team, singing the tune of Men of Herlech whilst at the games is a personal favourite of mine!

 

Wonderful line up, you can put whatever number and name on the Castle as long as there is plenty of copper and brass about! A whole manor of motive power (pun intended), pity 3850 isn't in the line up (sorry I do like the engine). Looks like we are heading down from more northern climes for the event. It will be nice to renew our acquaintance with Ratbag Hall, we knew the original owner when it was based at the SVR, happy days of engine preparation/cleaning, then a day footplating/evening disposal. My wife used to get the job of brasso-ing the metal bits including the chimney and bonnet.

 

3850 is a star, but a star that likes to hide it's light and just get on with the day to day job. It's not one for the bright lights. Come to the gala a day early and it'll almost certainly be in traffic out of BL. WSR.org will have the details nearer the time. Had a cracking run out with her yesterday, even if the fire nearly went out at MD while we spun round on the turntable.
The gala line up looks good if you're a Western fan so not to be missed!

 

As suspected 3850 may well be doing Driver for a Fiver. Meanwhile at Washford or to give it its Gala name Machynlleth:

Two significant restoration achievements will be celebrated by the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust at Washford Station on Saturday 5th October 2013, during the West Somerset Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala. A Victorian railway carriage which spent over 50 years as a cricket pavilion and a steam locomotive formally used at a Somerset coal mine will be seen resplendent in the fully lined out Prussian blue livery of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway.

The completion of the exterior restoration of the unique wooden-bodied carriage, after over 25 years of painstaking work, will be marked at a gathering of people involved in the acquisition and restoration of the vehicle. First class 4-compartment 6-wheel carriage No. 4 was built at Highbridge in 1886, taken out of use in 1930, and the body converted for use as a cricket pavilion at Templecombe. It was rescued by the Trust in 1986 and brought to Washford where restoration work has been undertaken by Trust volunteers. It was originally on a wooden underframe, but is now attached to a 6-wheel steel underframe from LMS CCTZ 6569, acquired in 1996.

The completion of a 20 month overhaul of 0-4-0 Peckett steam locomotive “Kilmersdon” will also be commemorated in the presence of members of the family of Herbie Loader, the final driver of the loco at Kilmersdon Colliery Radstock. Built in Bristol in 1929, the loco was the last working steam loco in the Somerset Coalfield when the colliery closed in 1973. After being on loan from British Coal, the loco became the property of the S&D Railway Trust in 2010 and will give shunting demonstrations using heritage freight wagons from the Trust’s rolling stock collection. There will also be a film show featuring the loco at work at the colliery.

The loco and coach will be on show throughout the Gala and visitors will also be able to see the large collection of memorabilia of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, including lineside signs and notices, station nameboards, lamps, tools and signalling equipment, once part of the railway’s everyday life. Also open will be an operational replica of the S&D signal box at Midford, now housed in the original Washford signal cabin and a former signal box from Burnham-on-Sea station. Two other SDJR 6-wheel carriages waiting restoration will also be on view, as well as examples of a peat works railway that once operated on the Somerset Levels.

Members of the Trust will be present to explain the work of the Trust and show visitors around the site as well as explaining the benefits of joining the Trust and perhaps becoming a volunteer at Washford, either in the museum and shop or helping with carriage and wagon restoration work. For further information, visit www.sdrt.org.

 

Meanwhile for 3850 fans it's due to work the 12.56 from Bishops Lydeard and the 16.45 from Minehead on August 31st and the same diagram on September 1st. Other steam due to be out and about is 6960, 7828 and 9351 turn and turn about with the DEPG fleet of hydraulics.

 

Well the weekend experiment to run all loco's smokebox first seems to have worked so it looks possible that this might happen at the Autumn gala.

 

Previous galas have run with all engines smokebox first. The novelty last weekend was running altertnative services from Minehead through to Norton and changing engines there. It generally worked OK though timings were quite tight. It may not be possible to send every train to Norton unless the operation can be speeded up.

 

Actually I would have said the key point is that the WSR were able to set up facilities at Norton to allow engines to take water as the pinch point in the timetable seems to be at BL. Still I'm happy to bow to the superior operational knowledge of others.

 

Perhaps in the long term a water tower would be helpful at Norton? Hopefully a friendly someone will buy one and plug it in ;-)

Steve

 

Yes indeed, that would be good. But the shorter term priority is probably to replace the life-expired water tower at Bishops Lydeard. I believe that a suitable GWR water tower has already been earmarked. It will probably be erected near or in the loco compound in due course. There is also talk of a second water crane at the Taunton end of platform 2, opposite the present water crane on the down road. It would also be good to see a water crane reinstalled at Williton (for emergency use by small locos) fed from the existing tank by the Swindon shed.

 

Ah -we can dream of such things I suppose. Just like we can dream of coal that's largely free from dust!

 

Or just that!

 

The loco roster for the Gala


http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/shopimages/articles/West%20Somerset%20Railway%20Autumn%20Steam%20Gala%20Locos%20by%20day.pdf

As far as I know at the moment only some of the loco's will turn on the triangle each day. But that will still give a majority of services smokebox first both days.

 

A few snippets:

• GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 no 5029 Nunney Castle will temporarily assume the identity of long-vanished class mate Criccieth Castle (no 5026).
• The provisional list is available for the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust's events and activities for the Open Day on 5 October at Washford Station (to be known as Machynlleth during the Cambrian Railways themed Autumn Steam Gala).
• Kate Beard, the retail manager at Bishops Lydeard Station, has arranged visits by authors during the Autumn Steam Gala (for book signings).
• Minehead Station's Turntable Cafe will be open breakfasts, bacon baps, pasties and burgers, teas, coffees, hot chocolate with treats including fresh cakes and bread pudding; plus Cambrian Specials including Welsh cakes, Bara Brith and Welsh Rarebit.
• The Railway have issued a list of steam locomotives planned to be working each day.
• SDJR 2-8-0 no 88 (a super machine but by no means a Cambrian loco) will be at the yard at Washford Station during the Gala.
• GWR 2-8-0 no 3850 will be on 'Driver for a Fiver' duty at Minehead Station.
• The Saturday night photoshoot on 5 Oct featuring four Manor class locomotives in the loco yard at Minehead is a sell-out.

See wsr.org.uk for more details on the above and for further updates, or see official website for full details and advance online ticketing facilities.

I'm looking forward all of it, including the Friday night photoshoot at Williton (I'll be the one you don't see )

Steve

 

Looking forward to this too, coming down with 7822 lads for the week. Be nice to see 7822 get challenged for once. 5Mk1s on a 1in81 bank at Llangollen is no big deal for her.

 

No doubt there will be moans about 4160 and 9351 being rostered for all four days whilst 7827 sits out Friday.

Is the intention to run 7828 as Odney Manor during the gala?

 

The Castle arrived at Bishops Lydeard at Lunchtime on September 16th.