Wsr autumn steam gala 3-6 oct 2013

On a lighter note I am lead to believe that Odney may well run as Odney over the gala period.

 

My tickets arrived promptly with brochure yesterday. Very quick service seeing as only ordered on Tuesday evening. Looking forward to my first West Somerset gala.

 

I was briefly in the commercial office at MD today and they were flat out licking envelopes.

 

for a second I thought you was going to say postage stamps!

 

No the WSR has got a franking machine and hardly any quill pens can be found. Good news is that 7827 was on the road from the SDR yesterday. Just leaves Foxcote to round off the line-up. Criccieth Castle plates are also at MD shed.

 

http://www.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/galleri.cgi?h=Latest pictures&t=newspix&i=1&k=2013/09/270913_01
Photo thanks to wsr.org/Thomas Gulliford. <BJ>

 

Some very appropriate beers have been lined up for the Cambrian Railways Gala. The WSR Catering Department has arranged to stock the products of the Stonehouse Brewery from Oswestry during the four days October 3rd to 6th (or until supplies run out). The beers will be on sale alongside the regular products from the Somerset breweries on the buffet cars and if the range arriving from Shropshire includes the Society of Independent Brewers Award winning Cambrian Gold there will be an opportunity to compare it with Exmoor Gold (which was the first beer in the now enormously popular style to be brewed.)

Meanwhile Corris/GWR/TR number 3 is due to leave the Severn Valley for Bishops Lydeard on Monday, still mounted on the SVR wagon which carried it during its visit to our friends there. Should be an interesting sight on the M5 and along the A358.

Peter Johnson is confirmed as signing his book on the history of the Cambrian at Minehead station shop on the afternoon of Saturday October 5th and Julian Holland is due to be there all day on Sunday 6th signing copies of his various titles.

 

Ahhh - they have lots of modern ways down the MD end of the line. BL retains a more traditional approach although there is some talk of bring in electric lighting!

 

Any chance of Purple Moose too? Anyway, looking forward to trying a new brew from Stonehouse Brewery. My friend is doing the driving!

 

No Purple Moose from Porthmadog but three bottled beers from Stonehouse: Station Bitter, Cambrian Gold and Off The Rails I believe.

 

That should do nicely - shall be making an early start on Thursday.

 

On the beer or the Railway? I'm a bit partial to Purple Moose myself but Stonehouse will do just fine. Meanwhile on a more important note 5029 has had a successful round-trip from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard and back this morning after the blower problem it experienced on Tuesday.

 

Is a timetable available for this event? I know I have to pay for a programme for the roster and other info that I don't need but I just want a basic timetable and I can't seem to find one on the website.

 

I found this stupid as well. The timetable is in the leaflet but does say 'provisional' however it is the actual passenger timetable correct for all four days.

Luckily I am not attending on the Sunday this year, but I see trains begin from 0950. I assume the 1745 from BL is lightly loaded on a Saturday, wouldn't it be better to run a 0900 exBL Sunday instead? That way a goods train could run in the ex1745 BL-MD slot, I was rather looking forward to seeing some Goods but sadly they've dropped it (apart from the WN-MD due to Friday's charter)

 

Perhaps someone at the Railway Company is reading this and can arrange for a pdf of the leaflet timetable to be put on the event webpage?

Steve

 

See http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/shopimages/articles/WSR ASG 13 leaflet_3.pdf

 

At recent Galas the 09.00 from Bishops Lydeard hasn't loaded too far into 2 figures. Hence its ending.

Timetable wise:-

Thursday and Friday. First departures from each end are 09.50 and then at 45 minutes past the hour until the last ones goes out at 16.45

Saturday. From Minehead hourly at 45 minutes past the hour 08.45 to 17.45 From BL 09.00 and then at 45 minutes past the hour until 17.45

Sunday. 09.45 to 16.45 from both ends.

 

Arriving Tues evening / Weds morning. Be down Wednesday to help clean her up, though there is a gang on her today at Llangollen from what I hear.

 

Thanks for posting the timetable.

 

The early gala day trains from BL always loaded well when a Full English Breakfast was served in the First Class dining car.