This coming weekend May 28th-30th is the GWSR’s annual Cotswold Festival of Steam, This year with the theme “Swindon built” to celebrate 175 years since the GWR’s Swindon workshops opened. 8 locos will be in steam for the event operating an intensive service, including steam runs to Laverton over Stanway Viaduct (not usually possible any…
Last Saturday I was lucky enough to visit the West Somerset Railway for their Spring steam gala commemorating the 50th anniversary of the closure of the much lamented S&D line. The stations were all renamed after suitable S&D stations for the week, and an impressive loco lineup was formed, with GWR locos banished into the…
The Severn Valley’s Third guest for their Autumn steam gala was previous long time resident on the railway Ivatt class 2 46521, and was used in filming of “Oh Doctor Beaching!” gaining the unofficial name ‘Blossom’. It moved to the GCR in 2000 but returned for the SVR’s fiftieth anniversary, paired with resident GWR prairie…
Despite being there for most of the event, I didn’t see an awful lot of Britannia during the Severn Valley’s gala. Having seen it twice this year already at the Mid-Hants and West Somerset it wasn’t too high on my hit list though. After several attempts to get Britannia back to the Valley it is…
The Severn Valley’s unique all night running is one of the biggest attractions for the Autumn gala and on the Friday night I was one of those people crazy enough to spend all night on the train. The atmosphere at night on a steam railway is totally different to that during the day, with smoke…
Well it’s been over a week now since I was lucky enough to attend the Severn Valley Railway’s Golden Jubilee gala, and despite misgivings over a slightly disappointing and unambitious timetable I still had an absolutely fantastic weekend, with the added bonus of very kind weather. I managed to rack up an enormous amount…
The GWSR’s annual Cotswold Festival of Steam has once again chosen an imaginative theme going with Speed to the West, with guest locos representing classes who pulled the heavy holiday express trains at the height of rail travel Headlining the event will be two of Bulleid’s light pacifics, 34007 ‘Wadebridge’ courtesy of the Mid-Hants Railway…
Finally, for our return journey from Williton back to Bishop’s Lydeard, we passed Kinlet hall at Crowcombe Heathfield. Once we arrived back there was time to explore the station, as when we arrived everything was still being set up. Once again Odney Manor greeted us, this picture shows quite well the fact that the boiler…
Our penultimate stop off at the WSR gala was at Williton. This is one of the main passing places on the line so is a good place to watch the trains go by. Also at Williton are some of the railway’s workshops. Here they restore some of the WSR’s stock as well as undertaking contract…
We spent an hour or so at Minehead, the railway’s seaside terminus, during the gala, although there was so much to do we never got to see the sea. The most important thing first of all of course was to find lunch, a perusal of the menu in the turntable cafe suggested a breakfast bap…
Loco Yard 