WSR Autumn Steam Gala, Thu 6 to Sun 9 October 2016

LMS 4F 0-6-0 44422 Crossing Sampford Brett Bridge Near Castle Hill 8/10-16

GWR Manor 4-6-0 7828 Odney Manor Mineral Lane Bridge 8/10/16

GWR 64xx Class 0-6-0 Pannier Tank 6435 Leigh Woods 8/10/16

S&D 7F 2-8-0 53808 Eastcombe 7/10/16

GWR Modified Hall 4-6-0 6960 Raveningham Hall Stones Wood 7/10/16

GWR Hall 4-6-0 4936 Kinlet Hall Approaching Heddon Wood 7/10/16

S&D 7F 2-8-0 53808 Heddon Wood 7-10-16

GWR Hall 4936 Kinlet Hall Eastcombe 8th october 2016 by Thomas Guppy, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/s/aHskJphu2u

 

It was a highly enjoyable Gala although the mistake that caused the late departure of the auto was a rather funny one.

I wonder if there is a way that the timetable could be changed so delays don't add up as much. At the start of the day the delay was about 20 minutes however the last train to BL arrived 45 minutes late, and spent 5 minutes waiting at a signal between BL and CH.

 

It's nothing whatever to do with this year's Gala, but I came across this while looking through some old papers.

 

Thats good to hear that its been identified and measures have been taken for it not to happen again, Not here to hang the poor person who made a mistake, we are all human,

I understand the load and anticipation made caping one difficult, My one question is, If a 9.00 goods was as late as the auto was starting, Would it have ran at all , Cause we know in cases of late running the goods is normally first to fall on its sword to get the timetable back on track,

As I've said there were a few issues and it sounds like these have been acted upon and are being looked into for future events,

Its nice that our comments are being taken on board, hopefully things have turned the corner,

 

Hardly funny cause a timetable where there was scope to make time up, seemed to slip further and further behind that Saturday, no idea why cause was nowhere near any stations,

But with the new culture of taking crissum and suggestions on board , I'm sure your comments have been noted,

 

They are.

Robin

 

88 was done in record time so it was ready for the S&D Spring Gala this year . Both 6024 an 9351 both went into the workshops long before 88 but I believe the boiler ticket was going to run either durring or just before the gala so it was timed to be back in place .

 

Paul,

You are correct, perhaps not in record time though. It was a close run thing to get 53808, 53809 and 44422 all ready in time for the 50th anniversary of the closing of the S&D.

53808 was taken out of traffic 12 months previously so that it could receive the out of frames boiler examination that would otherwise preclude use. It was lifted to allow examination of the axle boxes, two of which were re-metalled as a result. Work was done to the springing and spring compensation beams. A full repaint from S&D blue to BR black was completed in time for limited testing just prior to the gala.

53809 was also undergoing overhaul in the years leading up to the event. Several problems not only delayed progress but at the final moments road access to Butterley was severed preventing the departure of both 70013 and 53809. In the end it was a now or never decision to go using a temporary roadway to a neighbouring site. Disaster almost occurred when the transport vehicle sank up to it's axles in soft ground. Stirling work by the owners had made the locomotive operable but not complete or tested, this final stage was achieved at Bishops Lydeard in the week leading up to the first gala weekend.

44422 was even more of a challenge, the locomotive had been out of use for some years and required considerable boiler work prior to use. Following a long term hire agreement with the owners, with 12 months to go the locomotive was sent to LNWR Heritage at Crewe for a complete boiler overhaul. The overhaul taking the slot reserved for 9351. It was not possible to fund any significant work on the chassis, nor was it possible to devote any resources apart from testing lubrication systems and inspecting. The RH trailing axle box was known to have been close to failure when taken out service, a split oil feed pipe being the cause. At Crewe it was not possible to lift the loco to undertake further inspection of the axle box or to undertake any test running following replacement of the pipe, that would have to await delivery to the WSR. With days to go testing would reveal if the loco could work trains by itself, do some gentle double heading or remain only on light steam at one of the stations over the gala. The locomotive diagrams anticipated potential problems and 44422 was mostly rostered on double heading turns where its possible non appearance would not cause major disruption. It was fortunate that double heading was such a feature of the S&D and that this plan would not be out of place. In the end all was well, and since then the loco has also completed nearly 7,000 miles in service without significant problems.

Not to be forgotten was the assistance of all those friends of the WSR around the country who assisted in providing appropriate locomotives for the event, and the multitude of volunteers who worked very hard to put on the show.

The spring 2016 S&D gala was an event without equal this year, although the cost of staging it did not result in as many passengers as might have been hoped, plenty of line side photographers though, some of who did indeed assist financially. Hire and transport costs for the visiting locomotives amounted to c £75,000 and coal bill was c £25,000. If galas such as this are to continue in the future those staging them on any railway will only do so if the costs add up.

Spring 2026 will be S&D closure 60 years on, will we see the same event again?

Andy.

 

Aberdare , thank you for your very detailed explanation , you are obviously much more in the know than I .I wasn't able to attend the Spring Gala as I intended to go to the AGM later iin the year and two trips from the Isle of Man could be considered extravagant although from what I hear and see ,courtesy of You Tube I missed a good one . I am looking forward to the return of 9351 , my favourite loco on the WSR , I know there are some who say it's a "Mongrel " but I think those who made the decision to do the conversion were inspired . Dispose of the rotten water tanks and bunker and replace them with a tender that gives it more than ample water capacity . That's my thoughts any way .

Regards Paul