WSR Autumn Steam Gala 27-30 September 2018

The WSR's Commercial Team say:

"Cross Country Train Services

On Summer Saturdays in the 1950’s and 60’s one of the attractions that brought railway enthusiasts of all ages to Taunton station, was the flow of holiday trains heading for resorts in the South West. Further north in Somerset, the special station for excursion trains at Locking Road in Weston-super-Mare was being worked to capacity. Many of these services originated in London but there was also another stream of trains arriving from the Midlands and North of England or wending their way around the Severn coast from South Wales. Until the end of the steam age there was no predicting with any certainty, what might appear at the head of the holiday trains which added to the interest. Another interest at Taunton was the trains which arrived and were then divided into portions for onward journeys to Minehead or to Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.

Not that cross country trains were purely a summer phenomenon. Taunton saw regular services running from Plymouth to Merseyside via the Severn Tunnel and the Welsh borders, plus the “Devonian” linking Bradford with Torbay via Derby, Birmingham and Bristol and the “Cornishman” using former Great Western routes to link Wolverhampton and the Duchy.

On the eastern side of the county the “Pines Express” between Manchester and Bournemouth was a daily feature of the Somerset and Dorset line, which was worked to capacity and beyond in the holiday season. The S&D also saw a holiday Saturday train that ran between Exmouth and Cleethorpes via Birmingham as an outstanding endurance test for a passenger making the whole trip. Elsewhere there was a regular train on the Southern Railway (later Region) between Brighton and Plymouth and the Great Central route was used by a daily service between Newcastle and Bournemouth. In earlier days there was a Great Central/Great Western service which linked York and Barry via Cheltenham and Gloucester. And the “North Country Continental” was an institution that ran for years between Manchester and Harwich. There were too many other examples to list here.

So why not join us for a day or more between September 27th and 30th as the West Somerset recalls those cross country steam trains of the past? Rover tickets for the event can be purchased at discounted prices now on this website or via 01643 704996 and once again we’ll offer a special £2 fare for young persons on Sunday September 30th."

https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/events/detail/autumn-steam-gala

Hope to see you there...

Steve

 

The website needs updating for this event. No mention of 73082 or 41312.

 

To me a railways website is always the first port of call, but there seems to be an annoying trend of using Facebook to announce things (per the war weekend)
Not all of us like Facebook or want an account. At least with Twitter you can read stuff via the internet, most Facebook sites only tell you what you want to know when you have an account. ( I have to get the wife to look via hers if I get desperate).
The Bluebell email group have been talking of Camelot going for ages, not sure why it is still invisible on the gala page.

 

As far as this railway is concerned, for me they're the last port of call. First click is on WSR.org followed by NatPres.

Stef.

 

but @Gladiator 5076 is right - that page does need updating. I hope the folks at Minehead can find some time to do so, and soon. I stopped providing event pages on wsr.org.uk to avoid conflicting information - especially important with event pages where the details can change quickly - so best to have accurate up-to-date info in one place, methinks.

Steve

 

For the WSR would fully agree, I was being a bit more general about a lot of Heritage Lines.
Still it does say a lot about the WSR that we all use the .org site

 

Final guest Standard 4 tank 80104 from Swanage.

 

So that's 7 visiting locomotives! (That is if you still count 7822 as a visitor)

 

My experience, from Taunton south anyway, of the holiday trains of the 1954 - 1957 period was of very late trains, packed, often standing room only, lots of food - some eaten, much was left overs and as older travellers commented it was reminiscent of wartime travel only it cost more. Obviously the organisers never travelled by train at that time.
The only pleasant place was 1st. class.

 

Yes and the Western region compartment stock sat eight in a compartment 4 each side .

 

This looks like another 'must do'. Tickets ordered!

John

 

Timetable & loco roster?

 

Available in the Souvenir Programme which you can purchase with your tickets, either on-line or on the day.

Edit - Working timetables available on the WSR website - loco allocations will be in the Souvenir Programme

 

AH!

BUT you can only get a Souvenir Timetable if you go into the Thursday 27th page, it doesn't show anywhere else for some reason

 

Well, I now have a code for my brochure, I assume that it gets posted ...........................

 

I wouldn't assume anything - I'm still waiting for my gala brochure from 3 years ago!

 

There is a goods train running on all 4 days. Is it going to be the military train or a more appropriate branch line goods as in previous years?

 

Interesting bit of news on the Bluebell Website which says that 73082 will be coming to this event by rail, being towed in light steam over the ML by a diesel.
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html#top
73082 Camelot website says she is leaving the Bluebell on 17th September and returns on 2nd October:
http://73082-camelot.simplesite.com/381639809
Can't find the timings on RTT but there is a WCRC diesel moving from Southall to East Grinstead on the 17th:http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U55476/2018/09/17/advanced

 

Interesting 73082 arriving 10 days before the gala. Maybe do a few normal service trains before the gala?

 

I expect most of the wagons in the train will be the same as running as the 'military train' at the Forties Weekend, but I doubt very much that the owners of the vehicles being carried will bring them back again. But then I may be wrong!