[Apr 18, 2024] Severn Valley Railway 2024 Spring Steam Gala (Severn Valley Railway)

Id just like to add thanks to 2857Harry for the communication on this thread, its been excellent, and just what should be done to engage with people these days

 

100% agree with 2857Harry 's excellent communication.

 

Very much so. Especially as heritage lines become more commercial in their approach, part of the "deal" is that good, clear, appropriate communication with everyone, not just those "in the know" or behind the scenes, becomes ever more important. Being able to do this calmly and clearly whether things are going right, wrong or a mixture of both is a very valuable skill that 2857Harry clearly has.

 

A superb three days at the Valley with plenty of great action on offer. We enjoyed travelling on the Saturday though I did wonder whether the few lineside fires did impact on the end result upfront as I wouldn't say we had any great runs. Though 7812 was excellent out of Highley on the Friday morning and especially with its spirited run up Eardington Bank on Saturday morning. The timetable and timekeeping was exceptional, especially the latter. Many thanks to all who were involved.

 

It is an interesting debate. I thought the timetable looked well structured, and obviously worked unlike some in the past, but I fully agree with your points. As the pool of working locos gets smaller and hence they appear at many galas, and the costs of going anywhere post Covid increase (sometimes eye wateringly) it is always going to be a conundrum.
The location of the event and your home location will just make some too expensive. Had I lived in West London still I may have gone for the day, but from Dorset it is too far for me in a day to drive there and back, and hotel prices are just a joke now, apart from a Sunday nights. My added issue is advance bookings are no good for me with a 97 father who is often ill, and a wife with health issues as well.
I have no idea on hotel prices around the SVR, but looking for the Bluebell event at just a Travelodge £113 Saturday night, £34 for Sunday.
It is not even that I cannot afford it, I am just not prepared to pay that much plus, petrol, gala tickets, food etc for a hobby. Or as my wife would say I am too mean.
Going forward I see this as an issue for gala organisers, especially as many of the long term attendees will literally be dying out.
Personally I do not believe a theme makes any gala better than one without, at the end of the day it is about locos you want to ride behind, see and photograph.
I have no issue with those that say certain locos do nothing for them, there are a few (mainly LNER Pacifics) like that for me. I do have an issue with the locos should only be "appropriate for the line brigade", it is 2024 not 1984, there are just not enough around.

 

A few images from Friday:














Thanks to all involved.
Saturdays and Sundays to follow.

Richard

 

The crews were very much in fire prevention mode yesterday - not suprising really. Looking at some of the excellent videos coming through now things were much livelier earlier on the gala! The hall and manor sounded fantastic especially.
7812 put in a good performance up the bank on the express yesterday though.

 

An interesting debate but it's very much a personal viewpoint and just because a particular gala doesn't "rock your boat" it doesn't mean to say it's bad. There are a great number of events going on and unless you have unlimited time and money you can't go to them all. These days I decide whether to go to galas based largely on the locomotive line-up. For this gala I thought the line-up was good despite the absence of a "star visitor". Many others seem to feel the same way.

Another factor for me is the chance to see something running in unfamiliar surroundings. I've seen Fenchurch on the Bluebell many times but it doesn't travel away from home much and the chance to see it running on the Hampton Loade shuttles was one of the attractions for me. Likewise I have seen 7812 and 7714 on the Valley many times but I am really looking forward to seeing them running on the Bluebell.

So as you say I am sure that gala organisers realise that you can't please everyone. It's hard work finding visiting locos for galas and then things can go wrong like the Betton Grange issue. I fully appreciate the efforts of all involved even if they don't always come up with exactly what I'd like to see.

 

At the end of the day, everyone had their own preferences regarding visiting engines. Personally, pre-grouping locos are probably the ones I am most likely to turn out for...but that's just me. No railway is ever going to please everyone.

I would have loved to go but sadly, it was just a question of logistics for me. I now live too far from the SVR to go there as a day trip, and there's only so many overnight stays I can afford to do in a year. The fact that I now work Saturdays also limits my options somewhat.

On another note, I notice that the GWR coaches were in use for the gala. Does this mean that a safe method of operation has now been devised to allow them to be brought back into use? Forgive me if I have missed something, but I tried running quick searches of this forum, and Google, and couldn't find any info.

 

I couldn’t agree more

 

They are indeed back with a new operating method. And it works a treat! I think only 1 coach of the current fleet of operational GWR vehicles needs fitting with said locks, but yes it’s all good again!

 

Feedback, both positive and negative, is certainly taken onboard, and I can assure you we will always try and please the majority! The 3 of us pictured in my post, No. 234, have spent the weekend writing down lots of notes and feedback to try and deliver an improved Autumn event. But there is definitely only so much we can do.

We know that not everyone will turn out for a gala like the one just gone, however we also know that were we to line up A1/2/3/4 that some people would stay away from that as it’s not their cup of tea.

The ‘Star Visitor’ thing is a bit of an odd one really. For many people Fenchurch was a Star Visitor. For others they want a big namer. Neither option is necessarily worse than the other, but what I would say is there’s only so many big namers out there and they aren’t always readily available.

 

Which coach are you thinking of? All our operational Gw coaches now have the modified locks fitted. We just missed having 3930 ready for the gala but should be out of the paintshop this week.

Our biggest problem is our Ops department not wanting to use them but have hammered our Mk1s for the start of the season. It was good to see them in use but it highlighted some further issues we need to think about as we move forward. These wont prevent their use however but will see another slight mod. We have already fitted one door on 650.

 

Ah I was thinking of one of the restaurants (9627) not being done. Then again I could be wrong in thinking that’s operational as well

 

Doesnt need any mods as it has the double acting locks but is red carded as the windows are falling apart.

 

At the end of the day it’s all subjective isn’t it?

 

Really great to see these back in use, the variety of carriages at the SVR really are something special.

Regards galas, you will never please everyone - especially not railway enthusiasts who are notoriously fickle!

 

My favourites from a fantastic gala on the Valley. Credit to everyone involved, just shows you don’t always need a big headliner. The gala had something for everyone and it was great to see that there was always something going on and that you weren’t going to get bored.




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While making my way back from Knucklas with a dead camera, I stopped by at Eardington for a couple of hours. Some phone camera shots for your perusal.
2024-04-20 SVR 13268 EARDINGTON BANK 1200 by KING COBRA 92, on Flickr

2024-04-20 SVR FENCHURCH EARDINGTON BANK 1201 by KING COBRA 92, on Flickr

2024-04-20 SVR 4930 EARDINGTON BANK 1206 by KING COBRA 92, on Flickr

2024-04-20 SVR 4930 EARDINGTON BANK 1208 by KING COBRA 92, on Flickr