[Oct 6, 2016] Great Central Railway Autumn Steam Gala 6-9 October (Great Central Railway)

The DMU is great for getting around as hardly anyone rides on it, it's more a shuttle between locations.

 

I'm thinking the same thing, usually the GCR Sunday Gala timetable starts off as you've listed here. A 9am departure from Loughborough.

If what is in the timetable is correct then there's no time from the beginning of the day for a ride before the first Mail Drop is due. Think I'm going to get to Quorn at 9am as I usually do for Gala's on the off chance it's wrong. If it's right then I can always go sit in the NAFFI

 

Does anyone know which way the locos are facing?

 

I'm pretty sure that all are facing south, with the exception of 70013 which is facing north. Not sure about the visitor, either.
However, I think the turntable is now up-and-running again - so there could be changes.

 

Footage from the gala yesterday with all but 47406 seen through the course of the day. Locations are just south of Loughborough, Woodthorpe and Quorn.

 

Well I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to the Great Central. For some reason being a Southerner it's never been on my radar, and then I realised it's only a couple of hours up the M1 and the same distance from home as the Severn Valley which I visit regularly. What a treat I've been missing! This railway is different from every other preserved line I've been to. The double track makes all the difference - it really does give the feel of being on a main line. There is just so much going on at a gala with something appearing about every 10 minutes. A great line of up of 10 locos with everything except the LNER represented and a very imaginative timetable made for a great day out. Saw 3 locos that I'd never seen before and it was good to see old favourites like Cromwell and Sir Lamiel again. So I'm one very satisfied customer and look forward to visiting again.

 

Some photos and a video from a visit to the gala yesterday at https://railwaygalleries.smugmug.com/Great-Central-Railway/Autumn-Steam-Gala-October-2016/

 

Another great show from the GCR, 78018 looking super ! The TPO'S were rather good as I expected ! Enjoy

 

A set of images from the Saturday of the GCR ASG are now online at my Zenfolio website at:- http://mickrogers.zenfolio.com/p445479014



It is most impressive that the GCR can put on a 10 locomotive gala and only need to call on one visiting engine to make up the numbers. Thanks to all at the GCR who made the event happen.
Cheers,

 

6990 passing Woodthorpe on the 10.30 Loughborough - Leicester North on the Sunday of the Gala................

 

You mean to cover for the N2 which is away somewhere else? ;-)

 

A few pictures from the GCR at the weekend

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bantam61668/

 

Wow brilliant video

 

hello
the weather wasnt to good on saturday but that couldnt dampen another brilliant gala
from a photographic point of veiw the jinty stole the show for me
some pictures at http://stevebottrill.zenfolio.com/ or www.flickr.com/photos/15931796@N00/?
regards

 

The Great Central offers a unique perspective on preservation for the viewer. With having two tracks it is able to give the visitor an insight into a by gone era. Here the infrastructure and stations are as important as the trains many think of first. Seeing sections clear, signal arms raise and dip in orchestrated diligence was a sight to behold and enjoy. The detail of this work really pays dividends by allowing more trains, to run but also safely and in a way that is fast disappearing from the modern railway today. Indeed, the sight of two passing and of stations where trains come frequently means that it can be a faster pace of action, of interest compared with many other railways that have become as established as this.

Great Centrals staff were by and large friendly, and welcoming. I found those responsible for getting my paperwork processed to join the friends and go lineside most helpful. Equally, some of the crews both on engines, stations and stock were more than welcoming and offered great company.

It was brilliant to see the line from various other vantage points. I took safety and the instructions most seriously, but also found other great enthusiasts happy to share their knowledge of the area and interest when venturing trackside.

The four days allowed me the chance to explore and get various other photographs. I tried to survey the line and get photos from different areas. Leicester North was tried on day two, before other areas around Quorn, Rothley, and Swithland across the weekend. Highlights of the engine roster were the appearance of 70013 Oliver Cromwell as well as 78018 which was a regular engine from my own home turf of the North East and entering steam for the first time in preservation.

Pictures of the event can be seen at the following link;

http://www.blackhatrailwaypictures.co.uk/f719456636

 

Hear hear. I think the right railway 'atmosphere' is just as important as the locos.

 

45305 at Loughborough on 8th October 2016.

 

70013 at Loughborough after arriving from Leicester North on 8th October 2016.

 

70013 at Loughborough after arrival from Leicester North on 8th October 2016.

 

6990 at Loughborough on 8th October 2016 about to depart with a freight to Rothley. With two other trains at the station in the distance, this is certainly a busy scene and shows how, on a gala event, the present day GCR is the closest you can get in preservation to what a busy main line was like in steam days.