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Swanage Railway Spring Steam Gala: 24th - 26th March 2023

Discussion in 'Galas and Events' started by WesternRegionHampshireman, Dec 29, 2022.

  1. WesternRegionHampshireman

    WesternRegionHampshireman Well-Known Member

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    I am just as shocked as you guys.
    Their first steam event in 4 years.
    https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/view/spring-steam-gala
     
  2. green five

    green five Resident of Nat Pres

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    34067 is the first visiting loco going by the background picture on the Gala page. I wonder if she will arrive with a standard Class 4 in tow.....

    Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk
     
  3. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

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    I Couldn't possibly comment,;) But based on who owns 76017, shall we say, it would not come as much of a surprise if it were to show up at Swanage . and in time, i would not rule out a certain light pacific ending up there also,
     
  4. twr12

    twr12 Well-Known Member

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    Martin, I don’t know what you’ve been taking, but I think it best if you don’t leave the house until it’s worn off.
     
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  5. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Why shocked? They were likely to have a steam gala at some point. It is only three and a half years not four since the last Steam Gala (October 11-13 2019). Two of those years were riddled with Covid (as 2023 may be if the Chinese get their way on unrestricted travel).
    Maybe you are amazed because you feel with everything else going on at the railway this year they should not hold one?
    The web page makes no mention of one visiting loco let alone two as someone has suggested. It will also depend if services are run to Bridge 4 or just Norden on how many locos are needed I suspect.
    However many "steam galas" e.g. GCR in a few weeks, now seem to include rostered diesel turns so who knows what it may look like.
     
  6. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

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    34067 as a guest would be something of a coup .
     
  7. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    Of course has run at the railway on a normal day before and with a Royal Wessex Headboard.
     
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  8. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    I think that there is more chance of galas and themed days to get the punters turning up, as opposed to running loads of empty 'ordinary' trains' in this current climate
     
  9. WesternRegionHampshireman

    WesternRegionHampshireman Well-Known Member

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    OK:
    1. Two visitors thing, that was me, just wanted to know why it was a "not to be missed" thing.

    2. It's not that I don't think they should hold one, I thought they had completely given up steam events and only focused on their diesel event, hence shocked.

    3. Didn't somebody say on this forum that the theme was Blandford To Templecombe 160? So why would they run a diesel at an (effectively) LSWR/S&DJR event?

    Another thing also is, why would you want to travel to a place behind top-n-tailed engines where you cannot get off? It's an operational headache that Swanage could do without!
     
  10. torgormaig

    torgormaig Part of the furniture Friend

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    I don't think it was on here as I hadn't read about that theme. While I take your point about a diesel at an S&D event, here is one (6511) shunting at Blandford on 31/12/68 during the final week of freight operation to the town. 68-12-31 2 6511 (2) copy.jpg

    Peter
     
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  11. Daddsie71b

    Daddsie71b Member Friend

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    I'm with you Peter, As a regular volunteer (trainee guard) passed porter, C&W etc that was the first I heard of Blandford/Templecombe anniversary celebration
     
  12. OldSchoolTrains2

    OldSchoolTrains2 New Member

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    If you can make it to a Swanage event that runs down to the NR boundary, I promise you it's worth it! OK, not a general public draw, but for an enthusiasts' event it adds a brilliant extra dimension: another set of noise-inducing gradients with the bonus of a dead-in-tow loco on the back for extra weight and therefore noise!

    I first experienced it at the 2017 Bulleid event and was so glad when it started featuring at the diesel galas too. I was already a huge fan of Swanage events and running beyond Norden made them even better. The scenery is a little different out on the common beyond Furzebrook too. At the 2019 diesel gala I didn't go south of Corfe till the very end of the day, just had a couple of trips down the Furzebrook section with my preferred locos first thing then walked out that way from Norden to get a host of different pictures to what's usually possible at Swanage. I'll imagine I'll do much the same at the steam and diesel galas this year as I can enjoy Swanage-Norden enough on a normal running day (and this time next week at the winter warmer too).

    Operationally-speaking as well, it feels like they've worked out a fairly robust timetable around the use of that section and the top/tailing. Timekeeping went a bit mad for unrelated reasons on the day of the 2017 Bulleid gala I attended but I think everything was pretty sharp on the diesel gala days I've done that went north of Norden.
     
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  13. Gladiator 5076

    Gladiator 5076 Part of the furniture

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    What is the big deal about not being able to get off? Even if they were running through to Wareham (which of course is a long way off for steam) not much to see unless you want a long walk. As someone who regularly stewarded CME's where apart from stepping on a platform to let pax on and off I was on the train for 15.25 hours (or the infamous CCE where no pax could get off until they got back to their starting station about 17 hours from Euston) I fail to see an issue of being on a train for about 45 minutes.
    What is not to like about part of a line currently only open for galas or railtours or a 1 in 78 climb for about 1.75 miles from a standing start where the rear loco is doing very little or nothing.
    You can travel to Norden any day the line operates.
     
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  14. buzby2

    buzby2 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for creating this thread and your apparent interest in the railway. I'd like to respond to the three points though.
    1. Where did you get the quote "not to be missed" thing from please? You've written the phrase as a quotation but I can't see any mention of those words on the railway's website or FB page. The SR's webpage specifically states - More information coming soon.
    2. I hope you were pleasantly "shocked".
    3. I mentioned the date of the Spring Steam Gala on the 2023 Events thread as you well know. After that I wrote "As it's 160 years-ish since the missing link, from Blandford to Templecombe, was opened on 31st August 1863 I wonder if an "S&DJtR" theme might be 'suitable' for this gala?" I specifically did NOT state that was to be the theme. I merely wondered if it might be 'suitable'. Please read posts more closely before jumping to [in this case] totally erroneous conclusions.
    Incidentally, if you go back to the 2023 Events forum, you will see that I have since mentioned some seven other anniversaries for 2023 that came readily to mind.
    So. The Spring Steam Gala theme might be one of them - or it might have a totally different theme which I have not thought of.
    Also the Swanage Railway seems to schedule steam during it's steam galas with any diesels appearing only to cover for failures/emergencies. I believe your worries about diesels at the Spring Steam Gala are needless.
    However, to be absolutely clear, I have no insider knowledge of the Spring Steam Gala; no idea of its theme; nor whether diesels will be running during it.
    Finally, we will all have to await Swanage Railway announcements before this topic can be progressed further.
     
  15. WesternRegionHampshireman

    WesternRegionHampshireman Well-Known Member

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    Let me reply to all three:
    1. There is a specific gala page the FB website that announces this fact.
    2. It's a good shocked.
    3. I know that, it was Matt37401 that said he would not attend if it was S&D.

    To be honest, theme or no theme, it is their first steam gala in a while so I'll just be happy that it's full steam running and it will bring lots of people to the railway. :)
     
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  16. DcB

    DcB Well-Known Member

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    The FB gala page has over 300 "interest" likes which is good, even if there are limited details so far. Sadly 563 and 053 not likely to be ready till later in 2023 but hopely some visiting locos can be confirmed soon.
    There is another Diesel gala May.
     
  17. gricerdon

    gricerdon Well-Known Member

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    Subject to no rail strikes we will be at the steam Gala
     
  18. WesternRegionHampshireman

    WesternRegionHampshireman Well-Known Member

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    Rule of thumb for anywhere ATM.
    Already announced that 31806 and 34070 "Manston" are representing the home fleet, I hope 34028 "Eddystone" will be attending too.

    So just the visitors now.
    Somehow, I don't think 34067 "Tangmere" or 76017 will be attending.
     
  19. Ben Jenden

    Ben Jenden Member

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    34028 now added to the lineup
     
  20. Paul.Uni

    Paul.Uni Well-Known Member

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