Great Central Railway General Matters

Pretty sure we used to take 6 up the bank at the KWVR years ago too.

 

You should see the maps that the loco crews get these days, you'd think they were tackling Shap and Ais Gill!

 

I'd been expecting to see at least one post by now reporting on how this went - was it a flop because no passengers turned up; or a disaster because the trains were overrun, with potential passengers being turned away; or (hopefully) demand pretty much matched supply and it proved to be an enjoyable alternative to previous Christmas Day activities, worth repeating if volunteers are available again.

 

On the latest GM video, the Christmas day service was reported as being very successful and the receipts over the Santa season were good.

 

First update of 2026...

 

For those that wanted to see 92134, but are unable to attend the GCR Winter Gala, the Facebook page for the 9F have stated that it will be staying at the GCR until the end of March

 

They are both owned by the GCR Rolling Stock Trust, but nothing about their apparent imminent disposal on their Website...........

 

Encouragingly, that post has been updated to read that there are a couple of people/ organisations interested in taking them on.

As a financial supporter of the GCR-RST, I am surprised (and more than a little angry) that I am having to learn that two of our assets are at imminent risk of scrapping/ bonfire via social media posts from others. Further, it makes me question whether my (admittedly modest) monthly donations are going toward something that has a reasonable chance of success, or whether I should look to direct that money elsewhere - not to mention the prospects for the Barnum carriages.

As I have said elsewhere, if these carriages can be saved, I'd be perfectly willing to contribute toward their restoration.

 

A reply to that post also implied that the Barnums may be moving too.

 

Does that leave the GCR-RST with much else? Are they effectively winding up then?

 

Just 2 x MSLR carriages.
I think the implication around the Barnums was that they were being moved, but would remain within the GCR-RST

 

Well, it's a little confusing as the post referred to 5 carriages (but didn't say what the other 3 are), but the GCRRST owns 8 carriages (including the restored 6-wheeler at Mountsorrel). So there are still two unaccounted for, on that basis.

To be honest though, they've been living a charmed life for years at Ruddington while just about every other group which can't produce rapid results has been moved on. They'd have been better off buying a barn on a farm somewhere and moving off site years ago. The current GCRN management clearly don't believe they have room on site for assets which aren't operational and have little prospect of being made operational any time soon, and given their lack of secure storage 'down the line' I can kind of see where they're coming from.

 

Their website lists the following:

GCR Barnum No. 228

GCR Barnum No.799

GCR Barnum No.664

GCR Barnum No. 695 (Brake)

MS & LR No.373

MS & LR No. 946

GCR No. 1663

GCR No. 570


If they get rid of the last two, that just leaves the 4 Barnums and the 2 MSLRs

 

Could an organisation such as the Vintage Carriage Trust step in?

 

I doubt it sadly, enough of their own collection to look after

 

799 is a suburban, not a Barnum, and is one of those under threat. It's the twin of 793 which I believe is still languishing at Swithland, and 570 (I'm not sure if this is confirmed as its real number; VCT has it as 575) is a matching suburban body, which I believe sits on an ex-LMS underframe. Along with 1663 (clerestory body also on an ex-LMS underframe, and also under threat) that's the basis of a complete GCR suburban train circa 1905. There's also a suburban first (957) existing, but currently a camping coach somewhere, and a grounded body in two pieces in Scotland, as well as a later suburban at Quainton, so you could potentially get up to a six or seven coach suburban set - something that's never going to happen with the Barnums, as there are only four survivors. (The fourth Barnum, 666, was up for disposal by the NRM a while back, but I'm unsure where it ended up.) It's a real shame that not one of these has been restored as, to my mind, they're far more interesting than either the six-wheelers or the Barnums.

Apart from the obvious challenge - money, lots of it, and then lots more of it, and then more money - I don't think there's anything particularly 'too difficult' about these vehicles. The GCR has proved (see: 'gap' project) that it can raise serious sums of money for the right project. The question is, is there anyone associated with the GCR who has the time, energy and inclination to try to do something for these vehicles? If not, I fear that they will at best be dispersed, and most will never see the light of day again.

Incidentally VCT records that 570/575 left for a private site in March 2025, and 373 moved to Ferryhill in June 2025, so that explains the earlier query about 5 (remaining on site at Ruddington) vehicles.

 

575 is now a storage facility (in three seperate sections) for the parts to be used by the GCR 567 project - located on a private site away from the GCR.

I suppose, on reflection, reading that a new home had to be found for 575 at the beginning of last year in the 567 newsletter should have made me wonder what was going on with the rest of the GCR RST fleet........

 

Is 957 the one I photographed at Quainton Road about 50 years ago?