WSR Spring 2016 gala

Our Special Event Planning Team Chairman, John Cronin, has announced that our Spring Gala weekend on 5/6 March 2016 will be themed on the 50th anniversary of the S&D closure (the dates fit rather well) , and has stated a desire to make this THE defining S&D Gala of the year. There are some obvious things that we are likely to do - station renamings, getting '88' back in action after a rapid 10-yearly, having 53809 visit, and two B'd Pacific's to recreate the 'closure' railtour but I wondered if folks have any further suggestions - given that we have some time to work on this.

I spent some of my formative years near the remains of the S&D 'Branch' from Evercreech to Highbridge, so a single BCK, a parcels van and a Standard tank would seem like an obvious 'branch' train shuffling between Bishops Lydeard and Norton, connecting with the 'mainline' trains between BL and Minehead ('Bath' and 'Bournemouth', no doubt).

Any thoughts?

Robin White

 

Invite a 9F, obviously. I don't suppose Evening Star will be available (!), but a black one would do fine. Regular motive power in the final days included BR 73xxx, 75xxx and 76xxx standard locos, so it would be good to have at least one of them represented.

It's a shame there are no 2P 4-4-0s still around. An LMS 4F 0-6-0 would be good, even if it spends most of the time double-heading (very prototypical, of course).

How about recreating the sort of shunting that used to go on at Radstock at Washford?

How many visiting locos do you expect the event can support? There will be some choices to be made. E.g. Black 5 or Std 5?

As with many galas (not just at the WSR), carriage livery is an issue. The (few) colour pictures I've got of the S&D show maroon, green and blood-and-custard liveries but not chocolate-and-cream. However, unless the C&W team undertake a huge amount of repainting, there's not much can be done about that. I suppose you could hire the MHR's Bulleid brake for the Highbridge branch train?

 

PoP

 

This is my favourite railway. I have lived all my life on the North Wales coast and was born in 1990 but for some reason I have always been fascinated by the S&D. Perhaps it's the unusual double-headers or the use of freight engines on express trains or simply the abundance of videos and books that have been compiled (I probably have all of them!) This lead me to create my own layout, which has been featured in a 6-page spread in Railway Modeller and in their yearly round-up. I chose Midford as the place to model, as it was on the stiff climb and many trains were double-headed. The period is August 1960-62, the year 9Fs were used on the 'Pines'. Needless to say It'll.be attending as I did in 2006 and 2012 ('Pines' gala).
Jinty (Radstock banker), 2x 7Fs, Standard 4 2-6-0 & 4-6-0, Standard 5, 9F, 4F, a pair of 'spam cans', a rebuilt Bullied (Braunton?), a 4F. Perhaps use an Ivatt 2 Tank on shuttle train with milk tank.

 

Norton Fitzwarren could become "Mangotsfield" (as well as Highbridge!), with groups of locos going to turn on the triangle, as they did when the Bath TT was out of action. Just looking at a set of Ivo Peters photos which show two 4Fs, Dorchester (unrebuilt), a 7F and a Black 5 turning together around the triangle on 7th April '53. That could be recreated, perhaps with just one 4F and Swanage or City of Wells playing Dorchester's part.

There are probably lots of similar events that could be reconstructed from contemporary photos using surviving locos and rolling stock. Could you put on an exhibition of photos, especially the ones that inspire the recreations? I'd love to see some really good, large prints of photos by Ivo Peters' and his contemporaries. Admission free to train ticket holders or £3 to others, perhaps?

 

All good ideas. Keep 'em coming and I will report back to the WSR planners. Anything 'non loco' that we might do? I trust you now all have the date in your diaries........

kind regards

Robin White

 

Wow, that's some lineup, and you could add a Black 5 and an 8F and even 3205 to represent the GWR 0-6-0 s that worked the Highbridge branch.

If I recall correctly the lineup in 2006 was 88, 53809, 44422, 45407, 76079, 34067, 73129 and 92203. That will take some beating!

 

I did concider 2251s, 8Fs and black 5s, standard 4 tanks and even 57xx panniers but i guess I personally don't associate them so much with the S&D, although I have got a standard 4 tank and an 8F on my layout!

 

As a lad the S&D was my local railway and so I'm very much looking forward to the gala.
I would very much like to see Ivo Peter's Bentley at Midford .....sorry Stogumber. <BJ>

 

Not being funny here but something none-loco could be someone dressed-up as Ivo Peters driving his Bentley with a cine camera chasing one of the trains so photographers on the lineside and people on the train could see him. It wouldn't matter if he got in the way of people's shots.

 

You must have been writing this at the same time as me writing something very similar!

 

Perhaps you could use the Hymek on a track lifting train. Well you said you wanted ideas.


Can't stop, that taxi's for me.

 

Hi All,
Will that years spring gala be only over a couple of days or say 4 days or so.
Many Thanks
YRM,.

 

Ok, the 2006 gala was brilliant so just base it around that in terms of motive power. Don't bother with station renamings, they're a waste of time. Stogumber will never be anything but Stogumber so don't try and pretend its something else. As someone who likes to travel rather than photograph I'd like to see long trains and few double headers unless they're on a decent train, say load 12. I liked the trains running non stop through BL in 2006 so do that again and can we have trains running late at night nd not to the usual hourly timetable?

 

1 12 coach set with different 'Pines' combos all the time with 'Pines' headboard all the time. Perhaps have a 9F on its own at some point. 2 6 coach sets with single-headers and a freight alternating with 2 Bullied coaches and a milk tank or a van as the fourth set.

 

Hi All,
My Ideal Line Up Would include 92214, 43924, 75027, 76079. 34053, 34092, and maybe i dont know if it would fit with the theme a U class engine say 1618 or 1638.
Oh and maybe a few little tank engines either Standard 4MT Tank or a jinity.

Many Thanks
YRM

P.s Would 73129 be avaliable to attend or will she be out of ticket.

 

75027 and 1618 are out of ticket and with no imminent plans for overhaul, certainly not before March 2016. 1638 will go out of ticket about a month before the gala, assuming she gets that far.

I attended the 2006 gala and enjoyed it. I'd re-iterate the point of Jamesd: don't bother with the station renamings - they confused matters without being in any way recognisable as the stations they tried to portray. (Dunster will always be Dunster, whatever a bit of green vinyl tries to say).

Also, a general gala point: whatever the possibilities for recreating trains, don't do non-stop services, or even services that miss some stations. With a likely service frequency of perhaps hourly in each direction, missing out even one train is a real b*gg*r if you happen to get out at a station and then find your next option is a couple of hours way. (Happened to me before). If a "stopping" pines express irritates the purists, then just claim it is a hectic summer Saturday and the train is getting waylaid at every station due to congestion at Bournemouth having a knock-on effect right down the line!

Oh, and a signalling point: please don't follow mid-Victorian signalling practice from Radstock for working the single line!

Tom

 

76084 from the NNR ( Their Spring Gala is usually the second weekend of March so could be available since their season only starts in March).
44932 and 34067 from West Coast Railways plus additional coaches if needed ( The Mid Norfolk Railway recently hired 3 locos plus coaches from West Coast Railways for their Gala).

 

Would she still be an NNR resident?

I seem to recall reading somewhere a while ago the initial agreement was only for a couple of years? I could be wrong or this could have been extended of course.