West Somerset Railway Spring Steam Gala 2013

I'm a bit puzzled looking at the public timetable for Sat 23rd - http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/shopimages/articles/extra/SSG Leaflet Final.pdf How does the "Channel Coast Express" non stop fit in with the normal hourly service pattern? It seems to "overtake" the 1145 ex-Minehead between Blue Anchor and Williton. Have the PW department had a busy winter?!

In fact there seem to be a few contradictory errors in the leaflet.................

 

16th - 1145 runs, 1155 does not
23rd - 1155 runs, 1145 does not.

They haven't included a full key by the looks of it. I'd imagine the ex1435 from Minehead on the 16th will be 1445 instead too.

Basically the Sunday timetable is the timetable for Saturday 16th.

 

Absolutely right. The WSR plc just emailed: "So to confirm the 1145 runs on the 16th only and the 1155 on the 23rd only." So that bit of the leaflet is wrong. I gather revised leaflets will be printed and PDFs made available online.

Steve

 

OK thanks.

 

Indeed. I've since read in Steam Beano that 30120 is going to The Battlefield Line after the MHR Gala. Not sure whether she has further commitments after that. If not, I suppose an appearence on the WSR 22nd-24th March is a possibility.

Who'd be a gala organiser? First, find a loco that's in ticket, not otherwise booked, with a support crew, strong enough (with a long-enough range) for your diagrams, in-gauge for your line, at short notice. Then arrange transport - assuming your guest loco is either main-line certified or can easily be moved to a road-accessible location!

 

Yes, I think that they work wonders, and sadly these are not always as greatly appreciated as they should be. Railway enthusiasts can be very demanding and fickle. Cast your mind back 20 or so years when engines didn't travel around the country anything like as much as they do now. With the country mired in a long recession, we should not take anything for granted. Anyway, attendance at the WSR steam galas, both Spring and Autumn, is compulsory for me!

 

And me ... I'd be quite happy just to see the residents!

Regards

 

Don't get me started on this! I pray 4160 and 88 do not do two round trips solo each on the day I visit YET AGAIN. Thats 2/5 of the passenger trains! Resident locos should do no more than one round trip in my opinion, bar 7828 and 6960 as they are actually interesting.

 

4160 and 88 are interesting, too! I'm very happy to see them working; they 'belong to be' in Somerset.

 

I agree that in some cases when you have multiple guests capable of full line trains that one round trip should be sufficient to keep people who want to see resident locos happy (although in fairness if you are attending a gala purely to see the residents then maybe attending the railway on a non gala day when the loco/locos you want to see are running would be better). However I do have to say that doesn't necessarily make one resident more interesting than another, yes it is a matter of opinion and would probably agree that I would rather see 7828 or 6960 than 4160 or 88 on a gala day, but I still think that they are both interesting in their own right even if I have seen them many more times that the other two. For me 4160 and 88 are stalwarts of the WSR fleet, since seeing them both on a VHS of the railway back in the 90's, it wouldn't be the same without them. I know I've kind of strayed from the point slightly but that's what I think.

 

I probably should have added that 6960/7828 have just been reintroduced to traffic hence would be more interesting as people may not have seen them. Just like the SVR run their newly overhauled engines more at galas than the others, and then when the ticket is close to expiring, give them a final hurrah. It's not as if the WSR alternate between engines either, its always 4160 and/or 88 doing two round trips each, 3850/9351 never get a look in.

 

As a DMLL shareholder who doesn't get to the WSR as much as I would like, I was very disappointed at last year's ASG to find that 3850 had been relegated to shunting in Washford yard for the duration.

 

Aaaaaaaaaaand I think this is now the definitive Nat Pres thread...

 

'Always' and 'never' are not quite true actually, last ASG 88 had only one round trip on the Thursday (goods MD-BL, and work back on passenger double heading with 43106). On the Saturday 9351 was let out for two round trips from MD. I fired 88 on the Thursday and did the first round trip with 9351 on the Saturday.

 

Any positive information in relation to what engine will replace braunton in the advertised line up ?

 

To be blunt, No.

 

I'm sure when there is some info it will appear on the WSR website. Until then it's just speculation and rumour. I would expect that anyone who is privy to the info in any sort of official capacity will keep it to themselves until it's officially announced.

 

Is it going to cost extra to ride the railmotor/auto on the MD-DR/BL-NF shuttles?

 

S'far as I can tell, travel on these services are included in valid Rover tickets, otherwise travel is charged at the appropriate Gala fares. Note: there are different ticketing arrangements for railmotor and auto services on 18/19 March. Spring Steam Gala « West Somerset Railway

Steve

 

The WSR (unlike some other railways) don't usually charge extra to ride on the auto train at galas.