‘8F’ and ‘28XX’ ensure Mid-Hants gala success Council stops Downpatrick steam services
APAIR OF visiting heavy freight 2‑8‑0s proved to be a winning combination at the Mid‑Hants Railway’s Spring Steam Gala on April 29‑May 2.
Great Central Railway‑based
‘8F’ No. 48305 and Severn Valley Railway‑based ‘28XX’ No. 2857 were the star attractions at the three‑day event, with both locomotives making their preservation debuts on the ‘Watercress
Line’. The pair lined up alongside members of the MHR’s resident fleet – ‘7F’ No. 53808, ‘S15’ No. 506 and ‘Schools’ No. 30925 Cheltenham.
MHR acting managing director Alison Houghton said visitor numbers were “pleasing, with a 30% increase compared to the 2021 and 2019 events. Although heading back in the right direction, visitor numbers have not yet returned to 2018 levels, which was the last ‘normal’ year at the railway owing to the bridge works in 2019 and Covid in 2020/21, but we remain optimistic that more visitors are returning.”
She added: “Huge effort was put into planning the event, with our engineering team and operations teams pulling out all the stops to have everything ready on time. During the weekend, large numbers of volunteers working across the various stations, car parks and catering outlets ensured that any minor glitches were dealt with professionally and with the minimum of fuss. I could not be more proud of our magnificent team here at the ‘Watercress Line’.”
Although the event was not affected by coal supply concerns, “there are a number of factors that we consider with our event planning, not least of these is the higher costs of coal and haulage, and we are working with our footplate crews to raise awareness of the issue and encourage economical locomotive management to reduce coal consumption,” said Houghton. “We are continually monitoring the coal situation and planning further mitigation measures to ensure our planned events later in the year are not impacted.”
LEFT ‘8F’ No. 48305 hauls a demonstration freight during a Mad Hants Photo charter on April 26. DAVID CABLE
OPERATIONS ON the Downpatrick & County Down Railway have stopped after the local council rescinded a partnership agreement.
The 5ft 3in gauge line was unable to operate its popular Easter steam trains after Newry, Mourne & Down District Council revoked an agreement which facilitates the running of steam trains on the two-mile line from Downpatrick to Inch Abbey. The council owns and maintains the buildings on the railway, apart from the museum gallery; the agreement enables the DCDR to operate trains.
DCDR chairman Robert Gardiner said that the council move came without any warning, but acknowledged that several maintenance issues were outstanding, including fire risk assessments, safety inspections and essential maintenance.
He said: “As a result we are unable to let members of the public access the site. The decision also means that the annual certification of our two steam engines has stalled.”
The railway was seeking talks with council officials and said they remained hopeful that matters would be resolved in time to permit services to resume in the summer.
A council spokesman said the matter had been discussed by the Strategic Purposes and Resources Committee, but said that as the agenda item was “restricted” because it involved information relating to financial or business affairs, no further comment could be made.