S&D gala success
Cotswold Festival of Steam pays dividends for Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.
THE Gloucestershire
Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) has hailed its June 3-5 ‘Somerset & Dorset Remembered’ themed Cotswold Festival of Steam – which marked 60 years since the operation of the final ‘Pines Express’ – as a ‘great success.’
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Media Group, publisher of The Railway Magazine, along with a host of other sister titles including Heritage Railway and Rail Express, an event guide was given free to every ticket holder.
“It was great success and the positive feedback we have received has been amazing,” GWSR press officer Ian Crowder told The RM. “There was something for everyone and it was a very worthy celebration of the much loved and lamented S&D.
“Julian Birley with his Bentley was certainly a highlight, the car popping up in various places on the railway over the three days, evoking memories of the late Ivo Peters. The car once owned by Ivo often appeared in the photographs he took.”
On the rails, BR ‘9F’ No. 92203 Black Prince, visiting from the North Norfolk Railway and SR Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 Eddystone, visiting from the Swanage Railway, were stars of the show as both once worked over the Bath to Bournemouth route.
Memories
Other visitors evoked memories too, such as Watercress Linebased BR ‘2MT’ No. 41312 working ‘local’ three-coach trains complete with an SR PMV in the consist – plus Sentinel 4wvb running as pseudo-BR
No. 47109 Joyce (see separate story on p79). Shunting wagons at Winchcombe, it could have been one of the S&D’s muchloved Sentinels that shunted in and around Radstock.
During the event, Joyce was charged with taking a threecoach train from Toddington to Winchcombe each morning – the longest nonstop passenger journey ever undertaken by this diminutive locomotive – taking 20 minutes to cover the three mile trip.
Asked whether it was a financial success, Mr Crowder replied: “Yes, is the resounding answer. While with something over 3000 passengers carried over the three days it was not the biggest steam gala in terms of ticket sales, but it broke into profit mid-morning on the Friday – bringing a useful contribution to the railway’s coffers as it recovers from the strictures of Covid-19 lockdowns.
Reflection
“It was always going to be a challenge running the event during HM Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee weekend (moved from the end of May because the bank holiday was changed) – to say nothing of a three-day pop festival going on at Cheltenham Racecourse. However, the small organising team certainly earned their post-event pints for a packed weekend of action!”
Two visitors remained after the gala. No. 34028 was rostered every day for the following week’s ordinary timetable, along with resident Merchant Navy No. 35006 providing delight for SR aficionados, while Great Central based ‘Mickey Mouse’ No. 46521 is due to remain at the GWSR until early September.