4 big locos starred in the 3-day GCR autumn event: SR 850 Lord Nelson, Jubilee Class 5690 Leander, newly restored Britannia class 70013 Oliver Cromwell and new build A1 60163 Tornado
Scenes from Saturday include Cromwell being repainted in the sheds. We see 3440 City of Truro at Woodthorpe, Rabbit Bridge, Swithland and finally Loughborough at dusk with the 4:35. 5690 Leander was filmed at Quorn and Rothley, with an exhilarating performance at Kinchley Lane with the 3:15.
Many thanks to the signalman at Swanwick who allowed us photograph from the signal box balcony. Here we see the arrival and spirited departure of 73129 from Swanwick Station
70013 steamed out of the shed at 10am and was surrounded by a large team of cleaners, repairers and enthusiasts. The man on top is Craig Stinchcombe, second in command at the GCR shed.
This sequence features most of the engines: GCR 4-4-0 express engine 506 Butler Henderson, LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 45593 Kolapur, K4 2-6-0 61994 Great Marquess, Peckett 2000, 2-6-2 4771 Green Arrow, J15 0-6-0 65462, K1 2-6-0 62005 Lord of the Isles, B1 4-6-0 61264, A2 2-6-2 Blue Peter and B1 4-6-0 1306 Mayflower.
LMS "Coronation Pacific" no. 6233 "Duchess of Sutherland" on the "Shakespeare Express". The 12:30 ex Stratford rushes through Lapworth Station at 67mph
Contrasting bridges: Ian Riley's legendary workhorse, standard mogul 76079, passes under Ewood Bridge and heads on towards Townsend Fold, passing under the M66.
For many, 4953 "Pitchford Hall" was the star of the Gala, performing an exciting run with a depleted TPO each evening with steam to spare. First we see the Sunday run which was set against the backdrop of a world-renowned Quorn sunset. There is an 8mph difference between the runs, but which run is the faster?
Don't be fooled by the smoke effects, you will need to turn the volume up to somewhere near maximum if you want to hear the 'whispering' Leander running through Burrs with 16:30 banked by 45231.
Many thanks to Mal, Paul and Roy who let us join them on the footplate for a trip up the line and made the day such a special one. Paul produces videos on "You Tube" under the guise of "trainmadpaul"
This clip shows the departure from Hammersmith adjacent to the scenic Butterley Reservoir
