September Diesel Gala @ Great Central Railway - Saturday 7th September 2019
*This may be photo heavy* (as most of my reports are
)
I'd not ventured out on a Saturday since the July Open Day at Crewe TMD but having enjoyed the ELR Diesel Gala previously, I couldn't resist a venture to Leicestershire for the GCR September Diesel Gala once
@xotGD had put the idea into my head. So it was a 5am alarm call to give me enough time to ready myself for the short hop to Stafford for my opening jaunt of the day. On arrival at Stafford I hovered around the coffee stand in the hope it would open before my 0635 train arrived but no such luck so I headed towards coach C as
390135 arrived to become my first winning haulage of the day. As we pulled out of Stafford I did notice that the coffee stand was now open but I was left lacking caffeine and despite being in the shop coach, I decided against a VTWC coffee instead deciding I would wait for arrival at Nuneaton to top up my caffeine levels. It was a slow crawl down the Trent Valley and it was only when we ground to a halt outside of Lichfield that I realised we were pathed on the slow lines for some reason. Traksy wasn't showing any possessions on the fasts so not sure what was happening there but we did eventually make it onto the fasts after heading through Tamworth and a clear run was had through to Nuneaton where we arrived around 10 down. It was a bit more of a rush to get across to the shop on P1, grab my coffee and get back across to P7 but I managed it in good time before XC
170518 became haulage winner number 2. Unsurprisingly it was lightly loaded so I was able to grab a table seat at the front where I could enjoy the 170 thrash to Leicester. I had a couple of options here but I decided to just continue my journey to Loughborough so just 5 minutes later it was winner number 3 as I got to experience my first run on a Meridian 222 with
222010 taking me on the short run to Loughborough. We headed past Leicester L.I.P which was awash with locos and I got my first sighting of GB liveried
47739. I also noticed that some of the 56s that have been sat next to the running lines for a long time had been moved more into the depot - a sign that progress is being made with them?
There was a heritage bus parked outside of Loughborough which was offering free trips to the GCR but I opted to walk it instead of waiting the 25 mins or so for the bus to depart. A brisk 15 minute walk certainly warmed me up and being a typical Brit I saw a queue outside the GCR entrance and joined it without actually knowing what it was for. Fortunately I decided to find out what I was queuing for and found out it was for tickets and as I'd pre-brought mine I dived out of the queue and onto the platform of Loughborough Central.
I was instantly impressed with the look of the station and with half hour or so before the opening service of the day, I had plenty of time to freshen myself up in the toilets before having a roam around the station. Doing this allowed me to sight
D8098 which was at the head of a rake of coaching stock and also the lovely Sparrowhawk
1705 and
D123 which were both sat in the station sidings. The viewing areas created off platform are a great idea of the GCR by the way
1705 at Loughborough by
The_Train
D123 parked at Loughborough by
The_Train
I wandered back up to the other end in time to see the majestic looking
37714 as it made its first appearance of the day. It has been a loco I'd wanted to see since meeting one of the guys involved with Heavy Traction Group, who maintain the loco, last summer. I certainly wasn't disappointed
37714 at Loughborough by
The_Train
Not so long after my first sighting, I was climbing aboard my first working of the day headed by
37714 and she didn't disappoint as she powered us towards Leicester. I was around half way down the train but could still hear the beastly noise up front. This opening run allowed me to sight some of the stuff parked up in the sidings including shunters
D3690 and
08694 (here is a pic of them taken later in the day)
Shunters by
The_Train
As well as the amazing 101 DMU cars the GCR have. I remember the excitement at one of these pulling into a station as a kid because (providing the driver had the blinds down) it meant I could watch him drive and feel as though I was in the cab with him. It certainly brought a smile to my face as we went past cars
50203,
50266,
50321 &
51427......
We were soon in Leicester where I got to meet more of the great staff who work on the GCR. There was quite the scramble for people to grab pics of the 37 as it was uncoupled and worked itself around the train ready for the journey back
37714 at Leicester North by
The_Train
I was able to beat the hoards and get a spot nearer the front for the journey back and yet again the tractor gave us plenty to listen to. I bailed at Quorn and Woodhouse for my first experience of this amazing little station. I decided to grab a coffee and was truly stunned when I walked into a bomb shelter with plenty of war relics on show.....never in a million years did I expect to see that. A very hot coffee in hand and I was back on the platform chatting to one of the platform staff and it was quite apparent how enthusiastic these people are about the job they do and the experience they offer to their customers. Little touches like the shouting of the station name as trains arrive really create that authentic old atmosphere of railway travel when it was fun. A short time later and it was chopper time as
D8098 arrived to take me back to Loughborough
D8098 at Quorn by
The_Train
I decided to enjoy the comfort of a seat for this short hop so I could drink my coffee and every time I sit on a Mk1 or Mk2 coach it makes me wonder how we've managed to go so far backwards when it comes to seat comfort. I had a 20 minute break at Loughborough so I had a wander around the different stalls and had to show great restraint to avoid making purchases of anything and everything. It was soon back to the trains though, and it was back aboard D8098 for a proper run out behind it and this time it was a window space to enjoy that whine of the 20 as we headed to Rothley Brook where there would be an engine swap. The 20 was uncoupled whilst
D123 was added to the other end and it would be this that tool us back to Loughborough via a stop off in the loop at Swithland Sidings. Whilst we were sat in the loop I got my first sighting of the DMU on the move as it paused in the opposite loop for a reversal up the Mountsorrel branch
Class 101 DMU at Swithland by
The_Train
And then it was over to one of the 25s in action as visiting
D7535 came roaring by
D7535 powering past by
The_Train
And that wouldn't be the only special guest we got to see as we sat in the loop because shortly before we got on the move again a Warship came past as
D821 "Greyhound" powered towards Leicester
D821 passes Swithland by
The_Train
Once we finally got moving, the journey back to Loughborough took me past the 127 DMU comprising of
51622 and
51616 "Alf Benney". There was no time for admiring Loughborough though as it was straight aboard the 1200 departure which saw me back behind 37714 for a run all the way to Leicester where there was something special waiting for us. Having rejected the visitor to the ELR gala, it was time for me to experience my first run behind a Warship as
D821 was attached to the front of the train for a run back to Loughborough. As I said to
@47403 at the ELR these things have just never done anything for me as I never really came across them as a kid but I have to say that I was suitably impressed at the amount of noise it made as we headed away from Leicester. The run took us past D7535 sat in the sidings at Rothley and even the driver of this wanted some of the D821 action as shown in this pic....
D7535 at Rothley by
The_Train, on Flickr
My initial plan had been to ride this all the way to Loughborough before having a first run behind D5185 but this had changed as I couldn't resist what was on offer next. So it was a bail at Rothley for a first visit onto the platform here and as with everywhere else along the line, I enjoyed the 10 mins or so I had there. My next traction came in the form of a classic machine in a classic livery as
50017 rolled in sporting it's Network SouthEast livery to take me back to Leicester. Now this was already a busy service by the time it arrived into Rothley so, having learnt this trick from Mr 403 at the ELR gala, I decided to head to the back of the formation in readiness for what was to come. It's only a short run from Rothley to Leicester and we were soon arriving to the sight of 37714 sat in the loop. Once 50017 had been uncoupled, it headed into the loop to be coupled to the 37 to form a dream team that was soon attached to us ready for some serious haulage back to Loughborough. The 2 locos did not disappoint as we were treated to a diesel-fest all the way back to Loughborough with a surprise sight on route as we headed into Quorn where steamer
47406 was sat
Steam at a Diesel Gala by
The_Train
37714 and 50017 at Loughborough by
The_Train
Because of the re-jigging of my plans, I now had a 50 minute break at Loughborough so I had a wander around the platforms to find anything of interest but could only find these....
1705 and D7535 at Loughborough by
The_Train
I found my way to the BBQ for a lovely burger before deciding to enjoy a cider in the refreshment bar. Here I realised that my phone battery was already well drained so I chanced my arm by asking the lady behind the bar if I could pinch some electricity and she kindly obliged so I ordered a sausage roll as a way of thanks
Cider gone, sausage roll gone and phone juiced up I threw some money in the top bowl as an actual thanks for the use of their electric and was away back to the platform for the 1300 service which happened to be yet another run behind 37714 which took me off to Rothley Brook once again where this time
D7535 became my haulage for the first time. Yet again we were looped at Swithland for D6535 and D123 to head past as a pair
D6535 and D123 by
The_Train
And then D8098 headed by in the opposite direction.....
D8098 at Swithland by
The_Train
We were eventually back on the move and were soon heading past the massive reservoir at Rothley and I have to say it's pretty awe inspiring to see. My time behind D7535 came to an end at Quorn because it was time for some lineside viewing as D821 hauled a rake of TPOs past on a demo of how the old grab and drop postal system worked
This also took me down to where Test Car 2 is kept and we were given a demonstration of how the coupling system works but unfortunately I didn't have the time to go aboard - something that gives me a reason to revisit the GCR
Test car 2 by
The_Train
I know that if Mr 403 has reached this point of my report, he will be panicking over the lack of duff action so far but worry not my friend. I was back onto the Quorn platform in time to jump aboard
1705 for a short jaunt to Rothley from where I was able to enjoy the delights of the 101 DMU for the journey courtesy of cars
50266 and
50203. Although I wasn't able to get the seats behind the cab it was still a thrill to be aboard a unit that I've not been on for well over 20 years and I loved every second of the journey back to Loughborough. There wasn't much time to dwell on this though as my next working was waiting at Loughborough and as we were now into the evening workings we were to be treated to 3 locos working 2 coaching sets. At the helm were
D5185 and D7535 and
D6535 was sat at the rear and as we were late onto the train there was never going to be any space at the front so I went to the rear once again. The locos were certainly made to work with the extended coaching formation and the 2 up front were putting a a lot of effort in which could be still heard from way back at the rear and it made an impressive sight to see the locos clagging heavily. The rear of the train fell well short of being in the platforms but that did allow me to see 1705 making a noisy departure from Quorn....
1705 smokes away from Quorn by
The_Train
After the turnaround at Leicester we were soon heading back to Loughborough with D6535 doing much of the work by itself at the front and it certainly made some good noise along the way. The driver certainly got a word of thanks as he came to assist with the uncoupling of the loco back at Loughborough. And this uncoupling happened because it was time for my last run to Leicester and back and the GCR was treating me to an extended run involving 1705. It seemed like an appropriate way to end the trip so I watched the 47 rolling up and attaching from my vantage point at the rear of the train before a long wait ensued for some reason. I think it was the only train I'd been on to leave late but 10 mins behind schedule the pair of 25s at the front were soon growling their way out of Loughborough and continued to make a good noise all the way to Leicester where it was time for my final run and for the 47 to take over. We certainly weren't let down as the 47 gave out its traditional musical sounds. Unfortunately some of the 'old school' bashers had also found their way to the front and having undoubtedly enjoyed the refreshments on offer all day decided to try and drown out the good work of the 47 with their shouts of 'power' amongst other things. Not my cup of tea to be honest, I'd much prefer to listen to the loco but each to their own I suppose. And with that I had a stroll down the train after we departed Quorn so I would have some platform to step out onto and had hoped for a pic of the pair of 25s but due to the length of the train they were on the other side of the road bridge. I wasn't going to let that stop me though and as u departed the station I was able to grab this shot from atop the bridge
25s Galore by
The_Train
But it was time to head back to the national network and to Loughborough station. I had a 15 minute wait for my train to Leicester and during this time was able to see dud 66953 and 66176 pass through. A 3rd freight train passed by but tiredness was catching up with me and I was slumped in a seat and unable to see it as it went down the goods line. I was soon aboard
222020 for more Meridian haulage but it just felt slightly worse having been treated to all of the locos all day. I was going to hang around Leicester for a bit but once I'd seen a dud HST set (well dud barring one required coach) I decided I wanted to keep heading home so I jumped on
170106 which was dud for everything and by the time I'd reached Nuneaton had cleared 100 miles for haulage. I had a 50 minute wait at Nuneaton so I passed the time with a walk to KFC and then the devouring of said KFC before I got to see 68017 and 68005 hauling a rake of coaches, some required and some dud, on the return charter to Norwich running 60 late.
172004 was my final winner of the day before 350369 arrived for my final leg home. Unfortunately it was fully loaded with England fans returning from Wembley so it was standing room only until it started to empty along the Trent Valley.
A superb day out is quite simply all that I can say about it. Loved every minute but by the time I made it back home I was shattered so it was pretty much straight to bed. I did get a reminder of the day the next morning when I picked up my clothes to put into the laundry and got a solid whiff of the diesel fumes that had attached themselves to me....nothing better!
My summary is below:
For Sight
Winners:
20
Coaching Stock Winners:
39
Classes completed:
N/A
Sub classes completed:
N/A
TOCs completed:
N/A
TOC sub classes completed:
N/A
For Haulage
Winners:
15
Total Mileage:
227 miles 49 chains
Classes completed:
N/A
Sub classes completed:
N/A