Many Wings and Wheels Society Members visited this cracking 'End of Season Autumn Showcase Gala' on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway. The weekend event saw the railway operate all available Diesel and Steam locomotives across the 2 day timetable including Freight Trains and Cab rides available for a supplementary fee. The Narrow gauge was also in full swing at Toddington. So on Sunday Dr Bill, James and I started off our gala day in the buffet car on the 9.23 departure from Cheltenham Racecourse with Dinmore Manor, after bacon Butties and Coffee and a few moves up and down the line with different locos, including photographing ex-works GWR Churchward 2-8-0 2807 in action which had only just returned to service. So once at Toddington we squared ourselves up for a Non-Stop freight train ride in Brake Van, SR Queen Mary, from Toddington to Cheltenham with the mighty SR Bulleid Pacific 35006 P&O line, and with the weather looking good -what a hellfire ride it was, especially through the tunnel just out of Winchcombe where the darkness erupted into a fire lit Dante's inferno of clag and thrash, awesome! On arrival at Cheltenham we had a thirst for more freight train action so we booked up the return supplement ticket for Dinmore Manor on the return freight to Toddington, this time riding in the GWR (Toad) brake van, that was enjoyed by all, after all this excitement at Toddington we thanked the freight train crew guards and ticket lady, that made sure everybody had a safe and enjoyable experience. A bit of liquid refreshment that was much needed followed in the Pheasant Inn, with Donnington Breweries finest Ales. After a few more train move's we finally made our way back to Cheltenham Racecourse with an immaculate Growler Group BR green Class 37 'Syphon' D6948 (37248) on the front of our train, with 35006 P&O Line on the rear. We would like to thank the Railway Volunteers and Loco Groups for yet another great day out that we won't forget, especially the freight train experience with SR 35006 through the tunnel. Please scroll to bottom of this page for a short video from the event.
Copyright of all pictures in this gallery belong to R Kelsey.