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The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, which runs steam train services between Cheltenham Racecourse and Toddington, is staging a spectacular Festival on 31May-3 June.
Called the Cotswold Festival of Steam, it is attracting steam locomotives from around the country including the National Railway Museum’s famous ‘Green Arrow’, in its last year of operation before being returned for display within the York museum. The event will be packed with nostalgia for visitors young and old who can enjoy a wide variety of steam locomotives as well as goods trains, passenger trains and – returning by popular demand, the ‘Coffee Pot’ that once ran local train services from Cheltenham to Honeybourne.
The four-day festival takes place on the Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse steam railway from 31st May to 3rd June. With visiting steam locomotives arriving from as far away as the National Railway Museum in York and the West Somerset Railway at Minehead, it will be one of the most colourful events the GWR has ever staged. “Star of the show will be the National Railway Museum’s engine ‘Green Arrow’,” says Ian Crowder, a member of the event organising team. “Normally based at York, this classic London & North Eastern Railway engine will be a real hit, resplendent in its striking pre-war apple-green livery. This is its first-ever visit to our line.” Two other visitors never seen on the Cotswold line are No. 88, a classic locomotive that once worked over the steeply-graded Somerset & Dorset railway between Bournemouth and Bath, hauling trains such as the ‘Pines Express’. Finished in Prussian blue livery, the engine is being loaned to the GWR by the West Somerset Railway. And from Hampshire, a Southern Railway ‘West Country’ class express engine named ‘Wadebridge’ will cut a dash with its unique streamlined design – bringing memories back of post-war trains to the West Country, such as the Atlantic Coast Express. “These giants of the steam age will be joined by our resident engines – artist David Shepherd’s beloved ‘Black Prince’, one of the last steam engines built for British Railways, and the Great Western Railway-designed ‘Foremarke Hall’ – both of which are regular performers on the GWR,” says Ian Crowder. Return of the Coffee Pot “But it’s not all big engines – two smaller locomotives will be working throughout the Festival, too,” Ian Crowder adds. “By popular demand, Great Western ‘Prairie’ locomotive no. 5542 will be working with the ‘Coffee Pot’ push-pull auto-coach between Toddington and Winchcombe throughout the show. No. 5542 was a Cheltenham engine in the 1920s while the ‘Coffee Pot’ service used to run from Cheltenham St. James’s station (where Waitrose now stands) to Honeybourne – a service that came to an end in 1960. “And to round off the line-up, a saddle-tank locomotive that once worked at Port Talbot in South Wales will also be in action.” Goods trains will run during the Festival, as well as the ‘Coffee Pot’ service and ‘express’ trains between Toddington and Cheltenham. There will be plenty of opportunities for people to visit locomotive footplates as well as visits to Cheltenham Racecourse signal box; a model railway show at Winchcombe and a chance to look ‘behind the scenes’ at the Winchcombe carriage works. The North Gloucestershire narrow gauge railway will be in operation at Toddington too, together with a host of other attractions. Rover tickets are £12 for adults, £10 for senior citizens and £8 for children aged 5-15 – great value for a great day. The tickets are valid all day on the day of issue. More information is available on the GWR’s website: www.gwsr.com Ends Media contact: Ian Crowder, 07775 566 555 or ian.crowder@gwsr.com |