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More transport nostalgia on 5th September (posted 30th August 2004) The GWR’s third Transport Nostalgia Sunday is fast approaching. On the 5th of September, there will be the usual - and unusual - eclectic mix of cars and buses and commercial vehicles in the station yard at Winchcombe.
This really is nostalgia at its best. Many people fondly recall the gentler days of the 1950’s and earlier, when the pace of life, as well as the cars, was slower. So this is a day not to be missed. Organiser John Webb is promising a good variety of vehicles to suit every interest. There will be stalls and sideshows as well, and regular trains to and from Cheltenham Race Course and Toddington. Entry is free - but the catch is that you’ll have to get there by train as there will be no public car parking at Winchcombe on the day. Our standard ‘green’ timetable will be operating. Click here for timetable details. Click here for further details about our Transport Nostalgia Days.
gwsr.plc.uk - one week left (posted 30th August 2004) A final reminder to any of you still using “www.gwsr.plc.uk” to get to this website... there’s now only a week to go before it ceases to exist! Please update your bookmarks to point to www.gwsr.com. And if you’re a webmaster yourself, please make sure that any links to the GWR point to our “dot com” address. The technically minded amongst you can find out details of why this is happening here.
Site updates (posted 29th August 2004) The results of the hotly contested August Caption Competition have just been published. Well done Alan Clothier for the winning entry. You can view the full list of entries in the Waiting Room, our online forum. A new competition for September is now running, so please exercise your creative skills, and submit an entry or two! We’ve also added a new desktop wallpaper for September, showing a beautiful photograph of 7903 Foremarke Hall at Toddington, in the late evening. Remember, you can keep track of all the changes to this website by visiting our Site Updates page.
Locomotives this weekend (posted 19th August 2004) Welcome back to Foremarke Hall which, on Wednesday, passed its steam test. The brick arch is now being reinstalled in the firebox and hopefully, the locomotive will be back in service either on Saturday or Sunday. The planned roster is, therefore: Train 1 - 3205 Click here for full roster information. However, the above is subject to change. Other locomotive news: 3822 has developed a warm big-end bearing and this is currently being attended to but the locomotive should be available again in a few days. King George will be in steam shunting Toddington yard this weekend.
Harvest festival of steam on the GWR! (posted 19th August 2004) The GWR will soon be staging possibly its biggest-ever steam gala, with a glorious harvest of at least seven steam locomotives planned to be working over the weekend of the 11th and 12th of September. A big feature will be double heading - a rare opportunity to see two locomotives hauling some of the trains. Visiting the line for the event will be Llangollen's 'new' pannier tank no. 6430, calling in en-route from the Gwilli back to its home line. The highly-successful 'early start' trialled during 'Celebration of Swindon Steam' in the Spring will be repeated. On both Saturday and Sunday there will be a 09:15 departure running non-stop to Cheltenham, and although the main trains will run to the standard timetable, there will be extra 'local passenger' and freight trains running between Winchcombe and Toddington. There is no need to book for any of these trains and, as with the Spring gala, lineside passes will be available. Normal fares apply.
Click here for more information and the timetable. A working timetable will be published nearer the event.
Heartfelt thanks! (posted 18th August 2004) The presentation of two defibrillators - specialist equipment to save the lives of heart attack victims - has confirmed the GWR as a 'First Responder' first aid provider. The units are each worth £1,250 and were presented to the GWR by the Cheltenham branch of the British Heart Foundation as part of their share of the outgoing Mayor of Cheltenham's charity appeal. "This means we can provide top quality first aid to our visitors," says Chris Stockman, the GWR's health and safety officer. The defibrillators will be located at Winchcombe and Toddington and will be there for the benefit of the wider community, not just the railway.
"This support can mean the difference between life and death. The chance of survival following a heart attack can decrease by 10 per cent for every minute before the equipment can be applied." The defibrillators were presented on the occasion of the last, highly successful, fish and chip special, when outgoing Mayor Garth Barnes took an entire coach for 48 people, as a thank you to his favoured charities and those who helped to raise over £27,000 in the appeal. He is seen here (right) with (right to left) Chris Stockman, Chris Syer (British Heart Foundation) and Bryan Mason, Toddington stationmaster. In the background is GWR 0-6-0 no. 3205. Click here to see more information in our press release.
Galleries pass 200 (posted 14th August 2004) Our photo galleries have now passed the 200 mark, including a mini-gallery showing Black Prince at the Churnet Valley Railway. Black Prince is due to return the GWR any day now, so check here (or The Waiting Room) for the latest information. In the next week or so, the job of maintaining the website galleries is being taken over by a new volunteer. We have a new email address to which you can send your pictures - gallery (at gwsr.com). Please ensure that you send us the photos in the highest quality you have, and include details such as the location and the date the picture was taken. Please note that we regularly receive requests to reprint photographs from our website, both for use in GWR publicity material and from publications such as Steam Railway Magazine. When you submit photographs to us, please state if you are unwilling to allow your photographs to be used in such a way. We will always do our best to ensure that your copyright is respected, and where applicable, any fees will be passed on to you.
The Waiting Room - one month in (posted 11th August 2004) The Waiting Room, our online discussion forum, is now a month old. So far, 33 people have registered to use the forum, and together they have posted nearly 140 messages. Discussions so far have ranged from volunteers’ dress code to the return of Black Prince. Remember, you don’t have to register to visit the Waiting Room, but if you do, you can post messages or contact other registered users. The Waiting Room is an ideal forum for general railway chat - perhaps not quite as good as the pub, but the next best thing! It’s also a good place to pose questions, or even to get your pet hates off your chest (but nothing too offensive please). Why not give it a try? Click here to visit.
July Caption Competition - results announced (posted 3rd August 2004) July’s Caption Competition attracted an excellent set of entries, and you can find out who won by clicking here. If you’d like to see the full set of entries, they’ve been posted in “ The Waiting Room”, our online forum (in the News & Announcements section). The August competition is well under-way, with some pretty good captions already, so why not have a go? The webmaster has a fairly limited supply of amusing/embarrassing photographs, so if you have something you think might make a good subject for a future competition, please email it to webmaster (at gwsr.com).
Loco roster update - something for everyone! (posted 2nd August 2004) Collet 0-6-0 no 3205, currently visiting from the South Devon Railway, will be operating trains on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week (this is a change - 3822, which was rostered, is having a broken driving wheel spring replaced and may operate on Thursday afternoon). On Friday - and indeed on all Fridays during August - services will be heritage diesel hauled. This coming weekend, the 7th and 8th of August, services will be shared by 3205 and 3822, with Hunslet 0-6-0ST King George operating the additional 'local' service between Toddington and Winchcombe. Click here to visit the locomotive roster. As always, please note that rostered engines or the services they operate might be changed at short notice. Timetables in operation throughout August: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays - Maroon timetable So with a choice of steam and diesel, local services and the full line length - and remember that the North Gloucestershire narrow gauge line at Toddington will be operating at weekends, too - there's something for everyone this month! Click here for full timetable details.
King George reigns again (posted 1st August 2004) King George - the GWR's own Hunslet saddle tank - is back in action, after a very long absence for repaits. In its smart maroon livery, King George is certainly one of our most striking, if the smallest, of our steam fleet. It was also the first steam locomotive to reach Cheltenham Racecourse station, following completion of the extension from Gotherington, in February 2001. King George will now be in steam most weekends, shunting at Toddington or occasionally Winchcombe yards - and sometimes working the 'local'. You can find out more about King George in our locomotives database.
A reminder about gwsr.plc.uk (posted 1st August 2004) A quick reminder to any of you still using “www.gwsr.plc.uk” to get to this website... there’s only a month to go before it ceases to exist! So please update your bookmarks to point to www.gwsr.com. And if you’re a webmaster yourself, please make sure that any links to the GWR point to our “dot com” address. For the technically minded amongst you, you can find out details of why this is happening here.
Publicise your favourite railway! (posted 1st August 2004) If you would like to publicise your favourite preserved railway, perhaps in your workplace, or some other prominent spot, why not download and print out your own poster? Click here for details. |
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And what a great setting - Winchcombe Station
sums up the very essence of a country station and many of the vehicles coming might well have been seen collecting or dropping off passengers or parcels for passing steam trains.
Locomotives in steam (subject to availability):
Chris explains, "First Responder is an
initiative between the Government and the British Heart Foundation to enable trained volunteer teams to administer defibrillation and oxygen for cardiac arrest victims so they can be stabilised before medical help arrives.| <Home> <About GWR> <Travelling> <Supporting Us> <Ownership> <Development> <Enthusiasts> <Contact Us> <Links> |