City of Truro - public 'launch' on the 3rd of April! (posted 30th March 2004)

The National Railway Museum's 'City' class 4-4-0 no. 3440 'City of Truro' arrived at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway early in March. However, work to complete the overhaul of the locomotive by engineering staff from both the National Railway Museum and the Bream, Forest of Dean-based Flour Mill engineering workshops, has continued at Toddington since then, with a new set of superheaters fitted on Monday the 29th of March. The following day, this 101-year-old veteran of the Great Western Railway moved under its own steam for the first time since arrival and it started running-in between Toddington and Cheltenham Race Course. Its first public train will be the 11:30 departure for Cheltenham on Saturday the 3rd of April, following a short rededication ceremony at Toddington station at 11:00.

"It's been a close-run thing to get 'City of Truro' ready in time," says Ian Crowder, the GWR's Commercial Director. "But now it is running we expect it to operate most weekends throughout April, including the Easter holiday and 'Days Out with Thomas' on the 24th and 25th of April. It then leaves us to take part in some main-line runs, including a run from Bristol to Paignton on Saturday the 8th of May and back to Bristol on Monday the 10th of May.

"It's on that route that the engine is reputed to have reached 102.3 mph in 1904, when taking a mail train from Plymouth to London."

However, the GWR will not be running 'City of Truro' at anything like those speeds. "We're limited to 25mph," says Ian. "But that's quite enough to appreciate the graceful elegance of this wonderful centenarian."

'City of Truro' is scheduled to haul the 11:30, 13:50 and 16:10 departures from Toddington and the 12:20, 14:40 and 17:00 departures from Cheltenham Race Course on the 3rd of April*.

Click here to read our latest press release and for further information about no. 3440. Click here for our timetable.

*Note: Although every effort will be made to run 'City of Truro' on these services, it is subject to availability of the engine at the time and the GWR reserves the right to substitute the locomotive for another, if necessary.

Ian Allan unveils Award plaques (posted 28th March 2004)

Ian Allan, father of the ‘ABC’ books much beloved of generations of train spotters, visited the GWR on Saturday 27 March - to unveil the plaques marking the railway’s ‘Independent Railway of the Year’ Award. The Award was presented to the GWR by Richard Bowker, Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority at the National Railway Heritage Awards ceremony in London, last December.

Mr Allan, together with his wife Molly, first unveiled a plaque at Winchcombe station before boarding the railway’s LMS Inspection Saloon and travelling to Cheltenham Race Course. Here he unveiled the second plaque marking the railway’s achievement. Speaking to directors and members of the railway, he said:

“Around 30 years ago my company acquired an hotel in the Cotswolds and soon heard noises of a plan to relay the track at Broadway and possibly later on to link up from Stratford to Cheltenham. Of course such idea was ‘pie in the sky’ and for many months nothing seemed to happen other than appearance of a conglomeration of rusting items in the yard at Toddington and providing something of a blot on the landscape. Another bunch of over-enthusiastic amateurs hell-bent on collecting junk.

“It took time but gradually the Toddington scrap yard started to disappear and a real rebirth of the former GWR main line from Birmingham to Bristol began to emerge. Passenger trains started running from Toddington; Monmouth (Troy) station was removed and re-laid brick by brick and established at Winchcombe whence trains were now able to run and finally, in 2003, the goal of Cheltenham Racecourse station was achieved.

“Few other independent railway have come from scratch - a bare track bed - into a full-sized, fully equipped main line railway of 10 miles. What a splendid achievement.

“Ian Allan Publishing has been sponsoring a prestigious award for the past 20 years for what was adjudged the ‘Independent Railway of the Year’ and it was not difficult for our panel this year to tot up the marks pointing to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway as being so highly worthy of the award.

“I have been asked to unveil the plaque commemorating this success which I now have much pleasure in doing. So pleased, I am told, was the GWR board that they have counterfeited two more plaques - but I’m not sure which is the genuine one!”

Ian Allan enjoyed a buffet lunch in the Inspection Saloon on its way to Toddington, hauled by Pete Waterman’s 2-8-0T no 5224.  At Toddington, the third and final plaque was unveiled (see photograph above).

For more information about the Ian Allan Independent Railway of the Year, click here.

1906: a new railway (posted 20th March 2004)

A fascinating article published in the Great Western Magazine in 1906, has come to light. It describes the Gloucestershire Warwickshire railway, noting the major features of the line which, at that time, had just opened throughout. You can read this article in ‘The Sidings’ by clicking here.

The article refers to the main contractor, Scott & Middleton of Westminster. A descendent of Scott is the former jockey and now Channel 4 racing commentator, Brough Scott. Last year, Brough Scott travelled on the inaugural train to the Cheltenham Festival and recorded an interview recounting his grandfather’s involvement - with the memorable phrase: “My grandfather built this railway...”

And if you’re wondering why Cheltenham Race Course station isn’t mentioned in the 1906 article, the Prestbury Park racecourse was still being being laid out when the railway opened. The first Cheltenham Festival was in 1912 and the station opened that year. It handled both equine traffic (hence the horse-friendly ramps from platform level) and the public on race days.

‘Truro’ arrives (posted 15th March 2004)

On Friday the 12th of March, amid dreadful weather conditions, the 101-year-old ‘City of Truro’ was inched from its low loader at Toddington station, following a slow and wet journey from the National Railway Museum in York.

The 4-4-0 locomotive is expected to remain on the GWR until the end of April, when it takes to the main line for a series of tours to mark the 100th anniversary of its legendary high speed run on the 9th of May, 1904. It was recorded as reaching a reputed 102.3 mph while hauling an ocean mails train from Plymouth to Paddington.

There is, however, still work to be done on the locomotive following its trial steamings at York (see previous news items). The engine is expected to make a number of test runs on the GWR over coming days, before its formal rededication at Toddington on Saturday the 3rd of April. It’s planned that the engine will then work on as many operating days as possible through April, ending with ‘Days out with Thomas’ on the 24th and 25th of April.

“What engines are running?” (posted 9th March 2004)

This is one of the most often-asked questions when people telephone the station ahead of their visit. Well, now you can find out - simply by visiting our website!

This new service will tell you about two weeks in advance what locomotives you can expect to see operating during your visit. We’ll tell you what engines are planned to be hauling timetabled trains, as well as any special services such as ‘Elegant Excursions’ or driver experience courses that might be running.

One word of warning though: the locomotives allocated for a particular service are always subject to change, sometimes at the last minute, so please treat this information only as a guide. With that in mind, click here to find out what engines you can expect to see over the next couple of weeks or so when you visit the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

Three quarters of a mile in 8 weeks (posted 7th March 2004)

The GWR’s permanent way team has completed replacement of the ‘Defford Straight’ between Toddington and Winchcombe - a magnificent effort considering the task has been entirely completed by volunteers, many of whom gave up holidays to ensure this vital work was completed on time.

So-called because the track came from RAF Defford in Worcestershire, the Defford Straight was laid over 20 years ago. It comprised 75lb rail - this is its weight per yard - and has now been replaced with modern, 113lb flat-bottom rail on maintenance-free concrete sleepers and it should last for much longer than 20 years! The old 75lb rail is not being scrapped, however. It has been sold to the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol railway which runs from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge in Wales.

At the end of February the new track was being ballasted and has since been ‘tamped’ (see picture). This process packs the ballast between and beneath the sleepers and adjusts the track to ensure it is level and straight. A 10mph speed restriction will remain in force on this stretch of track until it has properly been bedded in and tamped once again.

The first public train over the track was an ‘Elegant Excursions’ Sunday Lunch train on the 7th of March. Over the weekend of the 12th, 13th and 14th of March the GWR’s first major event takes place - the Spring Diesel Gala.

What does it mean? Tamper, flat-bottom rail, ballast - for definitions, see our ‘jargon buster’.

Photograph courtesy of Andy Manley, Broadway Extension news.

Water cranes (posted 7th March 2004)

The GWR has taken delivery of two water cranes which, when overhauled, will find use watering the line’s steam locomotives. The two former Great Western Railway cranes, which are believed once to have stood at Aberystwyth locomotive shed, have not been used since the mid-1960’s. They have been sold to the GWR by the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol railway, which also bought the rail removed from the ‘Defford Straight’ between Toddington and Winchcombe (see separate news item).

One of the water cranes will eventually be placed at Cheltenham Racecourse station, where a water tank and associated piping has already been installed. The other may be installed at Toddington locomotive shed. They are similar in appearance to the crane on platform 2 at Winchcombe station.

Why water cranes? A steam locomotive making three return journeys between Toddington and Cheltenham Race Course will consume around 6,000 gallons of water during the day. A water crane enables a large amount of water to be passed in to the tender or tanks very quickly - you can often see this happening at Toddington and Winchcombe stations.

Click here to return to the News Archive.