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Diesel gala timetable update We now have an updated working timetable for the upcoming diesel gala. Click here to download a PDF copy of the timetable.
Lost in the post? Over the past few days, two bright red coaches have dominated the Toddington car park. Adorned with huge Royal Mail logos, they are victims of the move by Royal Mail to send the bulk of their post by road – thus bringing an end to a century and a half of carrying mail by train. So surely the GWR isn’t starting its own postal service? Well, no. The two vans – soon to be joined by a third – are extremely secure and will be ideal for storing irreplaceable equipment and initially will be used for storage of signal and telegraph equipment. And of course, once on board, the equipment could easily be moved to, for example, Gotherington or Broadway where it will be needed! Following delivery, the vehicles had to remain on the unloading road as this siding was severed due to on-going civil engineering works in Toddington yard. The two TPOs that have arrived are stowage vans (tops code NTA) nos. 80433 and 80435. They were built as corridor seconds (nos. 25150 and 25117 respectively) in 1956 at Wolverton (lot 30155) . They were rebuilt as stowage vans at York in 1976 (lot 30901). They were withdrawn after TPO trains ended on 10th January 2004 and then stored inside Euston carriage shed (hence their good condition). They were rescued from CF Booths scrapyard in March 2007. The two vehicles, previously owned by English Welsh & Scottish Railways, have Mk 1 bodies mounted on air-braked, B4 bogies and were passed for 100mph running. They are in extremely good order and will help the GWR keep valuable artifacts and equipment firmly under lock and key. There will be a chance to see inside one of the vehicles during the Cotswold Festival of Steam when it will be positioned in one of the bays at Winchcombe and will host model railway layouts. 1. 1 - Two Royal Mail Mk 1 vans at Toddington – destined to provide secure storage for valuable equipment.
American invasion threat recedes The Americans, after all, aren't going to invade Toddington with a locomotive built in Ohio. This news comes from the Churnet Valley Railway, which was set to send its USATC S.160 class 2-8-0 no. 5197 to the GWR for the year. Unfortunately, a motive power shortage of their own means that the engine cannot now come to the railway (as announced in previous news items) although a future visit is certainly not ruled out. Like them or loathe them, the distinctive S.160s - complete with five-chime whistle - were very much a part of the local railway scene for a couple of years, immediately before the D-Day landings. The Great Western ran a large number of them in regular service and the class were a regular sight on the Cheltenham-Birmingham route, mainly handling heavy freight. To find out more about these interesting machines, click here. However, contracts have now been exchanged with the National Railway Museum for a visit by LNER V2 2-6-2 no. 4771 Green Arrow, which will arrive in time for the Cotswold Festival of Steam, 31st May to 3rd June. The engine will remain on the GWR until the end of August.
Historic finish at Cheltenham Race Course A little bit of history was made on Friday 16th March, Gold Cup Day, when two trains crossed the finishing line at Cheltenham Race Course station in quick succession. That is because it is now possible for the first time, to accept more than one train at the station at a time following approval of the signaling (see earlier news item). And the system worked perfectly as 4500 class 2-6-2T no 5542 arrived with the first race train from Toddington and, after moving the empty stock to the run-round loop, class 47 diesel no. 47105 arrived with the next load of race-goers. The race trains were well loaded this year, and James Colling, MD of Racing Tours who chartered the trains, was pleased with their success. “The trains seem to be catching on. We have a core of regulars and their number is building all the time. They know that not only is it the best way to arrive – but particularly depart past the stationary traffic. Of course, it’s an exciting way to travel and we’ve recreated a once proud tradition of going by rail to the races.” Guests enjoyed a class of Guinness or Champagne on the journey to Cheltenham. And as usual, on-train catering enjoyed a bonanza of Champagne sales for those race goers celebrating a successful day or drowning their sorrows… For full racing results during the Festival, click here and for Racing Tours’ website, click here. 1. 1 - In the party mood – a group of ladies are snapped as they soak up the atmosphere at Toddington before boarding the train (Ian Crowder)
Hailes Abbey discount offer The GWR have joined forces with local attraction Hailes Abbey to offer a special discount to GWR ticket holders. Presenting your GWR ticket will entitle you to a 20% discount on the admission fee to Hailes Abbey. Hailes Abbey is open April to October, daily, 10am to 5pm, (6pm in July & August, 4pm in October.) For further details telephone 01242 602398 Click here to view the special offer poster. The poster is a PDF file, click here to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat reader.
5542 goes to the races Newly-arrived small Prairie no. 5542 entered service on Tuesday 13th March when it hauled the race trains for the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. Sporting the Paddy Power headboard (sponsor of the trains) the engine It is seen here about to leave Toddington with the empty stock for the evening return working from Cheltenham Race Course. Anyone caught up in the traffic jams in and around Cheltenham will be aware of the advantage to going 'by rail to the races'. The trains are organised by Racing Tours and operate daily throughout the Festival. Services are being shared between 5542 and 92203 Black Prince and to find out which days the locomotives are working visit our loco roster. The photograph is by Nick Jones of Locomotive 5542 Limited (owners of the engine)
Fish and chip spaces going fast The GWR’s very successful “Cheltenham Fryer” fish and chip specials are proving as popular as ever this year. There are now only spaces left on two of the trains - 4th August and 1st September. Details and booking information can be found here.
New fire chief Latest news: Chris Stockman has taken over as head of the fire department from Phil Harbron. Phil remains in the department and Dave Staniforth remains the deputy. Under the leadership of Dave and Chris, the fire crew today pumped water from the road way at Laverton and then unblocked drains at Toddington thus saving the railway over £300 in call out fees for a visit from Dynarod! Chris was heard to say he loves playing freckals what ever that is.
Spring diesel gala timetable We now have the working timetable available for the spring diesel gala. The timetable can be seen here. It is a PDF file and you can click here to download the latest version of Adobe’s Acrobat reader. As always with these timetables they are published with the proviso that timings, locomotives and any other details can change.
5,400hp superpower! It might be a bit of overkill, but the 14.15 and 16.35 diesel-hauled round trips from Toddington on Saturday 10th March were in the charge of not one, but three class 37 diesels – between them, capable of producing a power output of 5,400hp. The occasion was the annual general meeting of the Growler Group (Growler is the apt nick-name for these enigmatic machines). Diesel aficionados will know that there are two class 37s based at Toddington – nos. 37215 and 37324 Clydebridge: so what was the third? Joining the pair for most of 2007 is 37219 from the Chasewater Railway To the right, the three class 37s make a splendid sight as they catch the evening light at Cheltenham Race Course station (Mike Pember) All three locomotives will be in service during the railway’s three-day Spring diesel gala between 30th March and 1st April. Other locomotives in action include class 20 D8137, class 47s 47105 and 47376 and elecro-diesel no. 73129. You can visit the working timetable for the diesel gala here. 1. 1. With a gleaming 37219 leading, the trio of Class 37s prepares to depart from Toddington (Alistair Grieve) 2. Superpower on the GWR as visiting 37319 prepares to lead 37324 and 37215 out of Toddington with their lightweight six-coach train (Neil Carr) 3. What must 5,000hp-plus have sounded like in the tunnel? Did people on the land above think there was an earthquake? The three class 37s emerge into the sunshine at Royal Oak. (Neil Carr)
New delivery at Toddington Safely tucked up and slumbering peacefully at Toddington is the latest delivery: a locomotive that is bound to win the hearts of GWR staff and visitors alike. It is one of the popular Great Western
Railway ‘small Prairie’ 2-6-2T’s* first produced as far back as 1904. No. 5542 is a fine example of a large class of small but powerful tank locomotives which found use all over the Great W The locomotives were identified as 4400 and 4500 classes. The engines were an immediate success on introduction and eventually, 186 were built at Wolverhampton and Swindon. The 4500 series had larger driving wheels than the earlier locomotives; were equipped with superheated boilers and were divided between the 4500 class (which had flat-topped tanks) and 4575 class (which had larger, sloping tanks). 5542 is one of the latter. Later engines were also fitted with outside steam pipes from new and some of the earlier examples were so fitted when overhauled. No 5542 was delivered new to Gloucester in 1928, part of the final batch. It was also for a time allocated to Cheltenham Malvern Road and was one of a number of the class that worked trains in the area, including over the Cheltenham-Honeybourne services. The class was often allocated to school trains, for instance, which collected youngsters from stations between Broadway and Cheltenham and were loaded to three or four carriages. 5542 is owned by 5542 Limited and remains at Toddington until the end of September. * Check our jargon buster for and look for an explanation of wheel arrangement
Caption competition After a brief lull while the new webmaster got his feet under the table the caption competition is back. Follow this link to this month’s contest.
Signals all clear at Cheltenham The signalling at Cheltenham Race Course has now been approved by HM Inspector of Railways following his visit to the GWR a few weeks ago. The all clear was received just before the start of the new season and they were ceremonially pulled 'off' on Saturday morning, 3rd March, to accept the arrival of the first train of the day - and the first train of the 2007 season. The new 'electric key token'* for the Winchcombe to Cheltenham section was handed over to the signalman as the train arrived. Points and signals worked perfectly as the locomotive, large 'Prairie' 2-6-2T no 4160, ran round its train. "This is a marvellous start to the 2007 season," commented operations director Neil Carr, who is pictured below with one of the 'X' boards that were fitted to the signals before approval was given for their use. "The signalling means that we can be much more flexible in our operation. For example, one train can be held at Cheltenham while another arrives. This wasn't possible before." The delay in approving the signalling was because additional electrical work was found to be needed and although this was completed some months ago, the approval procedures have only just been completed. 1. 4. 1 - They're off: the outer home in the distance is off, and so is the bracket signal indicating the road is set for platform 1 at Cheltenham Race Course station, ready to accept the first train of the season (Dave Wasdell) 2 - 4160 departs from Cheltenham Racecourse with a clear road indicated by the starting signal (Ian Crowder) 3 - Signalman Gervaise Hamilton in Cheltenham Race Course signal box. This is a new structure although the lever frame is genuine Great Western - it once controlled the passing of City class 4-4-0 City of Truro at Whiteball in 1904, as that locomotive was on its way to 100mph and into the record books. Gervaise is ready to return the section signal to danger, as 4160 and the first train for Toddington of the 2007 season accelerate away. The red lights on the track diagram indicate the position of the departing train. (Ian Crowder) 4 - All clear! And the smile says it all - Operations Director Neil Carr with one of the X boards that for so long time have been attached to the signal arms at Cheltenham Race Course station, indicating that the signals were not yet in use. They will now go to Gotherington, where the new signal posts have already been planted (Ian Crowder) * Electric key token is, as its name suggests, a key that is transported from signalbox to signalbox
by the locomotive crew. It is part of the ‘Electric Token Block System’ which provides electric interlocking of the signals. Until the key has arrived, for example with a train from Winchcombe to
Cheltenham, it is impossible for the Winchcombe signalman to send another train into the section of the line already occupied. Similarly, the Cheltenham signalman cannot send a train in the opposite
direction until the oncoming train has arrived and he is in possession of the electric key token, which is then used to release the interlocking. No train can travel over the line unless the crew are in
possession of the token relevant to the section of the line over which they are travelling.
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estern system. Based on the larger Prairie locomotives, of which recent visitor 4160 is an example (it has now returned to the West
Somerset Railway), no. 5542 will enter service with the race specials and to find out which trains it is working, visit our locomotive roster. 
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