Return of water supply means GWR raises steam again!

One week only: kids go free!

30 July 2007: Steam train services resume tomorrow (Tuesday 31st July) on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWR) as water supplies have now been restored to the railway’s headquarters, Toddington station.

And, as a special offer to celebrate the all-volunteer railway’s return to business, the GWR is offering a free child ticket (worth £6.00) for every adult ticket sold on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week. Each ticket allows unlimited travel on the day of issue.

“Loss of water is a major blow to a steam railway,” says GWR commercial director, Ian Crowder. “Steam engines use an awful lot of water – and although Severn Trent Water tell us the supplies are not drinkable they are perfectly suitable to run our locomotives. More importantly for visitors it means that our toilets are functioning once again, while the ‘Flag & Whistle’ tea rooms will use bottled water for drinks.”

The railway, which runs 10 miles between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse, was badly affected by the recent rainstorms, meaning services were suspended for the first time in the preserved line’s history.

Sections of the line were seriously flooded during the downpour on 20th July.  Some track ballast was washed away while a small landslip blocked the line near Gotherington.  Services were suspended on Saturday 21st while volunteers cleared the blockage and repaired the track.

A normal service ran on the Sunday – only for water supplies to be cut that evening.

“Faced with no water supply we had no choice but to cancel all trains until the water was restored,” Ian Crowder explains.

The extreme weather meant that the special David Shepherd Wildlife and Steam on Tour exhibition and evening talk were postponed and the event is now expected to take place in October.  A silver wedding celebration on the GWR’s dining train also had to be cancelled while last week, several visits by coach parties were turned away.

“We estimate that the railway has lost at least £20,000 in ticket revenue, quite apart from catering and shop sales,” Ian Crowder says.  “While some of that lost revenue is insured, it’s nevertheless a real blow to our entirely volunteer-run railway.

“But we recognise that this is nothing compared to thousands of families mopping up their flood-stricken homes but restoration of our steam train services shows things are slowly getting back to normal.  We wanted to celebrate that by offering free travel for children – especially as it has not been a good start to the school holidays.”

Each child aged 5 to 15 will travel free if accompanied by a fare-paying adult on services running on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 31st July-2nd August and on Saturday 4th August.

Ends

Media contact: Ian Crowder, 07775 566 555 or ian.crowder@gwsr.com