The volunteer staff on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway are celebrating their best-ever season.  The year ended with 71,118 tickets sold, a 5.6 per cent increase on the 67,327 for the 2006 season which was itself a record.

"This is a marvellous result," comments Colin Dymock, the GWR's head station master. "This is despite the flooding in July which led to loss of six operating days."

Highlights included the Cotswold Festival of Steam, the Santa Specials (for which 7,353 tickets were sold, compared with 6,964 in 2006). The visit of the National Railway Museum's locomotive Green Arrow during the summer also helped to boost visitor numbers.  1,760 people visited the GWR for the Christmas Cracker event - even though Gloucester Rugby Club were thrashing Bristol at a sell-out Kingsholm on the 29th December!  The GWR's diesel galas have also been successful, all seeing increased popularity.