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Great Central Railway News and Updates

Flying Phil

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More excellent news....

Great Central Railway to receive £515,700 from the second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund

  • GCR are among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund
  • This award will hugely assist the Railway to recover from the devastating impact of Covid closures and ongoing restrictions
 
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Flying Phil

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I visited Rothley yesterday and it was really good to see the car park full and the Ellis cafe open again.
It was also interesting to see a large gang of S & T volunteers at work on the siding to the South of the station. This is being re-modelled so that it no longer is accessed by a ground frame from the South. It is being lengthened and will be accessed from the North, controlled from the signal box.......of course this will make it easier to install double track to Leicester North...I would think.
 

Flying Phil

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Another visit to Rothley yesterday and I was surprised to see trains running - I had missed the diesel running day on the timetable!
D123 was on the service train and Class 37 no 37714 in its smart grey livery running light engine. There were also coaches being shunted using the 08, so it was quite busy.
 

Flying Phil

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From the GCR website for today 11th June....


Class 25 D5185 is due to work six round trips of the line, a total of 96 miles, with trains departing from Loughborough Central, beginning in the early afternoon.

We're offering tickets for compartments of up to six people, and also for tables of two.

Tickets must be booked in advance.



Times:

Trains will depart from Loughborough Central (LE11 1RW) at 12:30pm, 2:00pm, 3:30pm, 5:00pm, 6:30pm, and 8:05pm.
 
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Flying Phil

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Despite the website implying no running yesterday, in fact, it was quite busy at Rothley as there was a steam hauled service train with a large group of school children and some diesel hauled empty stock movements and an 08 shunting in the shed yard. Nice to see that the railway is returning to life!
Rothley 24 June 2021 small.jpg

Good news from the GCR website as we slowly return to a welcome sense of normal:-

Passenger trains have now returned to the GCR, running every Saturday and Sunday, and on selected weekdays.

All four stations are due to reopen from Saturday 26th June 2021, with tickets available on the day from Booking Offices.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the railway as we progressively return to normal operation, as the national situation improves.

The view South of the A6 Bridge at Loughborough is changing as the housing to the East of the line is being built.
DSC00707 - small.jpg

Sorry that these updates are running together but no body else posts to break them up....it is this websites system.
 
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Flying Phil

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The museum project is still making progress behind the scenes as the City council have been doing various ground surveys. Obviously C-19 has slowed it down but it, and the double tracking, L North to Rothley are very much live projects according to information given at the GCR AGM today. This AGM can be viewed on You Tube via a link on the GCR website.
 

Cowley

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The museum project is still making progress behind the scenes as the City council have been doing various ground surveys. Obviously C-19 has slowed it down but it, and the double tracking, L North to Rothley are very much live projects according to information given at the GCR AGM today. This AGM can be viewed on You Tube via a link on the GCR website.

I’m very interested in double tracking. Has there been some on the ground work done towards this do you know?
 

Flying Phil

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I’m very interested in double tracking. Has there been some on the ground work done towards this do you know?
I know that the present single track does go over various parts of the old double track bed so I'm sure they will have assessed where it will need to be re-aligned. They are, at present, altering the siding at Rothley, so that it is accessed from its North end, near the platform......but then it's South end is open to go further South!
 

Flying Phil

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I have just been reading about this on the GCR website...
Drive A Deltic Experience
We are happy to announce that in conjunction with the DPS we will be holding Drive A Deltic Experiences with 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier.

All the four "slots" in September have been sold out but it will be good to hear that Napier roar again on the GCR.
 

Flying Phil

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The single chimney 9F No 92134 has arrived together with 3802 for the Autumn Steam Gala (Sept 30th - Oct 3rd). There is a double headed 9F turn scheduled on Sat and Sunday. Details on the GCR website.
 

Cowley

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The single chimney 9F No 92134 has arrived together with 3802 for the Autumn Steam Gala (Sept 30th - Oct 3rd). There is a double headed 9F turn scheduled on Sat and Sunday. Details on the GCR website.

Lovely. Is the brake van getting a run out Phil?
 

Flying Phil

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Lovely. Is the brake van getting a run out Phil?
I would expect so, I'm at Rothley tomorrow so will try and find out. There are "Boscastle Shed Tours" at Loughborough on Sat and Sunday, free but donations to the restoration are appreciated.
 

Cowley

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I would expect so, I'm at Rothley tomorrow so will try and find out. There are "Boscastle Shed Tours" at Loughborough on Sat and Sunday, free but donations to the restoration are appreciated.

Hope it goes well!
 

Flying Phil

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Well the GCR was well patronised today. The trains had people in most compartments and in most sets of seats, with spaces around, so about 50-60 % capacity - which for a rainy Thursday is good. The car parks were about 75% so people have been able to get fuel.
It was really enjoyable to stand at Loughborough and see about 7 locomotives in steam with another couple down the line.....Who would have thought that possible back in the 1970's.
The Minerals and Van trains are both running on Sat and Sunday (and my brake van was on the van train).
The 9F from the NYMR looks at home by Rothley shed.
DSC00997.JPG
 
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markindurham

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The view South of the A6 Bridge at Loughborough is changing as the housing to the East of the line is being built.
View attachment 99137

Sorry that these updates are running together but no body else posts to break them up....it is this websites system.
Great location for enthusiasts being built there :)

Given the hassle that the railway encountered a few years ago, when new residents in a house backing onto the line complained about the trains, I hope that the fact that the line is still operational was made very clear to potential purchasers when the plots were being sold.
 

Flying Phil

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I have been sent a couple of pictures (Courtesy of Richard Warren) showing our Windcutters in action during the recent Gala.
3802 Woodthorpe bridge GCR ASG R.Warren.JPG92134 kinchley lane GCR ASG 3.10.21 R Warren.JPG
 

ExRes

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Despite the website implying no running yesterday, in fact, it was quite busy at Rothley as there was a steam hauled service train with a large group of school children and some diesel hauled empty stock movements and an 08 shunting in the shed yard. Nice to see that the railway is returning to life!
View attachment 98759

Good news from the GCR website as we slowly return to a welcome sense of normal:-



The view South of the A6 Bridge at Loughborough is changing as the housing to the East of the line is being built.
View attachment 99137

Sorry that these updates are running together but no body else posts to break them up....it is this websites system.

With the GCR being well outside of my area I've not taken any interest in this thread before, seeing the picture of the ridiculously placed new housing under construction makes me wonder whether there have been any discussions about noise from the railway causing complaints from the new residents who will, no doubt, be expecting a nice quiet idyllic life only to find it ruined by the evil railway, could the GCR be facing potentially expensive future legal wrangling?
 

LowLevel

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With the GCR being well outside of my area I've not taken any interest in this thread before, seeing the picture of the ridiculously placed new housing under construction makes me wonder whether there have been any discussions about noise from the railway causing complaints from the new residents who will, no doubt, be expecting a nice quiet idyllic life only to find it ruined by the evil railway, could the GCR be facing potentially expensive future legal wrangling?

Not really so far, no. Some don't like the behaviour of some of the photographers that frequent their area but then that is nothing unusual anyway, I'm not aware of them actually causing the railway itself any issues.

To be fair it is sufficiently busy on the GCR most days nowadays one way or another that it would be very hard not to notice when visiting that it is a fairly well used railway line.
 

Flying Phil

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An unusual operational difficulty on the GCR yesterday, there was a "Bridge Strike" caused by a lorry at Swithland. The 11.15 was held at Quorn and the DMU at Rothley (I think). There was a rapid re-organisation of the timetable to use locomotive 73156, from the lunchtime dining train, to pull the 11.15 back from Quorn. The bridge passed its inspection and it was a normal timetable from 12.50.

We were riding in the GCR "Veranda" carriage yesterday. This did receive some critical comments as it was a std Mk 1 carriage when it was converted. However it is really popular and does enable a very close up view of the engine working hard!

aa1198be2df9.jpg


There are "Boscastle Shed Tours" taking place at Loughborough this week end. Hopefully there will have been more progress on the tender frames since the spring hanging brackets were installed.
DSC01028.JPGDSC01031.JPG

(Again posts are being combined because no one else posts after mine)
 
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Flying Phil

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Our rake of Windcutter wagons will be in operation at this weekend's "Last Hurrah Gala" - an intensive timetable on Sat and Sunday. We also have an information/sales stand outside Rothley shed. We are making progress with our next wagon restoration, which is having a new floor and lower sides. The Vac cylinder has already been overhauled. We are still on course for having all 30 of our wagons running for our 30th Anniversary next year.DSC01114.JPG

Latest news from GCR website

A1 Pacific 60163 ‘Tornado’ To Visit GCR​

Published November 18, 2021 | By Dan Bowler

Picture2-300x201.jpg
Following Tornado’s temporary withdrawal from mainline services due to wheel flats, the steam engine; which was the first new locomotive to be built in the UK since Evening Star 92220 was built in 1960, is set to return to the Great Central. Shortly after being built, Tornado first visited the GCR for high-speed testing in 2008 ahead of its launch onto the mainline.
The locomotive should arrive in the coming days after our Last Hurrah Gala as road transport allows and will operate on a selected number of dates into the 2022 season. Keep a close eye on our website and social media for updates on when this special guest loco will be running.
The locomotive is expected to leave the Great Central in advance of our Winter Steam Gala on the 28th - 30th January where we are hoping for two other guest locomotives as well as up to 7 locomotives from home fleet to be in service.
60163 Will arrive and operate with thanks to the A1 Steam Trust - To find out more about the trust and Tornado visit their website A1Steam.com

Posted in Main Line, Main Line Xtra, Press Release
 
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Cowley

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Nice to see the Windcutters receiving so much attention. It’s a wonderful recreation.
 

Flying Phil

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There has been more progress with Boscastle!

IMG-1714s.jpg

With more details on the updated Boscastle website.
 

Flying Phil

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Good progress is being made on our latest mineral wagon restoration. There is a complete new floor and the lower side repairs are nearly finished.
DSC01160.JPG
 

38Cto15E

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Is the size of the tender on Tornado the same size as the A1's had in BR days or was it made bigger to hold more water? It looks very big. :)
 

alexl92

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Is the size of the tender on Tornado the same size as the A1's had in BR days or was it made bigger to hold more water? It looks very bi g. :)
Same physical dimensions but I believe the layout inside has been adjusted to increase water capacity
 

38Cto15E

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Thanks for the update.
I used to love putting my head out of the leading carriage window when on an up express approaching Loughborough Midland, my best wash of the week. :)
 

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