I always look forward to this Diesel Gala. Probably because it has four of my favourite stations within its length. Plus, of course, it is home to The Fifty Fund and their locos.
This gala was, due to no fault of their own, somewhat curtailed due to the derailment on Monday 28th September of the tender of a steam loco at the southern end of the station loop at Hampton Loade. This effectively closed the northern passing loop and drastically reduced the number of trains that could be run. The SVR were forced to cancel the booked appearance of 56303; a Virgin 57/3 and 26007. It was still a marvellous and hectic gala, so "hats off" to the Gala Committee for successfully overcoming the major reorganisation, at a very late stage, of the timetable.

My one gripe (and in this day and age I think it a major gripe) that there was no locomotive roster available prior to, or during, the gala!
Obviously the loco crew and officials had a roster, but not to make it available on-line for the gala visitors is, quite frankly, NOT ON!!

My two visits to this gala were on the first (Thursday) and last days (Saturday).

My "local" Preserved Railway stretched out their 2009 Autumn Diesel Gala to cover four days. Starting on the Thursday with a one-train double-heading day, a fair few fans gathered in the autumnal sunshine for a very pleasant day's entertainment.
This collection covers the two days (Thursday and Friday) of my visit to this excellent (as usual) Diesel Gala.

I couldn't help but laugh when one of the station staff at Orton Mere on the second day, told me that it wasn't the "50" that caused the timetable slipage on the first day; it was the bloke with the wheel barrow chasing after the loco picking up all the bits that were falling off that caused the late running!
50008 was in a bit of a state, but it was great to ride behind her again after so many years.
Roll on the next NVR Diesel Gala.

The second day of this year's second Diesel Gala at the MNR appeared to be a quiet one. Most of the home fleet stretched their legs alongside the DRS Class 37 37510 on this beautiful late September day.
If anyone remembers my trip to the MNR Gala six months ago and wants an update on the suspected "speeding ticket" scenario ... well ... it never arrived, so hopefully I'm still "nil point" on my licence!!
Don't speak too soon!!!

The railway magazine MODERN LOCOMOTIVES ILLUSTRATED, in conjunction with SOUTH WEST TRAINS held a "go virtually anywhere on SWT metals for £20" day. Issue number 178 of the magazine features the Desiro Units operated by SWT, hence the DESIRO DAY. A great many enthusiasts took up the offer. My itinerary started and concluded at Waterloo, formerly with the 07.50 and latterly at 18.20.
This collection features (at each station) AN HOUR OR SO AT .... Reading, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Southampton Central and Clapham Junction, my photographic stops of the day.

In my opinion, in the Preserved Railways of Great Britain, this line is high in "League Two." This line has a "family" feel to the operation, well that's what I felt whilst visiting on the first day of this three day gala. Unfortunately, 56098 was pulled from the loco rosta earlier in the week preceeding the gala due to its failure. This then spoilt the Class 56 triple header which was to be one of the main draws of this gala. The other draw being the "Carry on Clagging" cup that was run on the Friday evening after the return of the last service train.
This lack of 56098 did not detract from what was an excellent gala "opening night."
The friendly atmosphere and locals, plus a sunny afternoon, made Shackerstone a pleasure to visit.
Congrats to all involved.

The "double track" Preserved Railway held its bi-annual, three day Diesel Gala during the second weekend of the month ... and what a cracker it was too!
A Deltic, a Hoover, a Growler and a Peak were the star attractions along with the "locals" which, on day two, gave a much wider variety of pulling power.
On day two, Quorn & Woodhouse station featured heavily in this photo gallery along with Loughborough Central and Rothley.
In decending order of classes, the following were operational:-55019, 50007, 47714, D1705, D123, 37314, D6535, D5830, D5401, D5185, D8098, D4067 and D2158.
Another teriffic day out at the Great Central Railway. Congrats to all involved for a glorious two days out ... and the sun shone ... in buckets!!

The "double track" Preserved Railway held its bi-annual, three day Diesel Gala during the second weekend of the month ... and what a cracker it was too!
A Deltic, a Hoover, a Growler and a Peak were the star attractions. This collection of photos covers Day One (Friday) when the "Big Guns" were operational.
Loughborough Central, Rothley and Leicester North stations feature in these photos from day one. Rothley, high on my "pretty preserved stations" list is in stark contrast to the bland, stuck-out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere...ness of the Leicester terminus, as can be seen in this collection.

Another excellent diesel gala held at the roundhouse site near Chesterfield. This was a "Twin Engine / Type 5" gala with plenty of static exhibits, some of which took turns on one end of the push / pull three coach shuttle between the site platform and the boundary fence. One of my favourite classes of loco was present, namely the Westerns. Champion and Fusilier also shared the shuttles, though sadly not together. There are many of my "favourite shots of the day" within this collection, mostly featuring the 52s. A day out for me to savour. Plenty of modern locos were also present as both exibits and shuttle locos.
A glorious day ... and the sun shone!!

The third attempt to successfully run The Electric Scot railtour was achieved on Saturday 11th July 2009. The original attempt by SPITFIRE RAILTOURS of Taunton, Somerset to run this tour was on Saturday 29th December 2007 when it was cancelled at Wolverhampton with stock problems. SPITFIRE then re-ran the tour on Wednesday 15th October 2008. This time 87002 was declared a failure at Glasgow and the "insurance" diesel had to return the train to Birmingham International. It was definitely third time lucky for SPITFIRE RAILTOURS, and a great day out ended as we pulled into Birmingham International just 14 minutes down on the scheduled arrival time.
I, like many others, visited the DRS Open Day, so we alighted at Carlisle. My DRS photo collection can be found on an adjacent collection.
An eight hour stay was the order of the day, so before (and after) the main event, "an hour or so" was spent on the platforms of Carlisle station. Enjoy.

The gates of Direct Rail Services' Kingmoor Depot in Carlisle were thrown open for the day on Saturday 11th July 2009. Initially for family and friends of the workforce and invited guests, these DRS open days are becoming a serious event on the railway calendar. The big percentage of the visitors to this open day came via "The Electric Scot" railtour organised by Spitfire Railtours of Taunton, Somerset. Originating from Birmingham International and setting down at Carlisle (for the open day), the destination was Glasgow Central.
In glorious sunshine, this small-ish depot excelled with exhibits for our viewing pleasure from across their Company.
Well done and thanks to all concerned for an excellent event. Roll on next year!

Another in my series of "Capital Days Out" saw me limiting my station photograpy to King's Cross and St. Pancras International only. My plans for the day included a preview of the Javelin commuter service that will be commencing with the December timetable change. This service, currently previewing will, when fully up and running, ravage the journey time of today's South Eastern commuter routes from Kent. The Class 395s, known as Javelins, will utilise the High Speed 1 route between Ashford International / Ebbsfleet and St. Pancras International. The aforementioned Preview Service started running on 29th June 2009. Along with allowing its potential customers a "preview of the service", will give the trains a mileage accumulation; test all the systems and the technicians can iron out any bugs that may have survived the journey from Japan, the country of construction, prior to the official opening.

May I thank both TOC's set of platform staff for courteously allowing me and my camera access to both the EMT and SouthEastern sections of St. Pancras International. RAIL magazine's "Stop & Examine" back page feature campaigns for a better tolerance of us likeminded souls with a bent for railway photography. I would like to add these two sets to the list of "the good guys & girls". Thank you.

During a weeks' vacation in Scotland, my wife and I made the out and back day trip from Fort William to Mallaig. Run by West Coast Railways, the summer season of steam train trips are under the banner of "The Jacobite." Voted Top Rail Journey in the World by Wanderlust magazine 2009, this year's season marks the 26th year of regular summer steam trains to Mallaig. This sold out trip left Fort William at 10.20 and covered the 42 mile journey (including the leg-strech / sightseeing break at Glinfinnan) in two hours.
Unfortunately the weather was quite dull and disappointing, but an entertaining day was had.

First GBRf held an Open Day at the Nene Valley Railway in aid of the charity "Help for Heroes" and supplied two locomotives (66723 & 73207) to supplement that day's steam hauled trips (in the capable hands of 73050 CITY of PETERBOROUGH)
The diesel round trip departures from Wansford were at 10.15; 13.25 & 16.35 and (especially the early trip) appeared to be heavily loaded.
A pleasant couple of hours was spent, mainly at Wansford, the photographic results of which can be seen here.
Yes ... I did swell the charity's coffers by donating a few pounds.

Minehead witnessed the ONSLAUGHT of a Hymek, a couple of "Teddy Bears" and their COURIER, a phenomenon that is seeing the NORTH STAR in daylight .... plus .... a TORNADO! May I add that miraculously, JOHN F KENNEDY also put in an appearance, or two!!!
Sounds unbelievable .... it was a sight for sore eyes.
One of my favourite Preserved Lines in the country, and home to three of my four favourite classes of locos, the West Somerset Railway had pulled out all the stops and organised a belter of a week-end. The main "draw" being, of course, 60163 TORNADO, but I'm sure that the many families riding thoroughly enjoyed their day out, just like me.
The extremely picturesque railway and very friendly staff and locals, made this (for me) one of the top events of the year. Sincere congrats to ALL concerned. I visited (an the photos are from) Friday afternoon when the weather was gloomy, and all day Saturday, when the sun shone.

An event I had been looking forward to since purchasing my ticket some three months previously. The event was greatly marred by the inclement weather ... it pi**ed down!!
That was a great shame as hosts Motorail Logistics, and in particular, Jack Boskett and his team had done a marvellous job in organising such an event, and have it washed out on the first day.
I'm glad that the weather was far superior on the second day!

An explanation (from BOB WATT and in his words) of the derailment (photo 47 of this colloection) is as follows:-
"Originally the centre coach of 3; the rear vehicle had been drawn off by 11230 by this time; the space remaining on North Gate platform permitted the leading coach (trailing on departure) of the Railtour, propelled by 66060, to get a door on the platform, letting everybody (including me!) get back on
again, and away at 1403, only 2 minutes late".

With a five year break since the last diesel gala, this Mid-Hants Railway (a.k.a. the Watercress Line) event was a welcome return. Being yet another of what I call the "pretty" preserved lines, my visit coincided with the first day of this three day event. I have to say that the crowds were conspicuous by their absence! Yes there were people about, but not the volume one comes to expect from a diesel gala!
The Watercress Line's website was lacking with regard to any serious information regarding the gala, and the timetable only appeared (without the loco roster) just two days before the event.
Two possible reasons for the absence of the hoards could be explained by the fact that their website stated that everybody entering the station areas HAD to buy a Rover ticket. Well at least, it started off like that. I would hope they came to their collective senses, especially IF the punters were turning away.
There was also a gala programme available (which I believe included the loco roster) but had a price tag of £5. I don't think that enthusiasts would pay £5 for information and descriptions that they already knew (being enthusiasts!!) just to obtain the loco roster. I certainly didn't pay £5 and later in the day I asked for, and was given a roster upon production of my ticket.
I do hope that the other two days had a better patronage and that, in this economic climate, the line doesn't become known for "being a rip-off."
I had a great day without the hoards .... thanks for asking.

Not far from home is the Ouse Valley Walk which runs alongside both the Great River Ouse and the East Coast Main Line. This particular part of the walk runs from St. Neots to Buckden, south of Huntingdon and during the eight or so mile round trip, saw a variety of (generally) unidentified Locos / Electrics and Units. My legs are still aching!!

Saturday 23rd. May 2009 saw the LNER's A1 Pacific at the head of "The Cathedrals Express" to York. This fully booked Steam Dreams 08.18 departure was waiting in platform 1 as my train pulled into "The Cross".
I was on my way to the Eastleigh Centenary event by train / tube / train and stopped to furnish this small collection for our collective pleasures.

An hour or so at Eastleigh station, both before and after the "Main Event," records the continual flow of SWT's Class 444s et al. There were two Railtours converging upon Eastleigh for the centinary event; one was steam hauled from London Victoria, whilst a pair of DRS 37s brought the other from Crewe. The former organised by Past-time Railtours; the latter by Spitfire Railtours. Both are covered within this collection. Hope you enjoy this collection of some of that day's action.

The Eastleigh depot held its centenary open weekend throughout the Spring Bank Holiday (Witsun to those of a certain age!!). It was a "coming together" of an excellent line up of locomotives (and stock). To quote the Eastleigh 100 website:- "The primary aim of the weekend was to raise money for a number of local and national charities". I think it must have done that judging by the masses that thronged the site on the first day (Saturday). The weather was thankfully, very kind and a great day out was had by this happy chappie. Thanks and congratulations to ALL concerned for a fabulous event.

The Ruddington (Nottingham) to Loughborough preserved line and Heritage Centre hosted an excellent line up of locos, both local and imported, for their Spring Diesel Gala, so a visit was imperative! I was not disappointed ... well ... except for the weather ... showery at best.

A marvellous day out and well worth the three and a quarter hour drive to get there! I've never been to the Swanage line before but was thoroughly impressed. A professionally run organisation; expertly kept (and clean) stations; pleasant scenery and the "natives" were very friendly and ... the sun shone on day one (Friday). My sincere thanks to all concerned. A return is definitely "on the cards."

Following on from the MNR Diesel Gala - Day 1 (my last collection), day 3 was as good, if not better, than day 1. The weather was kinder and a shed visit was offered, and readily accepted by yours truly! I arrived at Dereham (just) in time to catch the first train of the day (50019 RAMILIES doing the honours) at 09.00.
The only blot on the day will be (I suspect in the near future), a demand letter from "The Old Bill" for £60 and the "honour" of them putting three points put on my licence.
A camera van just a couple of hundred yards inside a 50mph zone at 08.10 on a Sunday morning .... now let them insist that the cameras AREN'T a way of printing money!!!!!!!

The all diesel (no steam ... for now) Preserved Railway held its annual gala over the long (Friday to Sunday) weekend of 27th to 29th March.
Billed as a "heavy haulage" event, DB Schenker sent some old and new(ish) heavyweights to join with the locals for an entertaining first day.
The newly restored 56040 OYSTERMOUTH, had its first outing on the 10.20 Dereham to Wymondham Abbey and 11.20 return which was very well supported, considering it was a Friday! Don't any of these rail enthusiasts have jobs!!

Up the A1 for 25 miles I drove on Saturday 7th March 2009 to Wansford, or more specifically, Orton Mere, where my visit to this NVR gala started. The "imports" this time, alongside the usual mix of the "locals," were in the guise of 37667 from DRS; 66732 from GBRf and D5401 (27056) from the GCR. Unfortunately 60074 TEENAGE SPIRIT was pulled from the show by D.B. Schenker; this being previously notified on the NVR website, so was not a shock upon arrival!
Day one of this Spring Gala looked a bit quieter (punterwise) than previous galas. Hopefully this is not a bad omen for the survival of the twice-annually future of NVR Diesel Galas.