Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year although it is a bit late, it is my first update in over 6 months which was September 24th 2005. The long gap is due to a number of factors including work, poor weather and mostly lack of enthusiasm to actually go out photographing the railway. However as you can see by this update something stirred me into getting out. It was the GWR Spring Diesel Gala which did it and one locomotive in particular sealed it for me, 56003. The grid will be leaving the line shortly so it was my final chance to ride behind the beast before she moved on to new pastures so I decided to make the effort and have a ride out.
The first train of the day was 73129 and D8137 which I must say is one strange combination! The chopper put in a fine show but the 73s small engine couldn’t be heard above the noise of the 20. The pair were taken all the way to Cheltenham Racecourse were they are pictured above and then back to Winchcombe were we would board 56003 and 47105. The grid have recieved a fresh coat of loadhaul livery just before the gala and looked superb as she rounded the platform! It was a gentle start back to Cheltenham and we slowed for the tunnel expecting the grid to be wound up but instead all we could hear was the 47 thrashing away!
Not a peep was heard out off the grid all the way to Cheltenham, upon arrival we found out the grid had no power and later on in the day was found to have a cracked air pipe. Eventually the grid was dumped in the headshunt but not before I grabbed a shot of her gleaming in the station. Later on we returned to Cheltenham with the 20+73 combo but this time 56003 was dragged out of the headshunt and sandwiched between the 20 and 73 providing the sight of a Green Chopper, Loadhaul Grid and a Network Southeast ED!! What a colour combination, I’d love to see any lineside pictures of this combination as we returned back to Toddington with the chopper doing most of the work!
The final train of the day was 47376 going solo and it is the first time I had seen her since the fresh coat of Freightliner livery and renaming back last year and it still looked great today! Even though the main attraction I had gone for didnt actually pefrom it was still a good day with plenty of thrash from the lines resident locos! Maybe this will kickstart me into another update in the future…