Sorry for the delay in updates, I had to reformat my PC and resinstall all my software again which took a few days and the I realised I had lost my login information so I couldn’t upload the pages for you all to see. EWS had recently sanctioned a repaint on 56078 into Large Logo Blue and its debut was planned for the Severn Valley Railway diesel gala over the 3-5 October. 47635 had also been scheduled to go also in LLB but it failed and was replaced with another grid 56067. Hey I’m not complaing about two grids!
It was an early start on Sunday morning and it was a lovely sunny morning though it was pretty cold as I had to scrape ice off my windscreen in the morning. Kidderminster was duly reached in plenty of time for the first departure of 09.45. 40135/145 headed the first departure and where taken all the way to Hampton Loade although 40135 was dropped off at Bewdley to leave 40145 solo. A quick leap over the platform for D1013 heading the other way and a rather quiet trip back to Arley. We changed here for the 108 unit back to Kidderminster but first the Wizzo had to depart so a shot from the footbridge was grabbed first.
The 108 was virtually empty bar half a dozen people and this enabled a good view out of the cab window. It was a very enjoyable ride as we trundled our way back to Kidderminster. As we pulled into Kidderminster we could see the next departure waiting time and it was a Kettle which had to be avoided which left the only option of the 108 straight back to Arley again!
Back at Arley we had 20 mins to wait for the next service from Bridgnorth and the 108 had to run into the back platform which enabled a couple of shots of the fantastic 108.
The shot looked pretty nice so I thought I would repeat it again for the arrival of 50049, don’t worry this is the last one in this position! Note the non 50 fan in the first coach!
A few more trips were taken and then we jumped onto a Superb looking 56078 at Arley for the ride back to Kidderminster and what a ride it was! Probably the best trip of the day with copious amounts of thrash thrown in made an excellent trip thanks to Midi!
A couple of shots of the Grid were captured at Kidderminster while we waited for the next trip out. Soon 47853 (D1733) and 40135 backed onto the train to take the next departure.
The quick trip to Arley and return was done and we waited at Kiddermnister for the final outward trip of our day. The diesel depot is out of sight around the corner and when 50049 and 56067 appeared a small cheer went up. We had overheard earlier in the day 56067 had no power and didn’t look like it was going to run on the Sunday but a quick fix with parts from 56078 had 56067 running just in time. More Grid thrash then took place enroute to Bewdley where unfortunatley it had to be removed due to weight limits over the bridge furthur on but it was rumored it would be added a top 47853 on its return from Bridgnorth. We carried on with solo 50049 to Hampton Loade where we met 47853. A quick swap again and we heading back to Kidderminster for the final time and as suspected 56067 was again added for the short but nosiy return to Kidderminster.
The morning started a bit poorly with the steam diagrams and timetabling but things picked up during the afternoon and at the end of it we had a good day out. I’ll be looking forward to what they have planned next year.