Over the 18th and 19th of November 2023, the Great Central Railway held their 'Last Hurrah' gala weekend, giving guests a final chance to experience an intensive timetable of steam and diesel, freight and passenger services before the beginning of the Christmas period!
Being regulars at the GCR, we decided to take a trip over on the Saturday the 18th of November and see the gala for ourselves, as usual, it certainly did not disappoint!
There was a plethora of active locomotives and multiple units including:
Steam:
- Ex LMS Stanier Class 8F - 48305.
- BR/W 6959 Modified Hall Class - 6990 'Witherslack Hall'.
- BR Standard Class 5MT - 73156.
- BR Standard Class 2MT - 78019.
- BR Standard Class 9/9F - 92214.
Diesel:
- BR English Electric Type 3/Class 37 - D6700 (Loaned from the NRM, York).
Multiple Units:
- BR Derby Lightweight Railcar - M79900 'Iris' (Loaned from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, Derbyshire).
- NER Petrol Electric Autocar - 3170 (Visiting from the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, North Yorkshire).
The Mountsorrel Branch was also in use on Saturday, with the visiting unit operating services on the branch on a regular basis. The unit itself, Petrol Electric Autocar number 3170 dates back to 1903, making it 120 years old! It is also the only example of it's type in preservation.
Overall, it was a fantastic gala to sound off yet another brilliant year at the Great Central Railway, which, as a heritage railway is now 50 years old!
Special shout-out to fellow RU-vidr and friend @vastjonea (youtube.com/@vastjonea?featur...) who I was able to meet up with at the railway and have a great time with, filming and trainspotting, just like we do best!
I hope you enjoy the video guys, see you soon, bye!
19 ноя 2023
