The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway event took place over the HM Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. With a brilliant line-up that included five visiting locomotives to pay homage to the former and much-lamented Somerset & Dorset Railway which once ran over the Mendips between Bournemouth and Bath. This event was originally planned for 2020 but was abandoned because of covid lockdowns. The annual Cotswold Festival of Steam (normally railway themed) is the Glos and Warks Railways main attraction, and certainly made an awesome come back after an absence of three years. Some of the locomotives visiting worked over the Somerset and Dorset, which was a victim of the infamous Beeching cuts, closing in March 1966. But express trains that ran over the route such as the 'Pines Express' (Manchester-Bournemouth) were re-created over the weekend. In all, nine locomotives were in steam including 9F 2-10-0 no's 92203 Black Prince making a welcome return to the GWSR. Bought in 1968 direct from British Railways by the late wildlife artist David Shepherd, who frequently visited the Glos and Warks when it was based at Toddington. The locomotive is now owned by the North Norfolk Railway. No 92203 was for a time, when in British Railways ownership, based at Bath to work trains over the Somerset & Dorset including the 'Pines Express'. Also Rebuilt SR West Country class 4-6-2 no's 34028 Eddystone was guesting via Southern Locomotives Limited and the Swanage Railway. Eddystone was based at Bournemouth, from where it worked regularly over the S&D. Over the gala weekend there was also demonstration goods trains and brake van rides, shunting at Winchcombe station using a 'Sentinel' steam locomotive (a type that once worked the sidings and coal mine lines at Radstock). There was also a beer tent and bacon butties to name some more tasty items. Mr Julian Birley brought his Bentley Mk 6 car, which was once owned by the well-known railway photographer Ivo Peters who took many hundreds of pictures and cine film hours of the Somerset & Dorset. The Sunday gala photos include all visiting loco's and the home fleet (totalling 9) in steam each gala day providing non-stop faultless action! Recreating the Pines express double and single headed through the day, a nice touch was the SR Green PMV van on the local stopper train. My good friend Rob Stopford and I paid our own respects to our favourite types of locos, Bulleids, and the Ivatt class 2 tank loco, no 41312 this was the loco that we did our driving and firing day with on the Mid Hants a good few years ago. So on behalf of Myself and my friends, see photos, we say many thanks to the Glos and Warks for putting on such a mega gala over the Jubilee weekend.
Copyright of all pictures in this gallery belong to R Kelsey.