GCR Diesel Gala Timetable?

[E759]

Anyone know when this will be published? Getting quite close to the event!

Thank you.

 

[31160]

Anyone know when this will be published? Getting quite close to the event!

Thank you.

It's on PLEG this morning

 

[E759]

It's on PLEG this morning

Cheers!

Anyone use the canal route from the NR station instead of the road? Looks a little more interesting but is it “safe”?

 

[ffm]

Cheers!

Anyone use the canal route from the NR station instead of the road? Looks a little more interesting but is it “safe”?

Absolutely - a public footpath on the towpath.

 

[E759]

Absolutely - a public footpath on the towpath.

Super! Thank you.

 

[2030720310]

I really don't understand parts of this timetable. What is the difference between the stations/times in bold, and the ones in lighter font. I understand that some of the stations are where a train is passing through a station, but some trains appear to be starting at Rothley/Quorn for some reason?

 

[E759]

My reading is bold is a passenger stop and regular is passing time. Van trains don't carry passengers I assume so never in bold. If you follow the carriage stock then the true origin and destination from a passenger perspective can be deduced. I think! Basically (i) trains running Loughborough to Leicester North and return calling at all stations and (ii) trains running from Loughborough to Loughborough skipping Rothley outbound then reversing at Rothley Brook.

That how I read it anyway, could be massively wrong

 

[ac6000cw]

Basically correct - Rothley Brook is where the double-track from Loughborough becomes single (to Leicester), and only one train can be in the 'Leicester' section at a time (AFAIK). So reversing some trains at Rothley Brook allows them to run a more frequent service Loughborough - Rothley than would be possible if everything went to Leicester and back. The GCR's 'USP' is that it looks, feels and operates (on busy gala days at least) like a period mainline, rather than as a period branchline. Doing some overtaking of trains on the 'four track' section through Swithland also adds to the mainline atmosphere.

(If you haven't been there before, note that Swithland and Rothley Brook are not passenger stations).

 

[E759]

Cheers! Not been to the GCR before. Looking forward to some diesel racing hopefully

 

[beepea]

Has anyone managed to work out the times the DMU will be running on the Mountsorrel Branch Line? The timetable says simply "To Mountsorrel Branch". No indication of when it arrives/departs Nunckley and Mountsorrel.

Thanks.

 

[ac6000cw]

Cheers! Not been to the GCR before. Looking forward to some diesel racing hopefully

The 'four track' section at Swithland is in reality double-track with a longish loop on each side, so - in my experience at galas - the train being overtaken is either stationary in a loop or rolling slowly towards a stop signal at the end of it. But the layout is (semaphore) signalled like a proper 4-track mainline, so it has the right 'feel' to it - which is largely the point of it, as a working museum railway.

 

[E759]

On Friday there was no overtaking of passenger trains that I saw But still a great day! D123 was missed but the stools in the LNER Kitchen/Bar coach allowed for spirited discussion of all things heritage railway.

 

[ac6000cw]

On Friday there was no overtaking of passenger trains that I saw But still a great day! D123 was missed but the stools in the LNER Kitchen/Bar coach allowed for spirited discussion of all things heritage railway.

Look in the working timetables for trains that are booked to run via the Up (UL) or Down (DL) loops at Swithland e.g. on Sunday the 09:50 Rothley-Loughborough waits in the down loop to be overtaken by the 09:50 Leicester-Loughborough on the down main (DM)

 

[Flying Phil]

I was at Rothley this morning and it was good to see the Deltic and Warship growling past with well filled passenger trains. Lots of smiling faces.

 

[mushroomchow]

Caught Sparrowhawk (1705) on the TPO by chance last night while driving by, pulled up just in time to see it growl by. What a beaut!

 

[satisnek]

I was there on Saturday and I noticed that the timetable was slightly different to previous years. Presumably because there were TPO demonstrations and Mountsorrel services (yep, I enjoyed both!) there appeared a dearth of trains to Leicester North.

Which leads me onto something I've been thinking about for a while now. Quite understandably, the main focus in recent years has been on 'Bridging The Gap', but I really do think that it's about time the southern end of the line was given some love, more specifically double tracking and a second platform at Leicester North. Signalling could be colour light and controlled from Rothley - this would be totally in keeping with Leicester North's '1960s' theme.

The GCR has much to offer the enthusiast, as stated in another thread, but to the general public it's a short and (relatively) fast line with limited scenic appeal (apart from going across a reservoir). Double track throughout would enable the provision of 'fast' and 'stopping' services on all but off-peak timetables and occasions like the Model Event (where a 'metro'-style service is desirable), which I feel would give a much bigger 'bang for the buck' as far as the non-enthusiast punter is concerned.

Problems? Well, the track layout at the south end of Rothley will require the Orange Juice treatment ("Rip it up and start again") since the single line is slewed across the formation and I'm not sure where the rules and regs stand regarding trains regularly passing platforms at 25mph. The foot crossings on the southbound line at the intermediate stations could also be an issue.

Leicester North station has been open for nearly three decades now and Loughborough-Rothley has been double track for nearly two. Will the line ever be completed?

 

[Flying Phil]

Glad that you enjoyed the Gala.
The points that you make re Leicester North are well made and quite true. It has always been the intention to have double track throughout but initially the funds could not be raised to purchase more than Loughborough to Rothley single track. The line to L. North then had to be built to ensure that the Leicester ring road did not cut the foundation. David Clarke then funded much of the double track and Swithland sidings. Leicester North Station moved to its Southern position to keep it in the Leicester City boundary for funding. The Railway then was in financial dire straights after David Clarke's death. Slowly the position improved but then the Midland Main Line was to be electrified and so the Gap Project and bridge became a priority to keep the dream of Leicester to Nottingham possible.
Leicester North was not forgotten as we then had the Heritage Lottery funded "Museum" saga. There is now "Plan B"(See other GCR thread) so Yes, there will be developments and the line will be completed. The 50 year dream of the founders of the Main Line Preservation Group (becoming the MLST/GCR and GCR(N)) is slowly being achieved!

 

[ffm]

Whilst I generally enjoyed the weekend I didn't think it appeared to be very busy. The real ale and cider bar at Loughborough was nice, though at least one ale bore no resemblance to its description. The only real bad point was the platform ticket price, how can £7 be justified? On Sunday my friend and I didn't have time to do any trips (and after 2 days had seen/been hauled by everythibg anyway) and wouldn't have paid for a day ticket for a short return trip, so thought it would be nice to go and get a cuppa and watch the station for an hour at most. As it would then have been £8.50 for a cup of tea we simply walked on by. Left a sour taste.

 

[satisnek]

Glad that you enjoyed the Gala.
The points that you make re Leicester North are well made and quite true. It has always been the intention to have double track throughout but initially the funds could not be raised to purchase more than Loughborough to Rothley single track. The line to L. North then had to be built to ensure that the Leicester ring road did not cut the foundation. David Clarke then funded much of the double track and Swithland sidings. Leicester North Station moved to its Southern position to keep it in the Leicester City boundary for funding. The Railway then was in financial dire straights after David Clarke's death. Slowly the position improved but then the Midland Main Line was to be electrified and so the Gap Project and bridge became a priority to keep the dream of Leicester to Nottingham possible.
Leicester North was not forgotten as we then had the Heritage Lottery funded "Museum" saga. There is now "Plan B"(See other GCR thread) so Yes, there will be developments and the line will be completed. The 50 year dream of the founders of the Main Line Preservation Group (becoming the MLST/GCR and GCR(N)) is slowly being achieved!

Thanks for the informed reply. I wasn't too sure if double tracking was inclusive in the various proposals for Leicester North.