My first outing of the year was one that is normally at the beginning of many calendars for steam enthusiasts, the Great Central Railways "Winter Steam Gala", taking place from 27th - 29th January.
This years event would see two visitors in the form of Urie Class S15 No. 506, visiting from the Mid Hants Railway, and Standard 5MT No. 73082 'Camelot', visiting from the Bluebell railway. The latter's appearence came after the GCR's own Standard 5, No. 73156, paid a visit to the bluebell last October, meaning it was once again possible to see two standard fives on the same line.
Along with this, the home fleet of locos would include 9F No. 92214 (making its first appearance in its new BR Black livery), 8F No. 48305, and the Standard 2 duo of No. 78018 and No. 78019. The railway would also supply the Railcar 'Iris', and was due to also include Class 45 D123, however on the day in question it failed and was replaced by the 2 car DMU, with steam replacing its booked freight runs where possible.
The Gala would see a mixture of passenger and freight workings on an intensive timetable, including the double heading of the two Standard 5's, however the day in question saw the timetable mostly out the window along with D123's absence requiring a lot of chances throughout the day, nonetheless I hope you enjoy my offering from the gala on what was my first time attending this event.
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