Difference between revisions of "Autumn Steam Gala"

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For many enthusiasts, this is the highlight of the SVR year involving operating around the clock for the whole weekend and having the presence of guest engines. One popular operation is the running of a "Breakfast train" using the [[Severn Valley Venturer]] stock.
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[[File:GER_564_20170922.jpg|thumb|300px|right|2017 Autumn Steam Gala guest GER 564 at Arley]]For many enthusiasts, the '''Autumn Steam Gala''' is the highlight of the SVR year involving operating around the clock for the whole weekend and having the presence of visiting locomotives. The first Autumn Steam Galas were referred to as "Enthusiasts' Days" or "Enthusiasts' Weekends"; these normally featured home locomotives only. In the 1980s, visiting locomotives began to appear and have done so for each year the Gala has run since 1990.  
  
In September 2016 the 'Pacific Power' event replaced the traditional Autumn Steam Gala, featuring visiting locomotives LNER Gresley A3 Pacific No. 60103 'Flying Scotsman' and LNER Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 'Tornado'.
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The event has also extended in duration and now typically incorporates a 'Preview day' on the preceding Thursday to the standard timetable but with visiting locomotives, and three days of Gala from Friday to Sunday inclusive with overnight running on the Friday and Saturday nights. One popular operation is the running of a "Breakfast train" using the [[Severn Valley Venturer]] stock. Other common features include demonstration freight trains and shorter local, part-line services.
  
The return of the flagship Autumn Steam Gala is advertised for 2017, with all-night running, array of visiting locomotives and intensive timetable.<ref>[http://www.svr.co.uk/SEItem.aspx?a=100 SVR website]</ref>  
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From time to time visiting locomotives are utilised for regular passenger services in the days after the gala. They were also often used for private photographic charters until the practice was ended in 2021.
 +
 
 +
==Notable events==
 +
*'''1975''' First Enthusiasts Day, with 11 locomotives in steam.<ref>SVR News 37</ref>
 +
*'''1976''' First Enthusiasts Weekend.
 +
*'''1980''' [[LMS Stanier Jubilee 45690 Leander]] participated before undergoing a contract boiler overhaul.
 +
*'''1984''' First [[Steam Locomotives visiting the SVR for galas|guest locomotive]] at an Autumn Steam Gala (5051 "Drysllwyn Castle")
 +
*'''1989''' The "Autumn Steam Spectacular" was the last Autumn Steam Gala featuring home locomotives only.<ref>SVR News 94</ref> 
 +
*'''1993''' First overnight running took place.
 +
*'''1998''' First three day gala.
 +
*'''2000''' The Autumn Steam Gala was cancelled due to the [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2000-2009#2000|boiler crisis]].
 +
*'''2007''' The [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2000-2009#2007|Autumn Steam Gala]] took place despite the [[2007 Storm Damage| storm damage]] which closed the line north of Bewdley. The Gala included services running on the main line to Birmingham Snow Hill as well as between Kidderminster and Bewdley, the only unaffected section of the SVR.
 +
*'''2016''' The Autumn Steam Gala was replaced by the [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 2010-2019#2016|'Pacific Power']] event featuring visiting locomotives LNER Gresley A3 Pacific No. 60103 'Flying Scotsman' and LNER Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 'Tornado'.
 +
*'''2020''' The Autumn Steam Gala was cancelled due to the [[2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic]]
 +
*'''2021''' First announced as a fixed itinerary 'excursion' service under COVID-19 restrictions, it reverted to a more traditional operation with passengers able to choose their itineraries. The Railway, however, continued to offer a small number of private bookable compartments, where passengers were guaranteed exclusive use of a compartment on a single train throughout the day. To assist with social distancing, the number of tickets available each day was limited.
 +
 
 +
==Passenger numbers==
 +
From time-to-time the SVR publishes the number of Gala passengers, according to the method of counting these which has varied over time (for example, since 2010 documents sent to shareholders became valid as a ticket which did not need to be exchanged for travel).<ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1936 SVR Forum shareholders' Passes thread]</ref> The following is an incomplete record:
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
!Year !! Number of passengers!! Reference !! Notes
 +
|-
 +
| 2008 || 7,596 || <ref>SVR(H) published accounts</ref> ||
 +
|-
 +
| 2009 || 5,511|| <ref name="ASG1 ">[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3110&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90 'Autumn Steam Gala 2014', SVR Online thread]</ref> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2010 || 5.775|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2011 || 6,500|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2012 || 6,318|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2013 || 6,030|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2014 || 5,901|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2015 || 7,300|| <ref>[https://forum.svr-online.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3343&start=105 'Autumn Steam Gala 2015', SVR Online forum thread]</ref> || Over the Preview day and three days of Gala
 +
|-
 +
| 2016 || n/a|| || Replaced by 'Pacific Power' event.
 +
|-
 +
| 2017 || 5,300|| <ref>SVR News 200</ref> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2018 || 6,335|| <ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/epnovember18 Express Points November 2018]</ref> || Over the Preview day and three days of Gala 
 +
|-
 +
| 2019 || 5,850 || <ref>NBI</ref> ||
 +
|-
 +
| 2020 || n/a  ||  ||  Event cancelled 
 +
|-
 +
|}
 
   
 
   
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
[[Steam Locomotives visiting the SVR for galas]]
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*[[Steam Locomotives visiting the SVR for galas]]
 +
*[[SVR Passenger numbers]]
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
<references />
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Featured articles]]

Revision as of 17:24, 19 August 2021

2017 Autumn Steam Gala guest GERGreat Eastern Railway 564 at Arley
For many enthusiasts, the Autumn Steam Gala is the highlight of the SVRSevern Valley Railway year involving operating around the clock for the whole weekend and having the presence of visiting locomotives. The first Autumn Steam Galas were referred to as "Enthusiasts' Days" or "Enthusiasts' Weekends"; these normally featured home locomotives only. In the 1980s, visiting locomotives began to appear and have done so for each year the Gala has run since 1990.

The event has also extended in duration and now typically incorporates a 'Preview day' on the preceding Thursday to the standard timetable but with visiting locomotives, and three days of Gala from Friday to Sunday inclusive with overnight running on the Friday and Saturday nights. One popular operation is the running of a "Breakfast train" using the Severn Valley Venturer stock. Other common features include demonstration freight trains and shorter local, part-line services.

From time to time visiting locomotives are utilised for regular passenger services in the days after the gala. They were also often used for private photographic charters until the practice was ended in 2021.

Notable events

  • 1975 First Enthusiasts Day, with 11 locomotives in steam.[1]
  • 1976 First Enthusiasts Weekend.
  • 1980 LMS Stanier Jubilee 45690 Leander participated before undergoing a contract boiler overhaul.
  • 1984 First guest locomotive at an Autumn Steam Gala (5051 "Drysllwyn Castle")
  • 1989 The "Autumn Steam Spectacular" was the last Autumn Steam Gala featuring home locomotives only.[2]
  • 1993 First overnight running took place.
  • 1998 First three day gala.
  • 2000 The Autumn Steam Gala was cancelled due to the boiler crisis.
  • 2007 The Autumn Steam Gala took place despite the storm damage which closed the line north of Bewdley. The Gala included services running on the main line to Birmingham Snow Hill as well as between Kidderminster and Bewdley, the only unaffected section of the SVRSevern Valley Railway.
  • 2016 The Autumn Steam Gala was replaced by the 'Pacific Power' event featuring visiting locomotives LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 A3 PacificLocomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel configuration No. 60103 'Flying Scotsman' and LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Peppercorn A1 PacificLocomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel configuration No. 60163 'Tornado'.
  • 2020 The Autumn Steam Gala was cancelled due to the 2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
  • 2021 First announced as a fixed itinerary 'excursion' service under COVID-19 restrictions, it reverted to a more traditional operation with passengers able to choose their itineraries. The Railway, however, continued to offer a small number of private bookable compartments, where passengers were guaranteed exclusive use of a compartment on a single train throughout the day. To assist with social distancing, the number of tickets available each day was limited.

Passenger numbers

From time-to-time the SVRSevern Valley Railway publishes the number of Gala passengers, according to the method of counting these which has varied over time (for example, since 2010 documents sent to shareholders became valid as a ticket which did not need to be exchanged for travel).[3] The following is an incomplete record:

Year Number of passengers Reference Notes
2008 7,596 [4]
2009 5,511 [5]
2010 5.775 [5]
2011 6,500 [5]
2012 6,318 [5]
2013 6,030 [5]
2014 5,901 [5]
2015 7,300 [6] Over the Preview day and three days of Gala
2016 n/a Replaced by 'PacificLocomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel configuration Power' event.
2017 5,300 [7]
2018 6,335 [8] Over the Preview day and three days of Gala
2019 5,850 [9]
2020 n/a Event cancelled

See also

References

  1. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 37
  2. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 94
  3. SVR Forum shareholders' Passes thread
  4. SVRSevern Valley Railway(H) published accounts
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 'Autumn Steam Gala 2014', SVR Online thread
  6. 'Autumn Steam Gala 2015', SVR Online forum thread
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 200
  8. Express Points November 2018
  9. NBINotice Board Issue. The SVR's on-line method of circulating information to working members.