Difference between revisions of "Autumn Steam Gala"

(2016 event replaced by Pacific Power)
 
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For 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 overnight running and having the presence of visiting locomotives.
  
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 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 also extended in duration and typically runs over four days Thursday to Sunday inclusive, with overnight running on the Friday and Saturday nights. Other common features include demonstration freight trains and shorter local, part-line services. One popular operation in previous years was the running of a "Breakfast train" using the [[Severn Valley Venturer]] stock. 
 +
 
 +
From time to time visiting locomotives are utilised for regular passenger services in the days after the gala. They are also sometimes used for private photographic charters.
 +
 
 +
==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.
 +
*'''2022''' There was evening, but not overnight, running. The reason given was to conserve coal supplies.
 +
*'''2023''' Thursday Preview Day plus Friday to Sunday, with the return of overnight running on the Friday and Saturday night.
 +
 
 +
==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:
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
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!Year !! Number of passengers!! Reference !! Notes
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|-
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| 2008 ||style="text-align:right;" |  7,596 || <ref>SVR(H) published accounts</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2009 ||style="text-align:right;" |  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> || 
 +
|-
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| 2010 || style="text-align:right;" |  5.775|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
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| 2011 ||style="text-align:right;" |  6,500|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
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| 2012 ||style="text-align:right;" |  6,318|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
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| 2013 ||style="text-align:right;" |  6,030|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
 +
| 2014 || style="text-align:right;" |  5,901|| <ref name="ASG1"/> || 
 +
|-
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| 2015 || style="text-align:right;" |  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
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|-
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| 2016 ||style="text-align:right;" |  n/a|| || Replaced by 'Pacific Power' event.
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|-
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| 2017 ||style="text-align:right;" |  5,300|| <ref>SVR News 200</ref> || 
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|-
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| 2018 || style="text-align:right;" |  6,335|| <ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/epnovember18 Express Points November 2018]</ref> || Over the Preview day and three days of Gala 
 +
|-
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| 2019 || style="text-align:right;" |  5,850 || <ref>NBI</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2020 || style="text-align:right;" |  n/a  ||  ||  Event cancelled 
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|-
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| 2021 ||  ||  ||   
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|-
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| 2022 || style="text-align:right;" |  >5,500  ||  <ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bloct22 Branch Lines October 2022]</ref> ||
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|-
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| 2023 || style="text-align:right;" |  5,156  ||  ||
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|-
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|}
  
The return of the flagship Autumn Steam Fala 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>
 
 
 
==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]]
 +
[[Category: Special events]]

Latest revision as of 15:16, 27 September 2023

2017 Autumn Steam Gala guest GER 564 at Arley
For many enthusiasts, the Autumn Steam Gala is the highlight of the SVR year, involving overnight running 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 also extended in duration and typically runs over four days Thursday to Sunday inclusive, with overnight running on the Friday and Saturday nights. Other common features include demonstration freight trains and shorter local, part-line services. One popular operation in previous years was the running of a "Breakfast train" using the Severn Valley Venturer stock.

From time to time visiting locomotives are utilised for regular passenger services in the days after the gala. They are also sometimes used for private photographic charters.

Contents

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 SVR.
  • 2016 The Autumn Steam Gala was replaced by the '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.
  • 2022 There was evening, but not overnight, running. The reason given was to conserve coal supplies.
  • 2023 Thursday Preview Day plus Friday to Sunday, with the return of overnight running on the Friday and Saturday night.

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).[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 'Pacific 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
2021
2022 >5,500 [10]
2023 5,156

See also

References

SVR Wiki

Main Page

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Welcome to the Severn Valley Railway Wiki

From this week's featured article
Trimpley Reservoir can be seen to the west of the line between Bewdley and Arley. The reservoir, which is managed by Severn Trent Water, was opened in 1968 and covers 29 acres. It is open to the public and is used by the Trimpley Sailing Club, while other activities include angling, wildlife watching and walking. (Full article...)
Schematic Map of the SVRSevern Valley Railway
BridgnorthEardingtonHampton LoadeCountry Park HaltHighleyThe Engine HouseArleyVictoria BridgeNorthwood HaltWyre Forest LineBewdleyStourport BranchBewdley TunnelConnection to Network RailKidderminsterMaps#Schematic maps of the pre-closure SVRMapandlinks.png
Click on the map for a
larger interactive version

For 101 years between 1862 and 1963, the Severn Valley Railway formed part of the national railway network, running for 40 miles between Hartlebury and Shrewsbury. Established as a separate company, it was mainly operated by the Great Western Railway (GWRGreat Western Railway) and later by British Railways (BRBritish Rail or British Railways).

The present day Severn Valley Railway (SVRSevern Valley Railway) was established in 1965 to preserve part of the line as a heritage railway. Today it has six stations and two halts and runs for 16 miles along the Severn Valley between Bridgnorth in Shropshire and Kidderminster in Worcestershire, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route. Operations involve a mixture of steam and heritage diesel-hauled services.

This unofficial website is a project aimed to collect information and record events relating to the SVRSevern Valley Railway, both past and present.

For timetables, fare information, and news about special events, please visit the SVR Official Website. Other news and information of interest to members, shareholders and enthusiasts can be found on SVRLive.

In April 2023 the SVRSevern Valley Railway announced the launch of a Survival Fund to enable it to overcome the current financial crisis and implement longer-term plans for its future. Information and details of how to donate may be found on the SVRSevern Valley Railway's Survival Fund page.

Categories of article

History of the Severn Valley Railway

Current events on the SVRSevern Valley Railway

Information about the SVRSevern Valley Railway

Miscellaneous


Query Corner

Unsurprisingly, there are a large number of questions about the SVRSevern Valley Railway, both in pre-preservation days and for a number of historical items since then. Take a visit down to Query Corner to see if you have a recollection relating to some long forgotten event, or know of a reliable source (maybe an early edition of the SVR News?) that might have the information we need!

Adding to this Wiki

This site, or "wiki", is a collaborative effort, and anyone who has any knowledge relating to the SVRSevern Valley Railway should feel free to contribute. Once you have created a user account and logged in, you can modify any page by clicking the "Edit" button in the top right hand corner. For some tips on how to format pages, and some guidelines on how to make this wiki accessible can be found on Tips for contributing to the SVR Wiki.

Alternatively, if you don't feel confident editing this Wiki (although there is no reason you shouldn't!!), each article also has a "Discussion" page, which can be accessed by clicking the relevant button in the top left hand corner. This allows you to make additions, suggestions, or corrections to a page without making any change to the article itself.


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