Our annual diesel gala on Saturday 29th August was a huge amount of fun for all our passengers (and the hard-working volunteers too). The rain did not dampen spirits, with a number of ‘firsts’ for us, and for preservation in general.
Cab rides in the station with 124 at the start of the day proved very popular, and the now traditional series of run-pasts on the North Line saw the VMT track machine followed by a GM loco pair of 146+190 working in multiple on a loaded ballast train, and finally a real thrash-past by 80 class power car 90 and driving trailer 749
Passenger runs were our 450 class railcar 458, then a GM festival of 124, 124+146 and 146+190, the first time pairs of small GM locos have appeared on a passenger train in preservation here. It was also the first time 190, the last surviving 181 Class GM, had worked a passenger train in preservation in general.
Next year, we will try to plan not to have any rain…
