fbpx

Diesel Gala – 1st to 3rd September 2023

Our September Diesel Gala runs from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd September 2023.

Clock up some miles with an intensive timetable over our THREE DAY Gala.

This year we are offering a two day and three day rover ticket that you can BUY ONLINE ONLY  to save you a few £££s.

 

 

Visiting Locomotives:

Class 24 D5054 

Appearing with thanks to the East Lancashire Railway.

BR Derby Lightweight Railcar - 'Iris'

Appearing with thanks to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
Saturday and Sunday only!

 Our Home Diesel Fleet:

Class 37 37714 Built by English Electric in 1961. Converted to 37/7 in 1998. Repainted to BR Railfreight Grey (Metals Sector) livery. Class 37 D6700 Built by English Electric in 1960. Converted to 37/3. Repainted to BR Green with Yellow Panels. On loan from NRM in York

Class 33 D6535 Built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in 1960. Withdrawn in 1998. Arrived at the GCR in 2005

BR Class 45 D123“Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry” Built at Crewe in 1961. Withdrawn 1987. Arrived at the GCR in 1998
Class 50 50017 “Royal Oak” Built by English Electric in 1968. Withdrawn in 1991. Arrived at the GCR in in February 2019 Class 101 Built by Metropolitan Cammell in Birmingham in the 1950s. Our British Railways green set (vehicle numbers 50321 & 51427) will be star at this event. Friday only!

 

Catering

Our Griddle Car will be open and serving up some delicious meals over the weekend including our famous all day breakfast! This will operate in the set marked 'A' on the timetable.

Evening meals will be available on the Saturday Evening BeerEx trains. These can be ordered on the day from the Griddle Car.

A choice of:

  • Steak Pie
  • Chicken and Mushroom Pie
  • Cheese and Onion Pasty (V)

All served with mash potatoes, peas and gravy. Priced at £10

Loughborough Station Refreshment Room and Butler Henderson Cafe at Quorn  will also be open between 10am and 4pm.

Feeling Thirsty?

On the Griddle Car (contained within set A), or on our Luxury first class Lounge Car contained within set B, you'll be able to enjoy a selection of real ales, ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks aboard the train!

There will also be a selection of up to five ales from local breweries available from the bar located in the End Waiting Room at Loughborough Central.

Beer List:
From the Loughborough Central waiting room: Charnwood Brewery (Vixen & Hello Sunshine); Nottingham Brewery (Legend Bitter, Rock Mild & Bullion)
On-train bars: Nottingham Brewery (Extra Pale Ale, Rock Bitter, Foundry Mild); Charnwood Brewery (Steam Train)

All just £4.00 per pint for ale and £4.50 per pint for ciders

A selection of cask ciders will also be available.

All are subject to availability 

Test Car 2

Test Car 2 was used by British Rail for slip/brake testing from 1974 to 2008 based at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby. After withdrawal the coach arrived at the GCR in 2016 and has since been restored by the Quorn Wagon & Wagon group as an exhibit to show how and why BR tested new freight wagons.
We will be welcoming visitors for guided tours of this unique piece of BR history during the gala at Quorn & Woodhouse station.

Timetables (V1.1 revised 30-08-23)

Swap Meet:

Sunday also sees the famous Great Central Swap Meet at Quorn and Woodhouse Station - more details here: https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/quorn-swap-meet/

Fares:

Adult Child (aged 3-15; under 3 is free)
Day runabout £27.00

(£24.50 online)

“Kids for £1”  (for up to 3 accompanied children)Additional children: £14.00 each
Two consecutive days - runabout £47.00 (online only) - not available at booking offices “Kids for £2”  (for up to 3 accompanied children)
All Three days - runabout £69.00 (online only) - not available at booking offices “Kids for £3”  (for up to 3 accompanied children)
Day runabout after 2.30pm £22.00 “Kids for £1”  (for up to 3 accompanied children)Additional children: £12.00 each
Single / return Short Hop Single and Return tickets are not available at this special event
Family runabout Family tickets are not available.  Kids travel for £1.00.Please see above
Privilege runabout

see note 1

£20.00

(£18.00 online)

“Kids for £1”     £1.00(for up to 3 accompanied children)

Additional children: £10.00 each

Student / Disabled

see notes 2 & 3

£22.00

(£20.00 online)

Dog/Cycle £3.00
Platform Ticket – Quorn & Woodhouse £3.00
Platform Ticket – Rothley £3.00
Platform Ticket – Leicester North £3.00
Platform Ticket – Loughborough £4.00

Fare Table - Notes:

  1. Privilege rates at this event apply to:
  • FoGCML members with a valid membership card
  • ‘HRA Privilege’ Pass holders for one or two persons depending on what is stated on card.
  • Working members of other railways with which we have a “reciprocal travel agreement” (see list), upon production of membership card / work permit.
  • Holders of Train Operating Company and ex-British Rail staff passes.
  1. Registered disabled visitors pay this rate. An accompanying registered carer is offered a free complimentary fare.
  2. Students may travel at this rate on production of a valid Student ID
  3. There is no concessionary rate for senior citizens.

Sign up to out Rail Mail newsletter, be in the know!

Your Privacy
We take your privacy and data security very seriously and we respect your privacy and data protection rights.
Our Privacy Notice can be viewed here.

Subscribe to receive "RailMail"





Our next running day

This Weekend

Two steam locomotives and a heritage Diesel Railcar are operating this weekend.

This Weekend

Our appeals




Reunification appeal - Reuniting the two halves of the Great Central Railway

Special Events

This is a selection of our special events, to see the full list, click here

View our official Facebook page View our official Twitter page

Subscribe to our newsletter