Kickstart the New Year with our Annual Winter Steam Gala! Running from 22–25 January, this action-packed four-day event features an intensive timetable of both passenger and goods trains, plus a line-up of special guest locomotives.
Joining a strong supporting cast from the GCR home fleet and steaming through the frosty Charnwood countryside will be three visiting locos:
Battle of Britain class locomotive No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ will give visitors the chance to see a classic example of Oliver Bulleid’s Light Pacific design in action. Offering the opportunity to witness a three-cylinder Bulleid Pacific at work on a heritage railway, combining line-side spectacle with close-up interest in one of Britain’s most individual steam locomotive designs.
BR 9F No. 92134 will join us and be renumbered for the occasion as 92043 to mark a significant local anniversary. Join us for a run behind the only single-chimney 9F on the UK’s only double-track heritage main line, steaming through the frosty Charnwood countryside — a brilliant way to start the year.
Last but by no means least, we’ll be joined by 3809/18 Hunslet “Austerity”. The 1945-built loco carried out its extensive overhaul here at the Great Central Railway in 2008 and returned to service on the GCR in 2024, and it is now returning to bring in the first steam gala of 2026!
No. 34072
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No. 34072 257 Squadron
No. 3809
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Austerity 3809/18
No. 92134
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BR 9F No. 92134
Power Output
~300 bhp total from two engines
Engine
Two BUT (AEC or Leyland) 150 bhp each
Max Speed
~70 mph
Our goods trains will be a big part of the Winter Steam Gala, with the Windcutter running throughout the event.
The 9Fs were well known for hauling Windcutters on the Great Central, so seeing this on our double-track main line is as close as you’ll get to stepping back in time. It’s a great chance to enjoy the railway just as it once was. We’ll also have other goods workings running across the four days, adding plenty of variety to the timetable.
Make a stop at our Quorn and Woodhouse station and head to our Tin Shed Bar, offering an excellent range of cask ales and ciders; also, tea, coffee, soft drinks and light refreshments to keep you going throughout the day.
Butler-Henderson Cafe and Ellis Tearoom will be open during the Gala. Enjoy a range of refreshments including hot and cold food and light refreshments at the GCR’s preserved period cafes.
The Winter Steam Gala will feature an intensive timetable of steam-hauled services, allowing visitors to experience freight and passenger operations as they would have appeared during the final years of British steam.
Join us on Loughborough Central station platform and enjoy a delicious BBQ throughout the event. The Railway’s BBQ will be open on all four days, from 9am on Thursday and from 8am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Located at the end of the Loughborough platform, perfect for grabbing a bite between trains.
Heritage shuttle buses will run from Loughborough Midland (EMR) station to Lovatt House, near Loughborough Central station on the Friday and Saturday of the Winter Gala, but not on the Thursday or Sunday. These buses are free of charge and will run from approx. 8.30am until 11am and from 3 pm to 5pm. A full timetable will be included here when finalised.
Unfortunately, due to the heritage nature of the vehicles being used, they are not suitable for less mobile passengers as they so not have step-free access. Thanks to Leicester Transport Heritage Trust for providing this service
Battle of Britain class locomotive no. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ will give visitors the chance to see a classic example of Oliver Bulleid’s Light Pacific design in action. Built in 1947, it is part of the Battle of Britain subclass, developed by the Southern Railway to provide powerful express passenger engines for routes with tighter loading limits. Similar to the West Country locomotives, these engines are distinguished by their RAF squadron names and crests, giving each one a distinctive identity.
From an engineering standpoint, 257 Squadron showcases Bulleid’s most innovative thinking, with air-smoothed casing, welded construction, and his unconventional chain-driven valve gear, all intended to modernise steam locomotive practice after the war. In service, the Light Pacifics became known for their lively performance on fast passenger trains, and preservation has helped reappraise their capabilities.
Its visit offers the chance to see a three-cylinder Bulleid Pacific at work on a heritage railway, combining line-side spectacle with close-up interest in one of Britain’s most individual steam locomotive designs.
Appearing with thanks to Swanage Railway and Southern Locomotives Limited (SLL).
The 1945-built loco, Austerity 3809/18, carried out its extensive overhaul here at the Great Central Railway in 2008 and returned to service on the GCR in 2024, and it is now returning to bring in the first steam gala of 2026!
The loco returns to us having been on hire to the North Norfolk Railway for a period, with thanks to Locomotive Maintenance Services Ltd – so make sure you join us to give it a warm welcome back.
BR 9F No. 92134 will be joining us, renumbered for the occasion as 92043 to mark a significant local anniversary.
The original No. 90343 was closely associated with Annesley, the Great Central Railway’s principal locomotive depot in Nottinghamshire. It was completed as a new loco in January 1955, before being transferred to Annesley in February 1957. From there she worked extensively on freight services before becoming one of the final locomotives to leave Annesley when the depot closed in January 1966. At that stage it was the longest serving class 9F class locomotive at Annesley, having completed very nearly nine years.
The original No. 92043 was closely associated with Annesley, the Great Central Railway’s principal locomotive depot in Nottinghamshire. Built in the mid-1950s, the engine worked extensively on freight services before becoming one of the final locomotives to leave Annesley when the depot closed in January 1966.
Annesley had been run down during 1965 following the withdrawal of Great Central through freight services, and its closure early the following year marked the end of steam-era operations at one of the route’s most important sites. No. 90343 departed for Burton shed in mid-January 1966, bringing Annesley’s long working life to a close.
The Winter Steam Gala takes place sixty years after that final departure and as 9Fs were shedded at Annersley and with 92134 being the only surviving single-chimney 9F surviving into preservation, it’s totally appropriate that it should appear at GCR!
Renumbering No. 92134 as No. 92043 during the event offers visitors a simple way to connect the locomotive, they see in action today with the history of the railway it is running on.
GCR wishes to thank the Self family as the loco’s owners, and North Yorkshire Moors Railway as its custodian, for their loan of the loco and for kindly agreeing to its renumbering.
