If you don’t already known, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway will be hosting their annual “Cotswold Festival of Steam” this upcoming bank holiday weekend, Saturday 25th to Monday 27th of May.

‘Northern Soul’

With two of the three guest engines being engines based up North, the railway thought the name Northern Soul would be fitting this year.

The visiting locomotives are Mackintosh ‘Caley’ 0-4-4 tank No.419 in Perth Blue, based on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, and LNER B1 No.1264 in Lined Black with ‘LNER’ on the tender sides, based on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

The gala will be the first time both engines have hauled trains over GWSR metal. A popular returning guest from last year, Great Western Railway 6000 ‘King’ Class No.6023 “King Edward II”, based at Didcot Railway Centre, is the third guest engine.

On top of the guest locomotives, the GWSR home fleet will be running too. This includes GWR 2800 class No.2807, 4200 class No.4270, 6959 ‘Modified Hall’ class No.7903 “Foremarke Hall”, 7800 ‘Manor’ class No.7820 “Dinmore Manor” and SR Rebuilt Merchant Navy No.35006 “Peninsular & Oriental SN Co”.

Activities

• Driver for a Ten – Subject to availability, lucky visitors may get the chance to driver engines waiting at Cheltenham Racecourse Station
• North Gloucestershire Narrow Gauge Railway at Toddington Station
• Trade Stands – From a number of different societies
• Carriage & Wagon Works at Winchcombe Station

For more information or to book your tickets in advance online, please visit the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway‘s website here

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