The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway will host its annual Summer Heritage Diesel Gala between Friday 7 and Sunday 9 July this year. The Gala is the flagship event for the railway’s resident diesel locomotive fleet, and the Railway will also confirm a visiting locomotive for the weekend event in due course.

Following a successful Gala last year, this year’s the three-day diesel spectacular offers visitors and enthusiasts of all ages the chance to experience the sights, sounds and smells of classic heritage diesel traction from the heyday of British Rail.

Trips will take passengers through the beautiful Cotswold countryside, featuring the railway’s iconic structures of Stanway Viaduct and Greet Tunnel, with stops at picturesque period stations.

During the Gala, up to ten trains will operate each day between Broadway and Cheltenham Racecourse, with additional trains running between Toddington and Cheltenham Racecourse.

A full 28-mile round trip can be experienced on most services. Passing loops at Toddington, Winchcombe and Toddington will allow a 45-minute service all day.

At Toddington, the diesel locomotive shed will be open to visitors offering the chance to see ongoing restoration and maintenance projects, including 1959-built Class 26 No. D5343 and Class 20 No. 20228 which are currently undergoing overhaul.

Subject to availability, the following home traction will be in service operating trains:

• Class 20 No. 20137
• Class 24 No. 5081
• Class 37 No’s 37215 & D6948
• Class 45 No. 45149
• Class 47 No’s 47105 & 47376
• Class 117 No. L425

The following home traction will be on static display:

• Class 20 No. 20228
• Class 26 No. D5343
• Class 122 No. W55003

Diesel traction came to the fore with the end of steam during the mid-1960s, by which time many of the railway’s fleet had entered service hauling trains all across the country.

Diesel and electric traction could be found on a multitude of services, from fast expresses on the East Coast and West Coast Mainlines, inter-city services, cross-country workings and heavy freight operations, as well as the popular summer holiday excursions to seaside resorts, which were often hauled by freight locomotives not normally used on passenger services.

When steam ended in the Western Region (WR) in 1965, the Honeybourne to Cheltenham route continued to see freight and passenger traffic (albeit at a declining rate and predominately for diversions) until a final train to the Cheltenham Gold Cup, operated on 14 March 1976, hauled by a Brush Type 4 (Class 47) diesel.

Freight traffic came to a sudden end during the same year with the derailment of a Toton to Severn Tunnel Junction coal train at Winchcombe hauled by a class 45 locomotive, close to the B4632 bridge, causing considerable damage to the track.

During the 1960s and 1970s, diesel workings on the route included Classes 20, 25, 35, 37, 40, 45, 46 and 47.

With many of the Railway’s resident diesel locomotive fleet now approaching sixty years old (5081, 37215, 45149 and 47105 are either sixty years old or over), the summer diesel festival is an event not to be missed.

The weekend will be a celebration of these locomotives, which came from a very different time in our railway history, a time of great change, technological and mechanical advancement, and modernisation for British Rail.

The Railway has recently been working to promote itself to the local community, businesses and politicians, in order to build working relationships.

Tickets for the summer diesel gala will be available to purchase online, via the GWSR website, from Monday 24 April 2023.

Discounts are available for tickets purchased online, with one-day adult tickets from £28.

Multi-day rover tickets offering substantial savings are also available, but must be booked in advance.

Tickets can also be purchased on the day, with adult tickets costing £30.