Next month, for the first time since the pandemic, trains will run between the Great Central Railway (Nottingham)’s base at Ruddington and the former Great Central Railway main line.

Trains will be running on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th of September as part of the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre’s Road, Rail and Ale festival, which features local real ales and vintage buses and locomotives.

The event is also a joint celebration with the Great Central Railway Diesel Gala in Leicestershire and will see diesel-hauled shuttles operating along the branch between the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre and 50 Steps Bridge.

Four years of work that included lengthy repairs, maintenance, and volunteer training, will be celebrated with a Class 08 locomotive and carriages operating an hourly return shuttle service of around a mile between the platform at Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre and 50 Steps Bridge, close to Asher Lane.

’50 Steps’ is the site of the junction where trains will join the Great Central Main Line and run towards Loughborough once the truncated parts of the line have been reconnected.

Class 08 No. 08694 has been chosen as the locomotive to haul the first trains. It was originally allocated to Annesley shed in Nottinghamshire on the original Great Central route, and has been named after the shed to honour its connection with the Great Central.

Although the two halves of the Great Central are not yet connected, they are joining forces again for this weekend, with the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire hosting a diesel gala, from where enthusiasts can take a vintage bus from Quorn and Woodhouse station to Ruddington, to travel on the reopening services and enjoy the Rail, Road and Ale festival.

Tickets for the diesel gala in Leicestershire include admission to the Nottingham festival, the vintage bus service, and a train ride at Ruddington, and are available at www.gcrailway.co.uk..

On both days, tickets will also be available at the Ruddington Station ticket office that also cover the Leicestershire events. Ruddington station platform is at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in Ruschliffe Country Park at NG11 6JS.

Further information about the Road, Rail and Ale festival is online at www.gcrn.co.uk.

This is a huge moment for us. Running trains is something we’re excited about as well as visitors. It will add another attraction to the busy Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre and it’s a prelude to running trains along the full length of the Great Central Railway in Nottinghamshire. It’s taken some time and a lot of effort to get to this point so we’d like to thank everyone for their support.

As we move towards reunifying the two halves of the Great Central Railway, creating an eighteen mile heritage line across the East Midlands, this combined celebration gala is another big step forward, as the two lines work closely together.

For the first time in a long while, we look forward to welcoming rail passengers to Ruddington!

Andy Fillingham of Great Central Railway (Nottingham)