The steam locomotive stars of the upcoming ‘Give My Regards To Broadway’ themed Cotswold Festival of Steam at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway have begun to arrive at Toddington ahead of the special weekend.

The annual festival will be taking place over the May Bank Holiday Weekend and is set to be the biggest ever!

Eight locomotives* altogether will be in steam over the long weekend and will be working an intensive timetable, with some trains being double-headed by two locomotives.

Broadway Station has been included in this year’s event, which is being sponsored by Mortons Media – which publishes the Railway Magazine and Heritage Railway Magazine.

It all kicks off at 9 am at Toddington while the first departures of the weekend depart from Cheltenham Racecourse at 9:20, and from Broadway at 09:55.

Visiting locomotives for the special weekend are now confirmed to be:

• GWR ‘King’ No.6023 ‘King Edward II’ (BR Blue) – from the Didcot Railway Centre
• BR ‘Britannia’ No.70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ (BR Green) – from the Great Central Railway / National Railway Museum
• USATC S160 No.5197 (USATC Black) – from the Churnet Valley Railway
• GWR ‘Pannier’ No. 6430 (BR Green) – from the Llangollen Railway

These visiting locomotives will be joining the home fleet for the event:

• SR ‘Merchant Navy Class’ No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental SN Co’ (BR Green)
• GWR ‘Hall’ No. 7903 ‘Foremarke Hall’ (BR Green)
• GWR ‘Manor’ No.7820 ‘Dinmore Manor’ (BR Black)
• GWR 28XX No.2807

What did the officials say?

Ian Crowder, spokesman for the railway and a member of the organising committee says:

“The stage is set for our biggest ever Cotswold Festival of Steam.

“This will be quite a show. Not only does the event take in our brand new Broadway station – hence the theme, ‘Give my regards to Broadway’, but it marks the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on British Railways.

“We are delighted that we have been able to attract four fantastic star performers of the railway world – three of which have never been to our line before. And it’s going to be quite a show as it includes a ‘King’, ‘Cromwell’ and an Yank!

“The GWSR is going all-out to put on a magnificent perfomance that does justice to the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on British Railways as well as really put our new station at Broadway firmly on the map.

“If you have even the slightest interest in steam then this is the ‘must go to’ event of the year!”

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