Railfest -'The Rail Event of the decade'- 7/06/12
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Posted on: 15th June 2012 Updated on: 16th June 2012 Railfest was billed by its promoters as the 'rail event of the decade', and, although not all events necessarily deserve the titles bestowed upon them, but with around 60 locomotives, preserved and still in service, steam, diesel and electric on almost every imaginable gauge and size - from diminutive 0-4-0ST's to racehorse Pacific 4-6-2s, displayed in the South Yard of the National Railway Museum,this one most certainly did. Railfest 2012 was in some ways a rather unusual event, marking the heritage and modern railway sectors coming together and celebrating their record breakers - from 'City of Truro and 'Mallard' to the Intercity 125 and Hitachi Javelin - an event to celebrate the past and look to the future of the railways as well. (Below: No:5972 'Olton Hall' rubs shoulders with the diesels)
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Photos - 26 high quality photographs Video (HD, 8:44) Key Information: Locomotives: 60+ including: No:503 'Flying Scotsman' No:4468 'Mallard' No:3717 'City of Truro' No:6229 'Duchess of Hamilton' No:5972 'Olton Hall' No:925 'Cheltenham' No:60163 'Tornado' FR No:20 Prices: £13 Adult (Pre-booked) Verdict: |
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In 2004 the first Railfest was held at the National Railway Museum's York site to mark the Bi-centenary of the railways in Britain. And like the first event, this year's Railfest offered a fabulous opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the railway record breakers - tying in nicely with the London Olympics this summer.
(Left FR No:4 'Palmerston' passes No:6229 'Duchess of Hamilton' running on specially laid 1foot 11 1/2 inch gauge track) Main AttractionsWe hardly need mention the main attractions - they seem obvious - where else is it possible to see so many locomotives, and such a variety, in one place? As well as the wealth of locomotives on static
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display, generally in light steam, there were also rides on a variety of gauges, including two standard gauge runs with newly re-tubed No:3717 'City of Truro' and Class 37 D6700 and diminutive 0-4-0ST ' Teddy' and the peculiar diesel locomotive called 'Victory'. Almost all the locomotives at Railfest held some record, whether it was the fastest, the first, the last of its class, the last, like 'Jubilee' 'Bahamas', to receive performance enhancing equipment under BR, or just plain 'interesting' and different.
For many, the main attraction was the sheer variety on offer, though - nowhere else, or at least now not for some time, will you be able to see so much on so many different gauges or 'cab' so many different engines - where else could you see 'City of Truro' and 'Palmerston' running side by side? That's not all though, there was also a marquee with a very good selection of stands ranging from heritage railways and model shops to book shops and locomotive owning groups - some of which were offering very good value and high quality products. Also in the marquee was the Yorkshire Gauge 1 Group's live steam layout which was captivating and very well detailed.
For many, the main attraction was the sheer variety on offer, though - nowhere else, or at least now not for some time, will you be able to see so much on so many different gauges or 'cab' so many different engines - where else could you see 'City of Truro' and 'Palmerston' running side by side? That's not all though, there was also a marquee with a very good selection of stands ranging from heritage railways and model shops to book shops and locomotive owning groups - some of which were offering very good value and high quality products. Also in the marquee was the Yorkshire Gauge 1 Group's live steam layout which was captivating and very well detailed.
Locomotives
Railfest brought together an astonishingly varied cast of locomotives; seemingly every class of locomotive with some record, however tenuous it might be, was there - from the oldest; Furness Railway No:20 and Ffestiniog Railway's No:4 'Palmerston' both of 1863, to the newest; A1 Pacific 4-6-2 No:60163 'Tornado', built at Doncaster and completed, eventually, in 2008.
However, record breaking didn't just mean speed, although the usual suspects in this field were represented; No:3717 'City of Truro' - happily up and running again to see out the end of its boiler ticket after a re-tube and running shuttle trains with Class 37 D6700 (a first, perhaps?) - No:503 (better known as No:4472) 'Flying Scotsman', holder of the first properly authenticated 100mph run,
However, record breaking didn't just mean speed, although the usual suspects in this field were represented; No:3717 'City of Truro' - happily up and running again to see out the end of its boiler ticket after a re-tube and running shuttle trains with Class 37 D6700 (a first, perhaps?) - No:503 (better known as No:4472) 'Flying Scotsman', holder of the first properly authenticated 100mph run,
although still not fully complete after a 7 year (and counting!) restoration. And, of course, the fastest steam locomotive of all - A4 No:4468 'Mallard' with the steam record of 126mph, set on 3rd July 1938 which still stands today. It was a comparatively rare opportunity to see the 1938 built machine out in the open - she spends the vast majority of her days in the NRM's Great Hall at York so it was good to see the 'A4' in some natural light; even if it was rather grey. The other steam speed record holder represented at Railfest was 'Mallard's classmate No:60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' which holds the Post-war speed record of 112mph.
(Right: Great Eastern thoroughbreds - No:4468 'Mallard' faces No:503 'Flying Scotsman' on 7th June 2012) Major among the non-speed steam record holders was the 'Mardy |
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Monster', a formidable 0-6-0ST of 1951, which is the most powerful industrial steam locomotive in the UK, but by all accounts deserved its name (Mardy is a slang word means awkward or uncooperative in some parts of England); there are stories of the Peckett engine refusing to steam and being problematic in other ways too! Staying with the Peckett theme brings us to one of the
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smallest locomotives at Railfest. Indeed, perhaps the smallest standard gauge steam locomotive ever - 0-4-0ST 'Teddy', which spent the event giving rides with a peculiar diesel called 'Victory', was built for the Ministry of Supply in 1941. It's name comes from the man who once owned it in preservation; the late Reverend ER 'Teddy' Boston, who ran the locomotive on his very own light railway - the Cadeby Light Railway. Rather appropriately, 'Teddy's works number is 2012! (Left: The diminutive 'Teddy' on a shuttle train at Railfest on 7th June 2012) Railfest also the meeting of two ex-London Transport locomotives - Metropolitan Railway electric BO-CO No:12 'Sarah Siddons' and Tyseley Locomotive Works' London Transport 0-6-0PT L.94 and the two locos were posed together for much of the event.
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Of course, with so many locomotives, its impossible to mention them all, but I am unable to end this section without mentioning the other gauges - for Railfest several new lines of different gauges were specially laid including a 600ft stretch of 1foot 11 1/2 inch gauge line for 0-4-0ST/tender loco No:4 'Palmerston' from the Ffestiniog to run on, covering 114miles (!) over the 9 day event. A section of 15 inch gauge track was also put down for the event which saw the Kirklees Light Railway's 0-4-0+0-4-0T 'Hawk' and the Ravensglass and Eskdale Railway's Atlantic 4-4-2 'Snyolda' (built 1912) topping and tailing a rake of coaches up and down a short stretch of line.
There was also a selection of modern traction on display including a First Great Western HST powercar, the HST prototype, one of South Eastern's Hitachi Javelin units, a Virgin class 57, DRS Class 20, GB Railfreight Class 66 and a range of Network Rail vehicles, to name but a few.
There was also a selection of modern traction on display including a First Great Western HST powercar, the HST prototype, one of South Eastern's Hitachi Javelin units, a Virgin class 57, DRS Class 20, GB Railfreight Class 66 and a range of Network Rail vehicles, to name but a few.
Visitor NumbersOnly visiting a nine day event for one day means we are not in a very good position to comment on the overall visitor numbers, but when we visited the event seemed relatively busy, although perhaps not quite as packed as you might have expected for the rail event of the decade, the number of visitors can be neatly summed up like this -there were still enough for their to seemingly be at least three in each picture! The shuttle trains mostly seemed to be well filled and there was a short queue most of the time for the main standard gauge ride behind Nos:3717 and D6700.(Right: This photo of newly overhauled SR 'Schools' class No:925 'Cheltenham' is the exception to my rule above!)
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Value for moneyFor all that it offered - a full day out with over 60 locomotives, sales stands, a gauge 1 layout, the opportunity to look round Britain's railway 'cathedral' and unmissable, unforgettable cameos - Railfest really did offer very good value for money, with an online pre-booked ticket for an adult (no concessions for older people) costing just £13. Add to that the fact that wrist band enabled you to go in and out of the Railfest site to look round the museum itself and get back in without paying and the sheer variety Railfest offers means this was a price you can't really argue with.
(Left: An overview of the Railfest site with No:3717 'City of Truro in the foreground) |
Conclusions
Rail event of the decade - definitely! Railfest was a superb experience, never likely to be repeated, that provided so much to be treasured and packed such a lot into what is really a very small site. Perhaps the best thing about Railfest was the way it catered for all tastes - it wasn't exclusively steam, but neither was it exclusively diesel or modern traction - it successfully showed that the heritage and modern railway sectors can mix and work together to put on a really top quality show.