Great Western Society
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‘B1’ and ‘Caley’ tank add soul to Gloucs-Warks steam festival
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CLOSE to 5,000 passengers travelled on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s trains during the three-day Cotswold Festival of Steam on May 25-17, sponsored by The RM. The successful event, which featured eight locomotives in steam, including three visitors, proved to be very profitable for the railway, attracting more visitors than in 2017, although not quite as…
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Didcot’s ‘Saint’ unveiled in full Georgian finery
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THE Great Western Society’s re-creation of a Churchward ‘Saint’ 4-6-0 – No. 2999 Lady of Legend – is officially complete. The milestone has been achieved 45 years after donor locomotive No. 4942 Maindy Hall was acquired from Barry Scrapyard in 1974. The ‘Saint’ made its public debut at Didcot, albeit cold and in unlined black, in November…
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Didcot formally launches ‘Saint’ Lady of Legend
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THE Great Western Society (GWS) marked the completion of its re-created Churchward ‘Saint’ in early April with a series of special commemorative events at Didcot Railway Centre. Supporters of the project were invited to a preview day on April 3 to see No. 2999 Lady of Legend in steam, with the opportunity to become among…
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Celebrity launch for Lady of Legend
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TV presenter and former member of the British Railways Board Prue Leith is to launch the Great Western Society’s new Churchward Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend at Didcot Railway Centre at 11am on Friday, April 5. The event will mark the start of three steaming days at the centre. Prue was a judge…
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Didcot’s diesel shunter clocks up 40 years’ service
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A SMALL celebration was held on December 29 to mark the 40th anniversary of Hunslet 5238 of 1957 – a 264bhp 0-6-0DM, now known as No. DL 26 – arriving at the Didcot Railway Centre. A cake was cut by former Great Western Society locomotive manager Ron Head, who had arranged the purchase of the locomotive. He…
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New chairman for the Great Western Society
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RICHARD Preston has been welcomed as the new chairman of the Great Western Society. At its board meeting on January 27, he replaced Richard Croucher, who retired as chairman and a director after 18 years. Richard Preston has been active in railway preservation since 1968 – both at Didcot Railway Centre, where he was locomotive…
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County of Montgomery group aiming for £40,000 with driving wheels appeal
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THE Churchward County Trust (CCT) is hoping to build on the success of its first year by launching a new ‘Forty 4-4-0s Club’ to raise the £40,000 required to cast the four coupled wheels for new-build GWR 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery. All the platework required to assemble the main frames is cut and ready…
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Blue ‘King’ confirmed for Cotswold Festival of Steam
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THE Great Western Society’s Collett 4-6-0 King Edward II will return to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway later this spring to take part in the line’s Cotswold Festival of Steam on May 25-27. It will be the second visit by Didcot-based No. 6023 to the ‘Gloucs-Warks’ in as many years, having starred at the same event last…
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Smokebox completed for Hawksworth ‘County’
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THE ‘face’ of a GWR Hawksworth ‘County’ 4-6-0 will soon be seen for the first time since 1964 as the Great Western Society’s (GWS) 1014 County Project approaches another milestone in its construction of new-build No. 1014 County of Glamorgan. Goodman Metal Works, in Nottingham, recently completed the smokebox and smokebox saddle for No. 1014,…
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April launch date for Didcot’s ‘Saint’ No. 2999
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RE-CREATED GWR ‘Saint’ No. 2999 Lady of Legend will be officially launched at Didcot Railway Centre during a celebratory three-day event on April 5-7. The Churchward 4-6-0 has taken the Great Western Society (GWS) more than 14 years to complete. No. 2999 made its public debut in unlined black last November, but the April weekend will provide…
