Volume 8 Number 44 GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER November 27 2013 From the General Manager First, congratulations to the Mountsorrel Branch volunteers and the major milestone achieved last Saturday. This saw the first passenger carrying train travel onto the branch. While Steve Cramp, whose leadership has been immense throughout, will point out that there’s still work to be done, last Saturday was a real achievement and special thanks must go also to Andrew Higginson, Eric Smith and Steven Chapple for their efforts in ensuring that everything had been checked out for safety purposes, besides making the operational arrangements for the train. The end of this week will see the submission of the formal bid by GCR (together with National Railway Museum and Leicester City Council, our joint partners) to the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop the proposed museum at Leicester. This is another very significant stage and of course has taken many months of graft by Lili Tabiner to prepare, together with the Focus consultancy team, who have advised us on the bid. The next few days will see copies of our Main Line magazine landing on the doormats of Friends of GC Main Line members. This will contain news on our other mega project, the Bridge to the Future linking us to GCR Nottingham, including the all-important fundraising. Of course, for the most up to date information, on GCR do please visit our website and, especially for members, remember to look for all the extras on Main Line Xtra. Finally, a big thank you to all the volunteers who went to the NEC last weekend to represent GCR at the Warley Model Railway Exhibition. Not only did they succeed in raising GCR’s profile, but also in bucket rattling for Bridge to the Future with several hundred more pounds into the good cause. Richard Patching Receive the newsletter direct to your inbox! Subscribe at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCR-Announce or send a blank email to [email protected] Page 1 / 7 First Steam Hauled Passenger Train Runs Along The Mountsorrel Railway History was made last Saturday when the first steam hauled passenger train ran along the restored Mountsorrel Railway. The first train was a private charter for the volunteers who have worked to restore the railway and members of Railway Vehicle Preservation. There is still additional work to do before the line can open to general passengers. The train consisted of five carriages from the GCR's Pullman set with LMS 'Jinty' no. 47406 having the honour of hauling the historic first train. The volunteers working on the branch line have really pulled out all the stops over the last few weeks to get the line ready. Many at the GCR have also been working hard to have everything in place for the trains to run. At the inevitable risk of missing someone, thanks goes to Bill Ford, Richard Patching, Eric smith, Steven Chapple, Andy Higginson, Bill Devitt and the GCR's p-way team, plus the many others who assisted. This was an important step in the process of passing the line out for future passenger use, watch this space! A special thank you goes to James McIntosh and his catering team who did a fantastic job of serving up 126 four course meals in what were unusual circumstances. James and his team are a real credit to the GCR. For photos and videos of the run please see the Mountsorrel Railway website http://www.mountsorrelrailway.org.uk Steve Cramp Santa Steam Trains - 23rd November to 24th December Our award winning Santa trains are pure magic! ‘Yule’ love a trip on the Great Central Railway to meet Santa as he hands out presents for the children and festive refreshments for adults. Make your Christmas one to remember this year. Advance booking is essential: www.gcrailway.co.uk Northamptonshire Area Group 2013/14 Season Meetings Program Our meetings are held at Weston Favell Parish Hall starting at 7.30pm and finishing around 10.00pm. There is no admission charge but we make a collection to cover speaker’s expenses and hire of the hall. Any surplus funds will be used to support projects on the GCR. Refreshments will be available during the interval for a small charge. 4th December - Steaming through Britain + Heritage Traction – Graham Briggs of GB Productions returns with another selection of steam on the main line and heritage railways. 5th February - Nostalgia of Steam (streamlined engines from each of the Big 4) – Chris Pratt shares some of his extensive collection of archive 16mm cine film with us. Receive the newsletter direct to your inbox! Subscribe at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCR-Announce or send a blank email to [email protected] Page 2 / 7 5th March - 50 Years of Photography (1960's to 2013 !) – A photographic journey around the UK (and beyond) featuring BR steam, preserved steam on the main line and some heritage railways, colour slides taken and presented by GCR volunteer John Calton 2nd April – Bulleid’s Pacifics – Colour slides of these fascinating locomotives by Colin Boocock Details of the meetings will be available on the Great Central Railway’s website : www.gcrailway.co.uk or contact Tony Hemmings : Telephone 01536 514341. Weston Favell Parish Hall is located at the junction of Booth Lane South and the A4500 Wellingborough Road on the eastern side of Northampton. Post code NN3 3EP. There is ample car parking space available at the hall. Leicestershire Area Group 2013/4 Season Meetings Program All meetings are held at St Bartholomew’s church hall commencing at 7.30pm. Admission is free but a collection will be held. Refreshments are available. 13th December – Main Line Steam 2013 on Video - Karl Jauncey and Dave Richards, of “Preserved Steam on Video”, return again to present the very best of this year’s spectacular steam action on Britain’s main lines 10th January – Ten Years of UK Steam - An Audio Visual production by JJK Photography is introduced by John Bagshaw, showing pictures taken on our Heritage Railways, and on the main line, over the last decade. 14th February – The Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways - Accomplished photographer, Peter Johnson, illustrates the amazing progress achieved by these companies since his previous visit seven years ago. 14th March – The Railways of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire - David Amos illustrates the complex railway systems which developed around the Midlands coalfields, served by Locomotive Depots such as Annesley, Westhouses and Kirkby in Ashfield. Enquiries; John Calton, 0116 2676909, Keith Satterly, 0116 2530990, or Peter Hack 01509 261094 Great Central Railway Past & Present Exclusive Limited Subscriber Edition Book - a list of subscribers’ names will be printed inside the book. Dust jacketed hardback 238 x172mm, 128 pages with over 200 colour & monochrome illustrations. Expected delivery early Feb 2014. Cost £30.00 plus £3 p&p (please make cheques payable to Great Central Railway). Receive the newsletter direct to your inbox! Subscribe at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCR-Announce or send a blank email to [email protected] Page 3 / 7 Order your copy by calling the Booking Office (01509 632323) or by post to Great Central Railway, Great Central Road, Loughborough LE11 1RW. (please remember to include your name as you would like it to appear in the book) Closing date for orders Friday 30th November 2013 From the Emporium Well a bit of persuasion does seem to work-my wife calls me a manipulative b****** but that's another story! You came in last weekend as I asked you to and you spent money - £360 in all which is about double what we would take on a Santa weekend. So thanks a million for that and how about doing it again this Saturday and Sunday? New stock is still being brought from the storeroom and there are some great books amongst the new titles. We have a couple of beanie hats left in our unique style and priced at just £9, ideal as the weather gets colder. Also we have a new style woolley hat again with a different logo and priced at £9. Remember the Emporium is a lot quieter than normal and you have more space to peruse and spend, spend, spend! Big John and Mike are on duty Saturday and Peter on Sunday. Butler Henderson Looking for somewhere to welcome in the festive season? Well look no further than our very own Butler Henderson Café in Quorn. We will be serving a traditional Christmas menu (available on Mondays and Wednesdays from the 2nd – 23rd December). Join us and enjoy a delicious four course festive lunch for only £13.99 (or just one course for just £8.99) set in the ambient surroundings of our Quorn and Woodhouse station. Booking is advised, so to reserve your table please call 01509 633876. Please see our menu for a taste of what’s on offer. Festive get-together As the Festive Season is now upon us Greenacres thought it would be nice to have a festive get together (similar to last year’s gathering) for GCR staff, volunteers, partners, members and friends, (plus anyone else I have forgot to mention!) providing an opportunity for all to be waited on and enjoy some social time together after a manic few months! The Platform café will be Receive the newsletter direct to your inbox! Subscribe at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCR-Announce or send a blank email to [email protected] Page 4 / 7 hosting this Festive Evening on Thursday 12th December with a Two Course Meal for £9.99, to include; Bucks Fizz or Orange Juice on arrival Choice of Main Meal; Traditional Turkey Festive Meal with all the Trimmings Mushroom, Cranberry & Brie Wellington with Roast Potatoes & Seasonal Veg (V) Slow Cooked Chicken Chasseur with Potatoes & Peas Followed by a Sweet of your Choice; Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce Christmas Apple Granny Crumble served with Custard or Cream Plus a special little visit from someone we all know! Bookings only for the above event due to limited spaces, £5 deposit per person required.