6880 Gala Starting Page

Events

On this page you can find out what there is to see and do. To read about the events you can either scroll down the page, or click on one of the links below which will take you to the selected event.

Ride the freight train	Simon's Miniature Railway	Railway Artist: Craig Tiley	Railway Artist: Malcolm Root
Berkeley Light Railway	Book Signing with Paul Shannon & John Hillmer	Drive a Steam Locomotive	Simon Hudson's 7 1/4" Gauge Loco's
Austin Moss and his 5" Gauge Loco's	Cambridge MES multi gauge track	Polly Model Engineering Limited

Ride the Freight Train

Goods train, freight train, whatever you may call It, we are giving you the opportunity to ride in a brake van on a freight train for the full length of the line, that’s over 15 miles

This is only available from Llangollen Platform 2 and true to form it will be no express, you will be given the chance to film as much as you want or just take in the dramatic scenery of the Dee valley. You might be put in the loop so an express can go through or we might even shunt you into a siding and forget all about you!!!

I will leave you in no doubt that you will be close to the action on this trip. For a £5 supplement (Open to rover ticket holders only) it is yours for the taking, but can you make up your mind on what engine you would like to take you on this journey?

For those thrill seekers wanting a bit more we will be running this event into the night…..yes you can ride the freight day or night, so watch the sparks fly up Berwyn bank . Remember to wrap up well (Berwyn tunnel does get rather cold) take note of what the steward says as they are interested in your safety and enjoyment of the trip

This event is at the discretion of the steward when it comes to admission

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Simon's Miniature Railway

Operating at Llangollen will be Simon's Miniature Railway.
You will be able to take a ride on this 5inch gauge railway which will be operating on 150Ft of Track.

The following locomotives will be appearing: -

GWR 4-6-0 "Park Hall"

0-4-0 Steam Outline

and introducing visiting engine 0-4-0 Polly I "Rosie"

For more details please visit Simon's website which can be located at : www.1smr.co.uk (This will open in a new page).

Railway Artist : Craig Tiley

There will be a display of paintings and a chance to meet and talk to Craig at Carrog during the gala.

Craig was born in Swindon in 1983. Although only a stones throw from the home of the GWR, Craig arrived too late to appreciate first hand the famous railway works, and only has a few memories of the rubble that was 'A-Shop'. Inspired by Terence Cuneo, he has been painting and drawing as long as he can remember and his interest in art continued throughout his education, which culminated in 2005 with the gaining of a BA (Hons) in Design.

Preferred mediums are pencils and acrylics, and he receives regular commissions for both sketches and paintings - his first gained when he was only 14 years old. Work has been sold abroad to locations including Spain, Portugal and Texas. 2001 saw Craig win First Great Western's competition to design a poster for the launch of the new 'Adelante' passenger trains, his winning poster being displayed at all stations between Bristol and Paddington.

The Railway Magazine, Wingspan and Heritage Railway are just some of the publications to feature Craig's artwork, and in 2004 the IOM Post Office featured one of his paintings on a stamp to celebrate the bi-centennial anniversary of steam. In 2006 he had a portrait accepted into the National Portrait Gallery's 'BP Portrait Award' competition.
And finally... as well as gaining membership of the Guild of Railway Artists.

Please take the opportunity to view more of Craig's work at: -
www.railwayartist.co.uk (This will open in a new page)

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Railway Artist : Malcolm Root

There will be a display of paintings and a chance to meet and talk to Malcolm at Llangollen during the gala. Malcolm will also be unveiling a brand new painting of 6880 ‘Betton Grange’.

Malcolm’s original inspiration came from the bold railway pictures by Vic Welch that adorned his childhood board books. However it was a picture titled ‘Evening Star’ by Terence Cuneo that really started Malcolm’s thirst to produce realistic works of railway art.

Malcolm left school in 1967 and having thoroughly enjoyed his art lessons, he trained as a printing apprentice with a view to a career in design and typography. This coincided with the end of Steam on British Railways. Malcolm found that painting and drawing railway scenes that could no longer be seen on the mainline, his enthusiasm for steam was replenished.

Malcolm left the printing trade in 1981 to become a full time artist. Malcolm describes himself as someone who paints realistically with a small amount of exaggeration. This realism in Malcolm’s art comes from a heavy involvement with railway preservation during the 1970’s. This involvement has allowed Malcolm to gain technical and engineering knowledge, which he hopes is reflected in his work.

Berkeley Light Railway

Operating at Carrog will be the Berkeley Light Railway. You will be able to take a ride on this impressive 10 1/4" railway which will be running on a huge 400Ft of track.

The following locomotives will be appearing: -

GWR 2-8-0 Number 4700

4-6-2 Duchess Class "City of Westminster"

For more details of this railway please visit the Berkeley Railway website which can be located at : www.cattlecountryrailway.co.uk
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Book Signing with Paul Shannon & John Hillmer

Paul Shannon & John Hillmer will be signing copies of their new book 'The Great Western In North Wales' (A Past & Present Companion) at Llangollen Station on Saturday & Sunday 21st & 22nd April 2007. Please visit the Nostalgia Collection Events page for more details.

This brand new Past and Present Companion explores the Great Western Railway's historic importance in the North of Wales, both standard (Including the Llangollen Railway) and narrow gauge feature within these pages. More Detailed information on the contents can be found on the Nostalgia Collection Book Details page.

The past and present comparative treatment is a proven formula for success - the fact that over 50 titles have been published in the main series speaks volumes, literally! In this volume pictures from the 'real age of steam' - steam in years before 1968 and the early diesel years are contrasted with the same locations in recent years.

For more information on this title and others in the Past & Present series, please visit the nostalgia books website which is located at: - www.nostalgiacollection.com (This will open in a new page)

Drive a Steam Locomotive

From the very beginning of Steel Steam & Stars we always intended to offer you something hands on, and where better to start than giving you the opportunity to drive an Ex British Railways Steam Locomotive.

The place to be for this event will be in the locomotive yard at Llangollen Shed, there you will be shown the principles of how it all works before taking charge of the regulator. Some of you will have done it before, some for the first time.

The distance travelled will be approximately 1 mile from the Locomotive Yard to the Loading Bay outside Pentrefellin Carriage & Wagon Works and back again. We hope you keep your eyes on the road as any good driver should and not be distracted by passing trains at Goods Junction!

Yes… due to such an intensive timetable when doing 'your thing' on the regulator the chances are you will be passing one or two trains at Goods Junction bringing you closer to the action.

We apologise that the visiting engines will not be available due to contractual issues and we feel most people will want to see the visiting engines out on the line being put through their paces.

We are making this event a turn up and drive, with no advanced booking so its up to you, for the sum of £10 the choice is yours (Open to Rover Ticket holders only) which engine or engines you want to drive??

You will be able to choose from 5199, 5643 and 7822 which will be available on all 3 days. 3802 will be available on Friday and Saturday and 6430 will be available on Sunday only.

This event is at the discretion of the Steward/Driver when it comes to admission (Budding Drivers must be over 18).

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Simon Hudson's 7 1/4" gauge locomotives.

Operating at Carrog will be Simon Hudson and his 7 1/4" gauge locomotives, GWR No 5083 and GNR Stirling single No 1. Details on these locomotives are included below: -

GWR No 5083.
This loco is over 15 years old now and was built by David Wainright. It was built to Martin Evans 'Dart' design, with a few prototypical variations to create a replica of the non auto fitted 58xx as opposed to the more numerous 48/14xx class. The copper boiler has a working pressure of 90psi, and with slightly over scale cylinders this is a surprisingly powerful loco for its size, sharing the fast running abilities of the full size original.

Stirling Single No 1.
The loco was completed in 2001 by Nigel Etheridge. It was built from scratch using drawings made from measuring up the full size loco at York.
It is a fairly accurate replica, down to details like fish bellied slide bars, and the extra splasher hole unique to No.1, although there are some obvious scale compromises as the loco was built to be practical to run. Its copper boiler has a working pressure of 100psi, and just as with the full size it takes a considerable amount of concentration to start a heavy train.

Austin Moss and his 5" gauge locomotives

Look out for Austin Moss and his 5" gauge locomotives which will be operating on a 5" gauge track based at Carrog.

The following locomotives will be running at the gala: -

New York Hudson 4-6-4.

0-4-0 Well Tank 'Dolgoch'

Also appearing but on static display will be a Spanish Garret.

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Cambridge MES multi gauge track

Located at Carrog will be the Cambridge Model Engineering Society's multi gauge track.

There is approx 120Ft of track and can run locomotives in 3.5", 5" and 7 1/4" gauges. The track is also raised so you will be able to get a good view of the trains as they are running.

Look out for Simon Hudson, Austin Moss and Polly Model Engineering Limited (Details in sections above and below) running their locomotives on this track.

For more information on the Cambridge Model Engineering Society, please visit their website at the following address: -

www.cambridgemes.co.uk (Note Page will open in a new window).

Polly Model Engineering Limited

Located at Carrog and operating on the Cambridge MES multi gauge track will be Polly Model Engineering Limited.

The prototype Polly V 2-6-0 kit-built tank engine from Polly Model Engineering Limited will be available for running with other locos on static display (Look out for the Polly V 2-6-0 tender loco).

For more details on Polly Model Engineering Limited please visit their website which can be located at : -

www.pollymodelengineering.co.uk
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Ride the freight train	Simon's Miniature Railway	Railway Artist: Craig Tiley	Railway Artist: Malcolm Root
Berkeley Light Railway	Book Signing with Paul Shannon & John Hillmer	Drive a Steam Locomotive	Simon Hudson's 7 1/4" Gauge Loco's
Austin Moss and his 5" Gauge Loco's	Cambridge MES multi gauge track	Polly Model Engineering Limited