Easter Sunday At The Great Central Railway...

Having crewed for a lot of years now on various railways, it's fairly rare that I get a chance to enjoy sunshine and steam without the arguable trappings of a locomotive to look after. Today, in glorious sunshine, myself and Eddie attended the Easter Vintage Festival at the Great Central Railway. A wide variety of those strange steamers of the road cram into the car park at Quorn & Woodhouse Station every Easter, joined by a variety of other attractions as well as the adjacent steam railway. We arrived a little before Midday and, having parked in the field on the other side of the line, entered the event via the platform steps. We first bumped into an attendee of the upcoming GMW at Statfold: the imposing 6" Burrell Showman's "General Gough"... 

All around the yard there were various vintage vehicles, trade stalls and of course steam engines. On this very warm day it was quite easy to get a little parched so we ambled into the Beer Tent for some liquid refreshment. I ordered the traditional pint of real ale, Eddie settled for the more hardcore cup of Typhoo...

After a natter over our beverages, it wasn't long before the sound of a standard gauge steamer rolling in enticed us back outside. Coming to a stand at the end of the platform was BR Standard Class 5 No73156, built at Doncaster in 1956. I believe that this one is the sole surviving Standard built in Doncaster...

This was the first time I'd seen 73156 in completed form and what a lovely sight she is. Eddie has a real soft spot for the Standard types so was no doubt in his element! Having watched the Standard 5 disappear into the hazy distance, we wandered over towards the Butler Henderson café for a bite to eat. On our way we passed the Howard Brothers' forever immaculate Showman's "Renown"...

We were originally planning to perhaps grab a 'Light Bite' for lunch but Eddie and his persuasive ways soon urged me into a hearty full English...

Stuffed almost beyond movement, we waddled back outside and spotted another upcoming GMW attendee: "Renown"s own sister "Repulse"...

The yard at Quorn was definitely alive with steamers of all kinds...

One thing that you always find at a local event like this is an abundance of people you know! It's always nice to catch up with folks from across the preservation sector and natter with friends old and new. Towards the end of our scorching visit we were pleased to see another Standard: 9F No92214: bound for Leicester North. The unapologetically named "Leicester City" was built at Swindon in 1959...

The 9F's are certainly imposing: a huge, snorting mass of steel. 92214's short rake of BR Mk1's offered no hindrance as she strode effortlessly away towards Rothley. Having crossed the track and made our way up onto the platform, 73156 rolled in tender first bound for Loughborough. We opted for a final going away shot...

With that it was time to return to the sweltering BMW ready for the journey home. What a very pleasant few hours that was at the Vintage Festival. Thanks very much to Eddie for his comical company on this fine Easter Sunday. Cheers all, Sam...