Our AGM was completed in April and the notes will be made available with the next edition of ‘The Growler’. One of the major discussion points revolved around some changes to the constitution that would allow us to streamline the election process at each AGM. One disappointment was the attendance which only just allowed us to hold the AGM – under Charity Commission regulations attendance has to be at least 10 persons – so discussion has been had around potentially looking at streaming the AGM in some fashion, thus allowing those members who live a distance away from the GWSR (or who are unable to travel), to log in online and take part that way. Investigations on how we might be able to do this for next year will be ongoing. We also discussed options for our new shop format and the creation of this is ongoing. Hopefully it will be available for use before the Diesel Gala in July.
April also saw the start of the timetable for our mainline locos and D6948 started us off with a Driver Experience event that was enjoyed incredibly by those who attended – I bumped into one of the participants at the recent Bristol Model Railway expo and he was still waxing lyrical about having a great day. These events not only bring in revenue for both the railway and the group but also serves to heighten our visibility as a group – especially as the GWSR events offer a better experience than some other railways and at a more competitive cost. 37215 made its bow in May and now both of our locos are in regular operation. The June roster has now been published and you can access the running dates for both D6948 and 37215 in our ‘Loco Roster‘ section. We have the first big event of 2025 over the 13, 14 and 15 May with the GWSR Ale Festival and both our locos will be in use on Saturday 14 June with D6948 on the Diesel 1 diagram and 37215 on Diesel 2. We also see the ‘peak’ timetable come into operation with longer days (GREEN and RED timetables) as well as additional PINK timetables on Thursdays.
Both locos will also be used in a private photo charter on 22 May.
DIESEL GALA 2025
Our annual Diesel Gala is on the horizon once again and will take place this year back in its more usual slot at the end of July – 25, 26 and 27 July. Both our locomotives will be in use over the weekend (usual availability caveats apply) and a guest loco will be announced shortly. More, and up to date, information can be found on the GWSR website at www.GWSR.com As usual, the GG Sales Stand will be around for all three days of the Gala.
D6948 is the Saturday ‘Thunderbird’ loco for the Cotswold Festival of Steam on the 24 May, should one of our steam brethren get themselves into a spot of bother. We will also have our Sales Stand in attendance so do come along and say ‘Hi’!
