Easter Day Out: Great Central Railway

[Pillock]

Don't worry, it's not train heavy - I paid only for entrance to the site where they were having their optimistically-named Extravaganza, knowing that it tends to attract a bit of chod.

 

There was a nice range of classic trucks in daily use

 

Along with some more car-like objects of desire

 

I wanted to introduce myself as a fellow blue-MG-with-tan-leather owner but they were doing the car show thing of sitting on a deckchair facing away from everyone

 

 

A nice load of commercial stuff too, from the clearly used and abused

 

to the very, very shiny and cotton-wool-wrapped

 

Naturally, there were trains. Most of them were those shitty old steam things, but this was excellent (mainly because it's old, but young enough that I remember riding them on the Nottingham-Sheffield route as regular service trains)

 

 

[alf892]

Looks shite.......I'm booked there for a 40s day in June. Apparently they involve a few stations.......so there is more to it than one yard?

[jakebullet]

Needs moar kettle.

[Pillock]

Yeah! Great Central is the only double track preserved railway or something, it goes from Loughborough through Quorn to Leicester North. Sometimes if you're gonna special day they park up on a bridge over a lake and let you have your lunch in nice surroundings.

 

I think they often use the Quorn station for events as it's all decked out as 40s stuff, got a NAAFI tea room and stuff. It's a decent place really.

 

They've nearly raised the million quid they need to rebuild a bridge over the Midland Mainline at Loughborough, from there they can join to the other bit of the GCR towards Nottingham and it makes 18 miles of twin track, plus it would be joined to the network to lend trains in and out easily.

[oman5]

Excellent. This place is on my to do list.

[alf892]

That sounds better........I booked for Friday which means I automatically become a some kind of retro guide apparently. Haven lots of learning to do.....

[Pillock]

Best advice is if food isn't included, take your own - the only downside to today was the cafe which took ages to serve brown water in a paper cup and charged a fortune. I suppose they're fundraising, but still....

[barefoot]

I didn't know they were having a special do today.

 

We've been a few times, booked in as 'Lord and Lady Donington' once.

Treated us like Royalty!

 

We go on the weekend meal fest thing.

It's a cracking day out.

Loughborough to Leicester on the train with food served on the way.

It's not Gordon Blue, but they do their best given forties warming up and keeping hot technology.

Will do again and would reccomend.

But don't come down from Scottishland for it.

[Pillock]

There's a vintage bus thing going off on the 25th April, and a vintage car weekend on the 16th and 17th May. Both were quite good last year although as BF says, not worth travelling the country for - it's quite a small yard so you have to want to do the train too if you're making a day of it.

[RichL]

I thought that was Quorn Station. Not been down there for a good few years now, but my parents used to take me and my brother there a lot when we were kids.

 

Bus thing sounds good, I think we'll be there weather permitting, Dad will love that.

[Pillock]

Bus show was alright last year, it was small but it was either free or a couple of quid, nothing major. I think I put some pics on here from the 2014 event.