© GCR
• Great Central Railway’s Gala Weekend takes place 10-11 August 2024
• Kids travel for £1 with each adult ticket this summer.
Join the Great Central Railway for their Award-Winning Railways at Work Gala on the 10-11 August as they travel back in time to 1966, a pivotal year in British railway history and one of great political, social, and cultural significance in Great Britain.
“1966 – A New Era” explores British Rail’s transformative period as it began to reinvent its image. Building upon the success of last year’s HRA award-winning 1963 Beeching event, this year’s gala will delve into the impact of Dr Beeching’s reshaping plan and the modernization of the railway system.
© GCR
Take a vintage train back to the time when Harold Wilson’s Labour Party won a decisive victory in the general election, a trade deficit and inflation brought with it a wage freeze, The Beatles topped the charts, and England had the nation cheering them on in the finals of the FIFA World Cup. So not much has changed then!
Visitors will have the chance to experience the sights, sounds and atmosphere of a busy mainline railway in 1960s Britain, with dozens of railway re-enactors, vintage trains and vehicles to help recreate the scene at the station in a year that’s truly gone down in history.
What’s more, across the summer holidays, Great Central Railway, is offering its popular ‘Kids for a Quid’ offer all weekend which sees up to 3 children travel for just £1 each with each adult ticket purchased making it great value for all the family.
Malcolm Holmes, General Manager at Great Central Railway, said: “1966 has gone down in history for so many reasons, events like the Aberfan disaster and the national strikes by merchant seaman combined with the catastrophic changes being brought about by the effects of the Beeching Report highlighted the challenges being faced by those charged with transporting goods and services across the UK. Add in the attention drawn to poor working conditions and lack of safety practices in many workplaces, and 1966 not only acted as a pivotal point for the railways but for society as a whole.”
“This is one of our most exciting weekends of the year, with both steam and diesel locomotives in action and an impressive fleet of award-winning wagons that moved everything you can imagine. Also on display will be more unusual vehicles, like rail-mounted cranes, which will be set to work lifting heavy loads.”
Visitors can expect to see reenactments of how a busy mainline railway got the nation’s goods moving with uniformed porters at the stations, ensuring the right goods get to the right destinations, allowing you to experience ‘special deliveries’ 1960s style, along with a few more characters that you may have found making use of the mainline railway, highlighting events of the period.
Several steam and diesel locomotives will be in action over the weekend hauling the freight trains and the Great Central’s regular service of heritage passenger trains too so come along and watch the show unfold.
Full timetable details and fares can be found at https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/special-events/railways-at-work-gala/
