Gartell Light Railway news and gallery.
Here are our news pages which highlight recent activity at the Gartell Light Railway.
The Gartell Light Railway gratefully acknowledges the super work of the many photographers whose photos feature throughout this website.
The Gartell Light Railway gratefully acknowledges the super work of the many photographers whose photos feature throughout this website.
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Sunday 6th March 2016
The Gartell Light Railway proudly commemorated the special 50th anniversary of the ‘S & D’ closure by running two very special steam hauled trains over a unique section of the former Somerset & Dorset line. With the aim of recreating the last ‘double headed’ steam hauled passenger trains over the S & D the GLR’s owner, John Gartell, replicated many of the details of the original day – from using 2 steam engines to haul the special 9 coach trains -complete with replica headboard, to running the actual special trains as near as possible to the times that the final trains passed along much of the course of the Gartell Light Railway exactly 50 years ago! In the ‘Pines Buffet’ of the GLR, passengers also were able to study the display of the extensive collection of S & D photos & memorabilia amassed by GLR volunteer, Ian Matthews. |
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Easter Monday 6th April 2015
Glorious weather encouraged many visitors to the first of our 2015 open days at The Gartell Light Railway. Many of the visitors were making their first visit to the railway and were impressed with what they found with the range of facilities on offer. 'The Pines' Buffet was very busy which has led to the owner, John Gartell, making a plea for more volunteers to help out in the buffet on a range of duties from serving the customers to washing up! Volunteering in the buffet is a job , no less important than a safety role such as a Guard, for our passengers have come to rely on a welcome cup of tea or tasty bacon roll from the buffet during their visit. If you're interested in volunteering in the 'Pines' Buffet then we'd love to hear from you! Please contact John Gartell for more details. An excellent video by 'Railway Cameraman' of trains running on the GLR on Easter Monday can be found on 'YouTube' at: https://youtu.be/n7lIF56akA4 Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th February 2015 The annual Gartell Light Railway model railway exhibition witnessed an impressive 50% increase in visitors over the previous years attendance figures! Now in its 10th year of operation, the exhibition is very popular with model railway enthusiasts in the Somerset & Dorset areas with its 10 model display layouts, historical displays, trade stands and, of course, the Gartell Light Railway operating a train service right outside the door of the display area! Put a note in your diary - the 2016 model railway exhibition weekend is provisionally set for the 13th & 14th of February 2016. Wednesday 3rd December 2014 GLR volunteers John 'CJ' Penny, Chandler Thick, John 'Bertie' Penny and Garry Shaftoe attended the prestigious 2014 National Railway Heritage Awards at the Merchant Taylors hall in London to learn if the GLR had won the Signalling award, for which we had been shortlisted down to the final three entries. Sadly, it was not to be and first place was awarded to the Ffestiniog Railway for their new signalling installation at Porthmadog. The GLR's entry was, however, highly commended by the judging panel and we were presented with a certificate. Seen here is 'CJ' accepting the certificate from John Ellis who is the Chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards. Sunday 2nd November 2014 Thanks to the generosity of GLR volunteer Signalman Edward (Ted) White, Common Lane Signal Box can now boast a full set of brass cased Southern Railway style signal and point indicators. Whilst the box previously had a good number of these brass indicators on 'extended loan' from other volunteers, Ted's contribution means that, for the first time in 25 years, the box now has a complete set. This of course means that GLR Signal Engineer John 'CJ' Penny and signalman Ted White now have even more brass to polish! Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th July 2014 Our annual and ever popular 'Steam & Vintage' weekend attracted visitors from far and wide. The marvellous summer weather brought out the crowds to see a variety of steam power and other vintage vehicles. The 2 day event, organised by GLR volunteer Steve Rodd, is a firm favourite among all the owners of the vehicles on display. Special thanks go Paul Blowfield and Mike Wilmot for the use of some of the many photographs that they took at the event. Saturday 5th July 2014 The Talisman auction of Railwayana proved to be a very popular event at the GLR. Many of the 'lots' were local to our area and thus proved to be very popular in the bidding stakes! Our 'Pines' Buffet did a roaring trade in refreshments and over a 100 people rode on our special trains which were arranged in response to the many enquiries for "a ride on the train at lunchtime"! |
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Sunday 1st June 2014
The new GLR book was popular with our visitors and continues to sell well. A 'must have' for all GLR aficionados - This 34 page full colour soft back cover book details the history of the GLR from its early days right up to the present day. It contains details of the locomotive fleet (past and present) and all the current GLR rolling stock together with details of the signalling equipment. The numerous detailed photographs - some dating back to 1984 and before the railway was open to the public - were all taken by GLR volunteers and detail the story of the GLR. Attractively priced at just £10.00 from the GLR shop (or £11.50 via mail order from the GLR) this book is expected to become a best seller at the GLR. Get your copy now! |
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Saturday 31st May 2014
The Gartell Light Railway was host to 350+ passengers from a UK Railtours special charter train to Templecombe and Yeovil Junction. Passengers on the 6 coach special train from Waterloo visited both the Gartell Light Railway and the Yeovil Steam Centre, transferring between locations aboard connecting coaches. A good day was had by all with lots of positive feedback received about the GLR. Thanks to John 'CJ' Penny and John 'Bertie' Penny for the photos. |
Mike Baker takes a breather from 'firing' 'Mr.G'.
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Bank Holiday Monday 26th May 2014
Another busy open day for the Gartell Light Railway - its 3rd open day of the 2014 season. As a result of operating a '2 train' service our regular diesel driver, Mike Baker, changed roles today and acted as fireman on steam loco 'Mr G' with driver John Gartell. Numerous picnics were evident in the picnic areas as a result of the unusually fine Bank Holiday weather! |
John Gartell and Dave Clark prepare 'Mr.G' for the busy day ahead.
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Sunday 5th May 2014
Another great day at the 2nd open day of 2014. GLR volunteer John 'Bertie' Penny commented on Facebook - " LOTS of new people and a goodly lot of our regulars as well. The weather held and although it was a little chillier toward the end of the day the loadings were good and all the visitors went home with a smile on their faces". The new GLR book - 'The Gartell Light Railway...the story so far' went on sale for the first time in the GLR shop. Thanks to Steph Clark for this very early morning photo! |
Bank Holiday Monday 21st April 2014
Our 1st open day of the 2014 season - GLR volunteer Dave Clark commented on Facebook "What a great day, sun shining, 3 trains running, and smiles galore. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves".
Our 1st open day of the 2014 season - GLR volunteer Dave Clark commented on Facebook "What a great day, sun shining, 3 trains running, and smiles galore. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves".
