[null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkjTu36mUf4/WBr05xJ4QZI/AAAAAAAAAb0/_cRUXK3KqBwptTjpoBUMZVT_no1iPGHbACLcB/s320/IMG_20161017_150435.jpg", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkjTu36mUf4/WBr05xJ4QZI/AAAAAAAAAb0/_cRUXK3KqBwptTjpoBUMZVT_no1iPGHbACLcB/s320/IMG_20161017_150435.jpg", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 180}, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJD1NpOcl0M/WBCvn9yl7iI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Ae4-NMtvFKIovC23MsO50mLFAYsBw5qPgCLcB/s320/WP_20161022_11_07_23_Pro.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJD1NpOcl0M/WBCvn9yl7iI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Ae4-NMtvFKIovC23MsO50mLFAYsBw5qPgCLcB/s320/WP_20161022_11_07_23_Pro.jpg", "formatted_filename": "WP Pro", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 179}, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rHvpeqJ_Mag/V-jvJWjKwkI/AAAAAAAAAas/cStqLTABNiU200WOWEBfqgBIT3HzrpLwACEw/s400/IMG_20160902_095107.jpg", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rHvpeqJ_Mag/V-jvJWjKwkI/AAAAAAAAAas/cStqLTABNiU200WOWEBfqgBIT3HzrpLwACEw/s400/IMG_20160902_095107.jpg", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 400, "rendered_height": 225}, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "file:///C:/Users/CHRISB~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/02/clip_image004.jpg", "src": "https://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/file:///C:/Users/CHRISB~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/02/clip_image004.jpg", "formatted_filename": "clip image", "rendered_width": 124, "rendered_height": 61}, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GvoTQcpDNV8/V8qua-NX17I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/8CZpOmfuXmE_U-ipBpObz71gXhM9TYH1ACLcB/s320/IMG_20160902_095107.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GvoTQcpDNV8/V8qua-NX17I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/8CZpOmfuXmE_U-ipBpObz71gXhM9TYH1ACLcB/s320/IMG_20160902_095107.jpg", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 180}, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl3Soy6LlQ4/V8qubuELftI/AAAAAAAAAaU/pNGyi9L8O3cWxP286FiD3HwSLRSVuaZLwCLcB/s320/IMG_20160902_095032.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl3Soy6LlQ4/V8qubuELftI/AAAAAAAAAaU/pNGyi9L8O3cWxP286FiD3HwSLRSVuaZLwCLcB/s320/IMG_20160902_095032.jpg", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 180}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbcCsCzH1Cc/V3J-bZHGaGI/AAAAAAAAAZc/0oodrv1QleIcPTXHNbJcIWZlgVm4kgLmwCLcB/s320/IMG_0449.JPG", "src": "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wbcCsCzH1Cc/V3J-bZHGaGI/AAAAAAAAAZc/0oodrv1QleIcPTXHNbJcIWZlgVm4kgLmwCLcB/s320/IMG_0449.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 211}, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9QcbiOirDZo/V0K5rmUNOHI/AAAAAAAAAZM/kct9vOIIrNsrumOvm-ApRWNse5qnEq1RACLcB/s320/WP_20160522_12_29_01_Pro.jpg", "src": "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9QcbiOirDZo/V0K5rmUNOHI/AAAAAAAAAZM/kct9vOIIrNsrumOvm-ApRWNse5qnEq1RACLcB/s320/WP_20160522_12_29_01_Pro.jpg", "formatted_filename": "WP Pro", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 179}, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLSnrzRNXqk/Vxz5bEcQSHI/AAAAAAAAAY0/Z5o2-N14dlA6wqEsWm_x4YwrfNKWVWFyQCK4B/s320/Photo1150%2B%25282%2529.jpg", "src": "https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLSnrzRNXqk/Vxz5bEcQSHI/AAAAAAAAAY0/Z5o2-N14dlA6wqEsWm_x4YwrfNKWVWFyQCK4B/s320/Photo1150%2B%25282%2529.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Photo B", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 207}, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YEMJGaM2MlE/Vxz5XSYtuaI/AAAAAAAAAYs/iLIS18DUhoY9NrPnyViz8iczu4yHBoY7wCK4B/s320/Photo1164.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YEMJGaM2MlE/Vxz5XSYtuaI/AAAAAAAAAYs/iLIS18DUhoY9NrPnyViz8iczu4yHBoY7wCK4B/s320/Photo1164.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Photo", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 240}, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zH21znDnx5c/Vxz5k_XvS4I/AAAAAAAAAY8/ale2fBliEfMCJ5kC2A4fUpQuqKUVEpJ4QCK4B/s320/Photo1232.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zH21znDnx5c/Vxz5k_XvS4I/AAAAAAAAAY8/ale2fBliEfMCJ5kC2A4fUpQuqKUVEpJ4QCK4B/s320/Photo1232.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Photo", "rendered_width": 320, "rendered_height": 240}, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://gwrboardroom.blogspot.co.uk/2016/", "unformatted_src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBvaLkzaWRs/Vwi_sDMiCXI/AAAAAAAAAX8/ThAqd6MOZpc2DLMyaKSDl40WPMnPb3Gkg/s320/DoGvisit%25282%2529.jpg", "src": "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBvaLkzaWRs/Vwi_sDMiCXI/AAAAAAAAAX8/ThAqd6MOZpc2DLMyaKSDl40WPMnPb3Gkg/s320/DoGvisit%25282%2529.jpg", "formatted_filename": "DoGvisit", "rendered_width": 240, "rendered_height": 320}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null]

Santa specials

Now everything is starting to calm down, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped in any way to make this santa special season the biggest and best on record.  We saw an increase of 13% in visitor numbers, partly of course due to running more more trains on the first weekend and increasing the number of DMU trains from Toddington. However even taking this into account, we still filled nearly every train and this increase is staggering. We are now up to our maximum!
Lots of happy families and good wishes from people with many of the comments focussing on the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone.
A great success - thanks so much for your hard work
Colin Fewell
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 14:46 No comments: 

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all our Supporters!

Dear Supporters of the GWSR

The following letter was posted to GWSR PLC Shareholders this week - too everybody reading this we extend our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year!


Dear Fellow Shareholder,

This letter is from the volunteers on the GWSR to thank you for your generous support in the year now drawing to a conclusion and to wish you and your families all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year!
It has been another record year on the railway which you own and a number of important milestones have been passed!

All the railway’s special events this year attracted more visitors and the normal operating days were also busier. In the annual report which accompanied last year’s financial statements I reported that our passenger numbers were 88,500 (for the year ended 31 January 2016). At the end of October this year we had carried more than 80,000 passengers (69,000 at the same time last year) and, with Santa bookings strongly up, and the normal busy services between Christmas and the New Year, I would not be surprised if passenger numbers for the year exceed the magical six figures for the first time ever!

The other highlights of this year’s operations were a return to traffic of both Foremarke Hall and P&O, the latter after a 31 year restoration. Both locos looked magnificent as all of you who visited the railway will know and are a huge credit to their owning groups and our steam loco department.

We added one new event this year, the Food and Drink Fayre, and this was enormously popular with travellers and traders alike and will be repeated next October - but in a bigger format!

Turning to next year, the 2017 timetable is out (see gwsr.com) and we are adding one new event to our programme of special events being a Lego Bricks and Trains weekend in May. The chartered race trains for the Cheltenham Festival are proving so popular that an extra coach is being added in March to both trains. Wartime in the Cotswolds  in April was so popular last year that reinforcements are being called in for this year, and so it goes on! 2017, our last full year before the opening of Broadway station to the public on Good Friday 2018 is going to be a busy one on the running line.

But so too will it be on the extension to Broadway as the time for opening draws ever nearer!
The share issue ‘Broadway – the last mile’ has gone very well with some £925,000 of the £1,250,000 appeal raised at the time of writing. As soon as we reach the £1,000,000 point I think we will be able to see the end in sight but we will need all of the rest of the cash by the close of the appeal on 30 April 2017.

The funds raised have been put to good use as you are probably well aware. The Permanent Way gang now have the rail laid as far as Peasebrook Farm and will commence work on the station site in the New Year.

The Broadway construction team have pushed on with the station dramatically in the last 12 months. The footbridge is in place and the brickwork of the station building has risen to above window level with all the specialist bricks we paid so dearly for looking marvellously authentic and worth every penny!

It is remarkable what volunteers can achieve!

Again, all good wishes to you and yours for the festive season and visit the railway as often as you can in 2017!
Chris Bristow

GWSR PLC Finance Director
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:21 1 comment: 


The santa specials started last weekend and right from the start, were almost full! Ticket sales have been buoyant this year at about 10% above last year's record number so we must be doing something right! This is a very labour intensive event with about 60 volunteers on duty per day. And once we start running the DMU santas next weekend, this number will swell to about 80. We run santa specials over 11 days, so you can see the number of volunteers needed to make this event so successful.
On Sunday, we were pleased to welcome Zara Tindall and family on the train. No-one really recognised them and  they appeared to be having a great time.
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 13:51 No comments: 
Tuesday, 29 November 2016


Aviva Awards

Thank you to all those who voted for the Elf Centre replacement building - we achieved over 4,000 votes which is enough to take us through to the finals phase next month.  The awards will be announced early January so fingers crossed!

FYI, the total cost of the project is £300,000. If all goes according to plan, we will be supported financially by the GWRT who received a legacy from a member, Tim Mitchell, which will be used for this purpose and the building will be named in his honour.

Anyway thanks again for all your support - that's what makes this a great railway!

All good wishes,



Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 16:22 1 comment: 

Help get us a new Elf Centre in Winchcombe - vote in the AVIVA Community Fund!

Dear all

Those of you reading this who are volunteers will already have seen from the VA that the railway has applied for a £25,000 grant from the Aviva Community Fund towards the fit out and  furnishing of the new Visitor Centre at Winchcombe. It is hoped that building will start early 2017 with project finished for the 2017 Santa’s season.

We need as many people as possible to go to the Aviva site, register and vote for our project.

If you read this and you write a blog could I please ask that you promote this on your blog to help spread the word, the link required is below as is the wording of the latest VA but please feel free to promote as you see fit.

Any questions please contact Maxine Barton-Hawkins.  Just to quickly say that I registered and voted a few weeks ago and I have received no junk emails from any organisation involved in the process.

Thanks for your help with this


Aviva Community Awards - A good start but we need more support

The voting for the GWSR Visitor Centre at the Aviva Community Awards has got off to a good start, at the 7th November the GWSR New Visitor Centre at Winchcombe Station has managed to collect 2,298 votes but that is far short of the 13,669 that the Clubhouse Balcony Restoration, Golden Hill Sports Hall Bristol has managed to secure.

The Railway is looking for a £25,000 grant towards the estimated £75,000 cost of fitting out and furnishing the new Visitor Centre so please help us get a step closer to winning one of the grants by registering and then voting on at https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-937

Voting will close on 18th November 2017 with the winners being announced on the 10th January 2017.

Please encourage as many people as possible to vote for this worthwhile project
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:38 4 comments: 

Update from the Boardroom

There have been two Plc Board Meetings in the last couple of months, and it is time that I gave you all an update on what we discussed and decided upon. the notes are necessarily brief, but I trust give a flavour of all the various matters we have to deal with constantly, to keep the railway moving forwards.

In September, we met at our now familiar time of Monday afternoon. The first decision we had to make was to consider and agree upon a proposal that our Young Volunteers Group be renamed The Youth Group. This is because all our volunteers are considered 'employees' for the purposes of Health & Safety legislation, and there are major restrictions on activities by young employees; thus the term 'Volunteer' should not be used in relation to them.

The final version of our in house GWR Safety Video has now been made, and it will be shown to as many volunteers as possible throughout the coming winter months.

We agreed a draft Job Description for the Station Management Groups, and those who are to be appointed as Heads of what will now be departments. This will make the overall reporting structure much clearer and easier to follow.

We received a report from Alan Bielby in his capacity as Projects Director about the unstable embankment between Childswickham Road and Evesham road. It appears that the best solution will be to remove all the loose excess ash which was dumped by BR, and then re-grade the embankment to make the slope shallower. If we deal with the problem on this basis, we shall try and get it done in Spring 2017 so as not to interfere too much with P/way. We do not yet have a cost, but were warned that it is going to be expensive.

There is a continuing amount of necessary work to be done to maintain our bridges, and we considered how best to introduce a bridge maintenance team to carry out routine work, such as weed clearance and repointing.

We were told that we would shortly be receiving minutes from the Volunteer Consultation Group, and would be asked to formalise replies to queries which are going to be raised. This is a very necessary way of trying to deal with and answer queries that the departmental representatives have.

We agreed to appoint Gary Cheetham as our Data Protection Officer.

At our meeting in October, we started as we always do by considering a list of outstanding actions which are carried forward from previous meetings. This is to ensure that nothing is 'lost', and that individuals who are tasked with dealing with certain items do actually do so. There are often well over 20 items on the list each month, before we start the actual agenda.

This month, we had received confirmation that the repair work on the Evesham Road bridge at Broadway was complete after lorry strikes. The works have cost us over £16,000 and we agreed to instruct solicitors to recover the money from those who are responsible.

We have agreed to trial new platform access ramps for use with our disabled coaches, and we agreed to buy one to use as an initial trial.

Colin Fewell our Commercial Director raised the issue of car parking capacity. On many mid week (and other days) now, the car park at Toddington is full, and there is no-where else to park. This may be exacerbated when we open to Broadway. There is no immediate solution, save to try and make better use of the space we have. The field behind P2 is only available to us for a very limited number of days each year.

Our Disciplinary & Grievance procedure is some years old and needs to be updated. A small sub-committee will consider necessary changes.

We received confirmation that all is in hand for work to start on the dismantling of the existing Elf Centre immediately after the end of the season, in readiness for the new building.

We had still not received any costings for the necessary work to stabilise the embankment at Broadway, and were assured that we should receive them shortly.

We were concerned to find that we had lost an estimated £7,000 due to the chaos surrounding the Cheltenham marathon clashing with our last THOMAS event. That said, it was accepted that we are never going to be able to recover that loss from anyone. It is disturbing that there is likely to be another clash next year, as we have already made the booking for the loco and timetables are being printed.

We agreed that as a thank you to our volunteers, that there would be another volunteers fish & chip train next year. The format will be the same as before.

We were told that the extension work was going to plan, and that we are about to cross the boundary from Gloucestershire into Worcestershire. A ceremony similar to crossing the equator for the first time was proposed for P/way! If the works to the unstable embankment have to take place in the Spring, a contingency plan is in place to ensure that momentum is not lost. In that event, P/way will begin working back from the north end of Broadway towards that embankment.

It was agreed that two directors would arrange to meet the owner of Peasebrook Farm Stud to see if the issues surrounding the proposed crossing there could be resolved satisfactorily before track is laid. (They subsequently have been).

It was pointed out to us that the use of the proposed new longer disabled access ramps, would potentially impact upon where the disabled coaches were in the rake, to avoid conflict with station fixtures.That in turn could impact upon the overall makeup of the rakes, so is something for further consideration before the new season starts. So often, dealing with one issue leads to others.

We were told that new safety arrangements were going to be brought in with relation to line-side photographic passes, to stop people wandering all over the place. All applicants would in future have to attend for PTS training, and all departmental heads would be issued with plans showing precisely where those with the passes could, and could not go.

It was confirmed that the charitable Santa event for the childrens hospices was to be on Sunday 27th November. This will take children from Acorns Hospice and Winston's Wish to visit Santa.

Richard Johnson

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 19:58 3 comments: 

An update on visitor numbers as at beginning of November

Following on from Chris's comments, I can report that up to the end of October we saw just over 80,000 visitors. If you add to that the santa tickets sold so far - 5960, and other sales such as fire and drive, race week and fish and chips etc., we are already over last year's record total of 88,500 so unless we are snowed off - please no!!!! - we will have a new record this year. Will we reach the magic 100,000 though??? Not sure about that but watch this space!
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 15:24 No comments: 

Update on 'Broadway - the last mile' share issue and this year's running season results - good news!

Dear Supporters of the railway,

I hope you are all well.

It is some time since I last updated you on the share issue. Although income has slowed down as expected, I don't think there's been a single day when we haven't had requests for shares or donations for Broadway to the GWRT and the total now stands at more than £880,000.

I always felt if we could get more than £900,000 by Christmas (surely now almost certain) we should be able to ask our supporters to finish the funding in the New Year in the time leading up to the share issue close on 30 April.

So, all good news on fund raising and many thanks to all those who have so generously contributed!

You will be pleased to know that all 3 deliveries of rail from British Steel have been laid and welded as planned. All the bottom ballast is in place up to Peasebrook Farm from where the station site is clearly discernible and looks tantalizingly close!

Things go on apace at the Broadway site and our plan is to open the line and the station towards the end of March 2018 with the first timetabled trains on Good Friday 30 March 2018!

I was out on the line the other day and caught the permanent way train at Little Buckland bridge simmering in the sunshine - all looked very professional with the ballast, sleeper and rail wagons.

The current Permanent Way works are bringing the line across the Gloucestershire Worcestershire boundary (for the first time since 1979) and we are about to report this in the railway press and media.

Other than that, I'm pleased to tell you that the railway has had another excellent, probably new record, operating season. Yesterday was the last normal operating day and the only trains in November will be for the Cheltenham races. Then we are onto the Santa trains in December for which bookings are currently running 15% ahead of this time last year. It's all go!
 Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 08:30 1 comment: 
GWSR Crosses the border into Worcestershire!

02 November 2016
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway crosses county boundary into Worcestershire
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway's extension towards Broadway has reached another significant milestone – this time a geographical one, as track laying has crossed Gloucestershire's boundary with Worcestershire, near Little Buckland.
In October, the railway took delivery of its third of three orders for brand-new steel rail, purchased from the recently-renamed (formerly Tata) British Steel rolling mill at Scunthorpe.   With ex-Network Rail concrete sleepers already in stock, it has sufficient track materials to complete this year's work programme, getting ever closer to Broadway.
Lee Alibone, the railway's permanent way director, said: “Crossing the county boundary is a huge boost for the railway and especially for our volunteer permanent way gang. They've been working flat-out to lay countless concrete sleepers, each weighing nearly a quarter of a tonne, then clipping the rail to them and welding the joints together.  Now, we are literally within sight of Broadway stationapproximately three-quarters of a mile away!
“The line is being laid to the highest possible standards. Not only are we using brand-new, flat-bottomed rail exactly the same as on the national network, but we are continuously welding it which will reduce maintenance and future-proof the line for generations to come.
“We are also using thousands of tonnes of stone ballast which comes from a Forest of Dean quarry. And we are using track aligning and levelling equipment provided by specialist contractors, to make the line ready for trains. It's exactly the same kind of kit that is used on Network Rail.”
Three years ago, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway – or 'Honeybournel Line' – refurbished the five bridges between Laverton, the then northern extent of the line, and Broadway at a cost of over £500,000.
Meanwhile, construction of the new station building at Broadway by the Broadway Area Group of volunteers is also pressing ahead a quickly as possible to make sure it is ready when the track reaches the town.
Mr Alibone continued: “We are certainly well on target to complete the extension by 2018.
“Given the progress we are making, you might expect us to finish the job sooner. However, the current share issue must reach its £1.25m target to ensure this, while there remains a huge amount of work to do before trains can run.
“But the work we have completed so far, to the highest professional standards, just shows what can be achieved by volunteers with good planning and determination.
“When it’s finished it will bring a huge economic boost to the region.
“This is such a worthwhile project that will put Broadway firmly back on the railway map. For the first time since 1960, Broadway people will be able to catch a train to Cheltenham!”
The railway is planning a grand opening of Broadway station in Spring 2018.
Meanwhile, the special 'Broadway: The Last Mile' share offer remains open until April 2017.
Mr Alibone adds: “A share in our remarkable railway might be the perfect answer for anyone stumped for Christmas gift ideas - or as a treat for yourself!
“Our website, www.gwsr.com has full details including the offer document and an application form.
“Our fantastic shareholders don't just own a special piece of the railway, but they get to have a say in how it is run – and have free travel opportunities, too! We are really grateful for their continued strong support”

Ian Crowder and Lee Alibone
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 08:20 No comments: 

Food and drink fayre

Another great weekend - this time a new attraction being the first Cotswolds Food and Drink Fayre. Numbers of visitors exceeded our expectation resulting in very full steam trains! Lots of good reviews and  happy "tweeters". Many thanks to all the organisers and we look forward to a similar event this time next year. Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 14:31 No comments: 

Visitor numbers

Visitor numbers this year have been excellent, even allowing for the extra days we have been running.
To give you a brief summary, our overall numbers as at the end of September are up 14% on 2015 at over 70,000 but that does include 13 days extra running. Broadly, our numbers per day have increased by over 4% with all our special events bringing in large increases - apart from the problem this time with Thomas
So far this year we have run on 149 days as against 136 in 2015. This increase is to build our services ready for opening to Broadway in 2018.
Our on line advance sales of tickets has increased by about a quarter and the total number of group booking as at the end of September already exceeds the total for all of 2015
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 15:57 1 comment: 
Thomas and the Cheltenham marathon

To plan a big event such as "Day out with Thomas" we have to make arrangements well over a year in advance. The Thomas loco for instance is always booked up by so many other operators that we have to get in early. Unfortunately this year, our Thomas event was fixed before we heard that the organisers of the marathon had moved the start point to the racecourse. Those of you living locally will know what happened. Suffice it to say, we lost income as a result of the poor organisation of their event, and since then have been in touch with the organisers, the borough council, the Chamber of Commerce and the racecourse to express our dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately by June this year, we had already fixed next year's Thomas date which can't be altered and it looks as though there will be a similar clash. However now we know of the potential problems we can do our best to find ways around them.
All I can really say at this point is a tremendous thank you to all volunteers who battled through the crowds to ensure we were up and running at the correct time. I know that some of you abandoned cars and walked long distances and others who changed what they were otherwise doing on that day just to help us. Thanks to all of you, it was a splendid weekend with lots of excellent feedback.
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 14:15 8 comments: 


Dear GWSR Supporters, Figure 1 Rail delivery, Toddington 2 September 2016 

GWSR Broadway the last mile share issue status at 3 September

Dear Supporters of the GWSR,

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday; 
Friday, 2 September 2016

Visitors comments 
Friday, 5 August 2016

Report from the Away Day Meeting of the Plc Board

Every year, the board sets aside a whole day for a meeting so that various topics can be discussed at length. Our latest such meeting took place at the beginning of August.

We considered the arrangements for the proposed opening to Broadway It was agreed unanimously that the opening should be a celebration of the achievements of all volunteers in every department throughout the railway, who have worked so hard to make this happen. As such we shall be organising the event around the use of our own in house loco's.

We considered our current organisational structure. In future station groups will be accorded departmental status, and as such will have a clear reporting line to a Plc director.

Succession planning is obviously important. We do have a number of 'pinch points' in the organisation, and it was felt that the best way to overcome this is to seek to widen responsibilities in all departments and avoid reliance too much on individuals - so far as this can reasonably be done. We also need to develop more signalmen (and women); more Duty Operations Officers; more help with special events and more support to fill vacancies in the OTC management team.

The format of the timetables for when we operate from Broadway is still under discussion, but it appears that it will be on a similar format to present operations. We are anticipating the need for eight coach trains, and it appears that the current policy of having two TTI's on a train works well. Tour groups (and especially cream Teas) are a good source of income, and arrangements for them will be essentially unchanged.

There has been a degree of discussion previously about whether or not it would be an appropriate use of resources to extend our railway south beyond Cheltenham racecourse to Cheltenham Town boundary over the trackbed we currently own. After further discussion, we decided that we would not pursue this option and would instead concentrate upon developing and enhancing our railway between Broadway and CRC.

Although we are heavily committed financially to the rebuilding and reopening of Broadway, we are still looking to see what can be done to develop and enhance the railway elsewhere. One of the issues we have been considering for some time is a proper workshop for S&T at Winchcombe, to replace the coach they currently work from. With the impending departure of the privately owned stock in the yard, that can be developed further. We decided to commit sufficient funds for a start to be made upon building such a facility.

We are also very conscious of the need to develop and enhance the messing and welfare facilities for our Loco Department. We agreed that this project should also come to the fore, and that sufficient funds be allocated to enable it to move beyond the planning stage.

As was mentioned in the previous blog posting, we are awaiting a further report on the condition of the embankment at Broadway. We have been aware of this for some time, and provision for repairs was included in the Share Appeal budget. As soon as we know what our options are, we can plan with more certainty.

You can see that there is a lot going on, and a great deal more to be done. Our Share Appeal continues to make splendid progress, and we are very grateful to all those who have already contributed. If you have not subscribed so far, you know what to do ................

Company secretary
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 14:49 9 comments: 
Friday, 29 July 2016

Plc Board Meetings

There have been a couple of Plc Board Meetings recently, and I need to provide you with an update.

At a meeting in June, we discussed a proposed memorial garden to be located at Toddington. There have been various suggestions about what sort of memorials could be included, but we decided that the memorial garden should be just that; without specific memorials for individuals.

We spent some time discussing and making preparations for the then forthcoming AGM. It is surprising how long it takes to organise and ensure that all aspects are dealt with. This included plans for the question and answer session held afterwards.

A report from our Civil Engineer, included the disappointing news that bridge 45 (on the section to the south of CRC) was in a poor condition, and would require either very substantial funds to repair it, or propping to stabilize at at a cost of about £30k per year. A difficult but necessary decision to be made.

We agreed to fix the formal opening date for the Broadway extension for mid May 2018; shortly after the Bank Holiday. Although we had not yet finished with the Share Issue, we decided that we should make a definite decision to open on that date - come what may. We can now go ahead and plan the opening in detail.

Initial news about our planning application for the proposed car park at Broadway was less encouraging. Initial responses are that the Council will not allow it to be opened in stages, as we had expected. It has to be fully completed and surfaced before it can be opened to the public. As we won't have sufficient funds to do this prior to the opening, it was decided to withdraw the planning application, and reconsider our options. For those of you who are not aware, the £1.25m we are seeking by way of the B-TLM Share Issue, does not include any funds for the proposed car park.

After several months of consideration of all the alternatives, it was decided to abandon plans to build a toilet block on Platform 2 at Winchcombe. None of the alternative proposed locations was really suitable, and drainage would be very difficult and costly. The potential overall cost of the build was far higher than was first anticipated, and it was felt that money could be much better applied elsewhere. For special events, it would be a much cheaper alternative to hire in Porta Loos.

We agreed to place the contract to start construction of the new Elf Centre at Winchcombe, beginning in January 2017. This date is chosen in an attempt to cause minimal disruption to use of the platform.

The potential operational timetable for Broadway is taking shape, and is likely to include a requirement for eight coach rakes - C&W to note.

At a subsequent meeting recently we reviewed proposed plans for Winchcombe yard, which have been drawn up by a working party led by Andy Smith. We agreed to defer decisions until our annual all-day board meeting at the beginning of August.

We were told that after some consideration, there is no need to make any provision for loco watering facilities at Broadway. The cost of the necessary plant would be prohibitive, and there is no operational necessity for it.

We had previously received a report from our Civil Engineer about potential stability problems with the embankment between Broadway Road and Childswickham Road. Trial boreholes have shown that large areas of the embankment are unstable, and we need to establish what our options are. The first report from independent Consulting Engineers proposed a prohibitively expensive solution, so we asked our Civil Engineer to get some alternative quotes and options for rectification. This is very unwelcome news, as the whole embankment appears to be more unstable than was first anticipated.

Better news is that we were told that 56 lengths of new rail are about to be ordered from British Steel, Sunderland for the extension, with more expected in the coming months. Once P/way complete their work in the loco yard, they will be able to concentrate on the extension until they start on the winter programme of work.

The next meeting will be our annual all-day board meeting at the beginning of August.

Company Secretary.

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 16:46 13 comments: 

Broadway the last mile share issue passes two important milestones!

Broadway the last mile share issue passes two new milestones


I am pleased to tell you that things are progressing well with the share issue in general and, in particular, we have;

Firstly, cash received from shareholders topped the £700,000 mark this week ending today, Wednesday 27/07, at £710,250. That is good going as today is 16 weeks after our share offer launch with Pete Waterman. Inevitably the rate of increase in funding has slowed down so if you have been holding off investing for just that moment now would be a good time to buy shares and keep the momentum going - only £540,000 to go!

Secondly, I am pleased to tell you today we sent off a Purchase Order to British Steel Limited, Scunthorpe for the first batch of rail we need - delivery scheduled for 2 September! Two more orders will be placed for delivery later in September and, all together, these purchases are enough to take the running line as far as Peasebrook Farm bridge this year.

For those interested in progress with HMRC on their agreement that our share issue under revised legislation is still eligible for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), I can confirm that our financial advisers have this week submitted to HMRC a statement asserting our belief that our share scheme meets the EIS revised conditions and requesting their confirmation and approval. Fingers crossed!


Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 17:53 No comments: 
Monday, 18 July 2016

Father Brown

A full day's filming last week. This photo shows Mark Williams (alias Father Brown) educating Ray O Hara in selfies Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 12:34 1 comment: 


Have a look at this:


Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:33 No comments: 

Thomas weekend Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 14:41 No comments: 

Pleased to announce we have been awarded the 2016 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence. If you have a look at Tripadvisor you can see why.
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 10:17 1 comment: 
Saturday, 18 June 2016

GWSR BRoadway the last mile share appeal reaches the half way point!


I am delighted to tell you that our share appeal to reach Broadway in 2018  passed the £625,000 point yesterday, 12 weeks after the launch date, and now stands at £628,000!

This is terrifically good news and we must now redouble our efforts in order to secure the remaining £622,000 to reach the £1,250,000 needed.

So, if you have the share issue document to hand now would be a good time to complete the share application form and send it in - the volunteers can't do it without your support.

Next time I post something on the Blog it should be to let you know we have placed our first order for rail with the new British Steel Corporation or, it might just be to let you know we have reached £700,000 with the appeal!

Before closing, I'm pleased to say that special events and operations this year to date have all been a great commercial success.

So, good news all round!

Thanks for your interest and support,



Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:46 No comments: 

Cotswold Festival of steam

I'm sure all volunteers will want to join me in congratulating everyone involved with this year's gala. Not just the extremely hard working steam department but also all the other departments who came together to make this such a successful weekend. It was enjoyable and highly professional. Lots of good comments from visitors and what's more, a record number of people attended. Have a look at Tripadvisor to see some of the comments.
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 19:16 No comments: 

Another record broken Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:05 No comments: 

Broadway - the last mile share issue reaches £500,000


I am pleased to tell you that the Railway's share issue has, as of yesterday 20th May, reached the £500,000 mark!

Although receipt from applications for shares has, as we expected, slowed down, £500,000 represents a terrific achievement in the 6 weeks since the share issue launch event with Pete Waterman on 6th April!

Next stop the half way point, £625,000.

The £500,000 thus far received should be enough to keep our main work teams, that's the Broadway Station team, Permanent Way and Civil Engineering, working for the rest of 2016 but, as I have to remind everyone, we still need £750,000 to finish the job!

If you have the share issue document at home and have yet to apply for shares, may I suggest now might be the time to apply so that we can keep the momentum going?

Everything else seems to be going well at the Railway this season, and we have the Steam Gala to look forward to next weekend - fingers crossed for good weather!




Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:11 1 comment: 
Friday, 6 May 2016

BBC Midlands Today feature and Broadway Share issue update


The BBC Midlands Today news team heard how well the share issue is going and wanted to do another news item on the railway specifically about the share issue. Filming was done all morning on Wednesday 4th May and the feature was right at the end of the 6.30pm Midlands Today News that evening.

They did a superb job of editing hours of material into a really well focussed 2 or 3 minute program - if you missed it you can catch up with it on BBC iplayer - it's worth the effort!

As of today's post, I'm pleased to tell you that the share issue has, including one or two small donations to the GWRT, reached £453,000.

Yes that's £453,000 in 4 and a bit weeks! However, the rate is beginning to slow down as we knew it would, so if you've got the share issue document and haven't got round yet to applying for some shares now might be the time.

Remember - it's gone fantastically well so far but we still need £800,000!

That's all for today. Have a nice weekend,


Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 18:19 7 comments: 
Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Broadway, the last mile - a terrific response after the first month!

Dear GWSR Supporters

I am delighted, and a bit humbled, to be able to tell you that, three weeks from when Pete Waterman was here for our share appeal launch day and four weeks since the first share issue documents arrived at the railway, we have received £410,000 in share applications - that's almost a third of the total!

This is an unprecedentedly good start!

To put this into context, the Bridges to Broadway share issue raised about £250,000 in the first three months which, at the time, we thought was very good.

Based on that, for this share issue, I budgeted that it would take us until the end of August, five months, to reach the value we have achieved in only three weeks!

I also need to update you on how things are going financially with the 2016 season - in a word 'excellent'!

The Cheltenham Festival Race trains were a record, the Wartime in the Cotswolds weekend just completed was a record and passenger numbers on service trains are up on last year, itself a record year.

On Saturday night we will run a Fish and Chip train free to our volunteers (served by the directors) as a big thank you for all their hard work.

I will keep you updated on a regular basis on how the share issue is going but, do please remember, there is still more than £800,000 to go!

Thanks for your support,



Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 17:42 2 comments: 
Monday, 25 April 2016

Wartime in the Cotswolds - update

Just to let you know final numbers for the weekend were 20% up on 2015 - a new record. Interestingly numbers of visitors on the Saturday were almost exactly the same as for the Sunday - the only difference that a larger percentage joined us at Toddington  rather than Cheltenham. I mention this because there were so many other Sunday activities in Cheltenham and Winchcombe this past weekend, so we really did very well
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 10:03 1 comment: 

Wartime in the Cotswolds

An excellent weekend - we had a record number of visitors on Saturday and once I have the figure for Sunday I will send out the total. Many thanks to the organising group for all their tremendous hard work and also to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make it such a success. A great friendly atmosphere commented on very favourably by our visitors. This year we were honoured by a visit from King George V1 who gave a rousing speech at Toddington and again in Winchcombe town centre much to the bemusement of a lot of tourists, and causing a traffic jam. Also this year for the first time we had a vintage Bedford bus running between the station and Winchcombe town centre. This followed on from a number of shops and businesses in Winchcombe coming together to support us with banners, bunting and special 1940's shop windows. I hope we can develop our relationship with the town further in the future.
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 17:52 1 comment: 

Broadway the last mile share issue - update on Wednesday 20 April 2016


It is now two weeks since the share issue launch event and also since the share issue document arrived at shareholders' homes in the post.

I am delighted to report that, as of today, the receipts total a little over £350,000 - that's fantastic for the first two weeks!

Managers involved with the share issue met today to discuss and agree actions to keep the share offer in the public eye and therefore to keep the funds flowing. I'll expand on this in future blog postings.

If the funds keep on coming in at this rate we should be able to bring forward our planned 2016 purchase of rail. This is important as laying the track is on the critical path to opening in 2018 and anything we can do to help Permanent Way's activities make an opening at the start of the season more likely to be achieved.

So let's celebrate getting £350,000 in two weeks and concentrate on getting the other £900,000 needed!



GWSR Finance Director

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 15:52 1 comment: 

Broadway - the last mile share appeal - hugely popular in first week!


It is one week since the launch of the share issue on 6th April by our president, Pete Waterman.

At the end of the day on 13 April, one week later, our railway has received £251,000 in share purchases – that’s 20% of what is needed to complete the project and run steam trains once again into Broadway!

It is great to see in these share purchases many new shareholders, many of our own volunteers coming forward to buy shares and many purchases from all over the country not just our local area. It just shows the affection in which our railway is held!

We have already placed orders for the civil engineering works identified as necessary from Laverton as far north as Childswickham Road bridge.

Shortly we will be placing our first order for rail with the new British Steel Company at their Scunthorpe works. Rail is, as you know, the largest element of the project funding and it is our intent to buy British steel for a British Heritage railway and we are therefore watching the price and availability closely.

We will naturally feel more comfortable once we have sufficient funds in place to act quickly if we see an advantageous price or delivery opportunity develop.

Our admin team are working flat out on processing share requests so please be patient if you do not receive a rapid response.

Please keep the applications rolling in – 20% is a great start in the first week but we have a long way to go yet!

Thanks for your support and I will keep you posted on progress.

Alan Bielby

GWSR Chairman
Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:07 No comments: 

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and their family paid a private visit to GWR on Easter Saturday. As well as a round trip on the train, the Duke and Duchess rode on the footplate of Dinmore Manor during the run-round at Cheltenham and on returning to Toddington, the Duke toured the loco sheds. They enjoyed their visit very much and we hope that they will return.
Glyn Cornish Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:39 1 comment: 

Visitors to the railway during March

We had  a disappointing start to the new season due entirely to the cold, wet and windy weather. Numbers for the first three weeks were down about 20% on 2015. We made up for this however with a bumper Easter! I expected the low numbers to continue in view of the very early date for Easter and the appalling weather culminating in storm Katie, however we were up on the 4 days. Our recently introduced Easter Eggspress on Easter Monday attracted 850 visitors which was almost at the same number as 2015 even though  Easter was mid April and very sunny and warm.

Mid March, we ran our usual race trains on behalf of "Classic Hospitality" This year with 2 trains a day, we were completely full and we were told there was a waiting list of about 200 for some trains. So, with 2400 passengers over 4 days drinking their way to and from the races, it was an eventful week. As always, most (but not all) of the drunks were happy drunks.

Marketing Day on Monday March 21st has now established itself as an annual event. Over 150 people came from local b&b's, caravan sites, cottage renting companies, tourist information centres etc to experience the railway. Lots of good comments and lots of promises to recommend us to their clients.

On Easter Saturday, the author Christopher Vine (Peter's Railway series of children's books) was at Toddington signing his books. A successful couple of days and he has already asked to return soon.

And finally, if ever in doubt about our railway - have a look at Tripadvisor.

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 15:11 No comments: 

Most recent Plc Board meeting

At a recent Plc Board meeting, our first job was to welcome representatives of our Accountants and Solicitors who had been heavily involved with our Financial director Chris Bristow in the preparation of the new EIS approved Share Issue. It is a legal requirement of the scheme that all directors take personal responsibility for the accuracy of the information in the Offer documents, so we necessarily spent some time reviewing all the details and then signing to confirm that all was in good order. Only then were our advisors able to leave, and take the final steps to allow the Share Issue to go ahead.

Subsequent to that, we welcomed our new director colleague Alan Miller who has been a P/Way volunteer for many years. Thereafter as usual, we moved on to discuss a wide range of matters.

Health & safety matters are always high on our agenda; quite properly. Chris Webb our Safety Manager has completed his initial safety surveys of all departments, and flagged a number of points which require attention. Arrangements were put in hand to ensure that they are all catalogued so that plans can be made to deal with them. We also took steps to ensure that the necessary statutory health & safety arrangements are in place for the rebuilding of Hayles Abbey Halt.

We were pleased to hear that James Edwards had been nominated as a potential new head of the Guards department, and we made arrangements for him to be interviewed. (Subsequently we were very pleased to hear that he had been appointed to that post.)

We had been aware that following the resignation of Val Owen, we needed to complete the appointment of a Safeguarding Officer to ensure that children, young people and vulnerable adults were safe whilst on the railway. We were very pleased to hear that Claudette Oddy had agreed to take on the position on an interim basis, with Richard Scott as her deputy pending a permanent appointment later in the year.

We discussed what to do about the structure of our Building Services Department, following the loss of Ron Brislin last year. It was agreed that we should advertise for a new head, to report to our Civil Engineer, Peter Muir. The position is to be advertised shortly. It is hoped that the department can be expanded by the introduction of new members, as there are a wide range of potential projects coming up which will require the input and support of that department.

We had a long discussion about the two planned projects at Winchcombe; the new Elf Centre and the Toilet block on P2. We are already well into the new year and the estimate from building contractors was that the Elf Centre would take at least 6 months to build. To start in about early May as was proposed, would seriously impact on our themed events this year, and if there was an overrun would disrupt our Santa trains. So, we decided to defer it to a start in January next year. We decided to concentrate this year on the proposed new toilet block, and were advised that we should receive tenders by the time of our next meeting.

Chris Bristow had prepared a full Strategic Report to go with the annual accounts this year, and it was agreed that in view of the very successful year we had last year, that it would be appropriate for it to be published in full on this blog.We are conscious of the fact that this blog is very much for public consumption, whereas annual reports would normally be for shareholders, but felt that the news was such that it should be widely circulated.

A suggestion had been made that we should hold another open forum for all volunteers in the Spring, but it was felt that it was not necessary at the moment in view of the forthcoming Share Issue and all the publicity surrounding that. Volunteers who are not shareholders will be invited to attend the Plc AGM on a non-voting basis, as there will be an open forum afterwards when questions can be asked.

We received written reports from all directors, updating us on progress withing their particular areas of responsibility. Most of the departments now have active blogs and a great deal of information about current work is disseminated this way. Progress with the extension to Broadway is very much dependent upon the success of the Share Issue, as all available funds have already been committed in reaching the current stage.

It was agreed that the formal launch of the Share Issue would be on 6th April when Pete Waterman has confirmed that he is available to attend. Arrangements are being made to publicise it as widely as possible. Sufficient copies of the Cornishman magazine have been made available by GWRT to be sent to all shareholders who are not members, to try and encourage them to participate in the Share Issue.

It was another very full and successful meeting, and a lot of ground was covered.

Company Secretary

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 19:39 No comments: 

GWSR Broadway the last mile share offer goes live!

Dear Supporters of our Railway,

Broadway - the last mile share issue

On behalf of the GWSR PLC Board I am pleased to announce our 2016 share issue will go live tomorrow on 25 March 2016! The objective is to generate the £1,250,000 we need to get us into Broadway in 2018.

The share issue document is available today, 24 March, from the Information or Administration Offices at Toddington. Existing shareholders and those that have filed in the flyer requesting a copy will get their copies in the next few days through the mail. To get a copy mailed to you, if you cannot visit Toddington, please call the railway on 01242 621905 or email email@example.com.

In addition, from 25 March the share application form will be available on the website, GWSR.com, and shortly after that the document itself will be available to download but, as it is 36 pages, I strongly suggest you contact the railway and get a copy mailed to you!

The share issue document itself sets out to demonstrate the railway's unique commitment amongst large heritage railways to volunteering and heritage.

I have been largely responsible for its format and, through the helicopter photographs taken on 5 September 2015, in addition to the twin themes mentioned above, I have tried to give new and unique views of the railway and all its stations and significant line features as of that date.

I hope you will find the document a compelling request for financial support to help us to reach Broadway. I'm sure with the help of our shareholders, member, volunteers and a supportive public we will achieve our goals, so please contribute if you can!

In closing, I should remind everyone that the share issue is supported by the HMRC enterprise investment scheme (EIS) where by UK tax payers receive a 30% tax credit, i.e. for every £100 invested you get £30 off your tax bill. The railway provides you with the necessary HMRC paperwork to achieve this and the process is indeed straightforward. Of course, there are all the normal attractive travel benefits for shareholders.

With the tax year end rapidly approaching (5 April 2016) to take advantage of the EIS scheme for the tax year 2015/16 now is the time to invest in the GWSR!



Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 12:14 No comments: 

GWSR Accounts for year ending 31 January 2016 are audited - here is the accompanying Strategic Report

Dear Boardroom Blog follower,

In preparation for our upcoming share issue our Auditors, Ormerod Rutter, completed the annual accounts earlier than normal on 19 February and this is the Strategic Report from the Report and Financial Statements which will be published before the AGM in June.

I hope you will agree it makes good reading!





Fellow Shareholders,

On behalf of the Board of Directors I am pleased to report that our railway had a very significant year in the year to 31 January 2016, not only in its financial and operating performance, but in its strategic actions to secure a successful future.

Starting with operating performance, all key parameters were the highest yet achieved;

·         Passenger numbers a record at 88,500 (2015 83,500),

·         Turnover a record at £1,453,919 (2015 £1,314,671),

·         Operating profit a record at £242,154 (2015 £205,571) slightly ahead of the previous highest operating profit in 2014,

·         Volunteer numbers a record rising to around 850 (2015 800). Although strictly a GWRT matter, the success of the Volunteer Recruitment Fair in March 2015 saw a healthy increase in volunteer numbers so vital for our railway’s development.

During the year, the railway was honoured to receive the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for voluntary service and this was celebrated by the volunteers at an award ceremony in Toddington in September.

I am pleased to report that all the railway’s special events proved as popular and financially successful as ever, starting with the charter trains for the Cheltenham Festival in March and ending with the Santa trains in December, where demand was such that we again served a record number of passengers, 9476. The charity Santa train was extremely popular this year and this service will be repeated in 2016. Again, progress was made at developing the smaller events, ones which bring passengers to the railway who might not ordinarily come and, overall passenger numbers for these events were marginally up at 10,700 (2015 10,500).

The other key part of our business model, operating the railway almost entirely by volunteers, continued throughout the year with our paid staff numbers remaining at 3 full time and 2 part time. This is surely unique for a major heritage railway and allows us to invest funds from operations and donations directly into the infrastructure of our railway.

Capital expenditure for the year totalled £407,839 (2015 £779,995 which included £530,000 spend on the 5 bridges which were the subject of the 2014 ‘Bridges to Broadway’ share appeal). It was always planned that this year would see us using our own funds and those granted to us by the GWRT in moving forward in our plan to open to Broadway in 2018, and this was successfully achieved. Great progress was made at the station itself with the platforms and signal box being substantially completed and the framework for the station building being erected. At the time of writing, 12 February, I can report that the two towers for the footbridge have been raised marking yet another milestone. Equally significant were activities on the extension north of Laverton; the whole lineside to Broadway has been cleared of vegetation, the significant failed culvert and landslip just north of Laverton were repaired as were other culverts, substantial amounts of new fencing was erected and bottom ballast laid as far as Peasebrook Farm (1 mile from Broadway) and rail laid to Little Buckland bridge.

Our visitors will have noticed significant improvements to the infrastructure on the running line. At Cheltenham race course platform 2 was substantially finished, at Winchcombe the Discovery coach was implemented as a new visitor attraction and the new floor and internal pits at the David Page loco shed were also substantially completed. In addition, work has started on Hayles Abbey Halt, the reinstatement of which was successfully proposed by our Heritage group, and this is anticipated to be open as a request stop in 2017.

Finally, on capital expenditure the Winchcombe model railway coach was purchased as were two BR MK 1 coaches to support the increase in services necessary when Broadway is once again open.

Steam locomotives are, of course, at the heart of heritage railways and this year significant actions were taken to rebalance the steam fleet between the needs of current and future operations. In 2014 it became clear that the current fleet of locomotives was too large for the number of steaming in the railway’s timetable resulting in the need for locomotives to operate at other railways. As a result, the Churchill 8F locomotive moved to another railway and, in addition, the partly restored NRM owned 4F left the railway. The success of the railway’s operations this year has lead to an increase in the number of steamings in the timetable  in the coming year and, together with time spent at other railways, will allow Foremarke Hall and Peninsular and Oriental to re-enter the steam fleet at around the time of the Steam Gala in May. Looking at future steam locomotive requirements, restoration agreements were entered into with the owners of GWR 2-8-0s 3850 and 2874 and conditional approval was given by your Board for the restoration of BR 2-6-0 76077, a long term resident in un-restored condition on the railway.

During the year the Board approved a sealed bid offer, above the guide price, for the site of the former Bishops Cleeve Royal British Legion club, itself part of the former station site at Bishops Cleeve. At the time of writing, no decision had been received by the railway on its offer.


Turning to the new operating season, the indicators for your railway’s performance are positive. As a result of increased passenger numbers this financial year the railway will operate on 15 more days including every Friday in August. Coach party bookings for normal running days are growing substantially year on year with the number of bookings for the year ahead, at the time of writing, standing at the same number as for the full year for the whole running season in 2014. Passenger numbers for the race trains will be a record and advanced bookings for Fish and Chip trains and Driver Experience courses are strong with Diesel Drive courses already sold out.

In order to complete the extension of your railway into Broadway by 2018, a new share issue entitled ‘Broadway – the last mile’ aimed at raising the necessary £1,250,000 will be commenced in early April 2016. Matters are well advanced in this respect. As in the successful ‘Bridges to Broadway’ share appeal in 2014 the share scheme is under the HMRC approved tax efficient Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Inevitably, there are risks that the railway will not achieve its annual plan, and these centre largely around projected customer numbers, the weather and volunteer availability. As mentioned above, volunteer numbers rose during the year and advanced bookings are at record levels and, as such, our annual operating plan numbers look achievable. Finally, with the significant investment in infrastructure in recent years the possible business interruption due to weather has been mitigated as far as possible.

Come and ride the trains on your railway soon!


Christopher David Bristow – Director

12 February 2016

Posted by GWR Board Room Blog at 09:27 No comments: 
GWR Board Room Blog
 GWSR Facebook page