The earliest organised Flat racing event in Cheltenham was held in 1815 on Nottingham Hill, while the first races on Cleeve Hill took place in August 1818. Over the following ten years, the sport grew rapidly in popularity, with as many as 30,000 spectators attending the racecourse for its annual two-day July meeting, which included the Gold Cup (then run as a three-mile Flat race). In 1829, Cheltenham’s parish priest, the Reverend Francis Close, delivered sermons condemning horse racing, stirring strong opposition among members of his congregation. As a result, the 1830 race meeting was disrupted, and ahead of the event the following year, the grandstand was set on fire and destroyed.
In response to this hostility, the racecourse relocated to Prestbury Park (the site it still occupies today) in 1831. Steeplechasing became established nearby in Andoversford in 1834 and was eventually transferred to the current course in 1898. Later, in 1964, the Racecourse Holdings Trust (now known as Jockey Club Racecourses) was established to safeguard Cheltenham’s long-term future.
In response to this hostility, the racecourse relocated to Prestbury Park (the site it still occupies today) in 1831. Steeplechasing became established nearby in Andoversford in 1834 and was eventually transferred to the current course in 1898. Later, in 1964, the Racecourse Holdings Trust (now known as Jockey Club Racecourses) was established to safeguard Cheltenham’s long-term future.
In terms of train travel to the races, Cheltenham Racecourse station was opened in 1912 by the Great Western Railway, almost a century after that inaugural flat race back in 1815. Sadly, the station closed in the 1960s, but it had a slight reprieve between 1971 & 1976, when special race-day trains served the racecourse. It wasn't until the 7th April 2003 when the station was officially reopened to traffic by the Princess Royal, that steam power would return 'to the races'.
As many readers of this blog will know, besides galas and our 'Santa Season', the 'Cheltenham Festival' is one of the most important weeks for the GWSR, in terms of both visitors and income. Therefore, it is of vital importance that the steam department ensures that everything is 'steam-shape' so to speak, especially with only three serviceable locomotives at present. Like many things in life, preparation is the key, and we start with the elder statesmen of the fleet...
With the team carrying out some significant work on 2807 during winter maintenance, it was time for a proving run in tandem with 3850.
2807 / Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) Update W/E 7th March - Written by Graham Bondi
3850 & 2807 warming up on shed at Toddington - 6th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of Graham Bondi
Friday afternoon and both 3850 and 2807 have warming fires on the go. I did most of it with Phil G in attendance because my competency had expired at the beginning of February and I might have forgotten what to do. Truth be told, things can change, and I enquired about the coal in the tenders. It is very fast burning so they needed top – down fires where a pile of coal under the door has a fire started on top so that it burns slowly down overnight; otherwise, a lot happens very quickly only to cool down again by booking on time the next morning.
Saturday 13:12 hours and 2807 has joined 3850 for the 13:15 departure to Cheltenham R C.
A fine sight as the well-matched duo set out from Toddington - Photo courtesy of Graham Bondi
2807 departs Toddington on a test run (with 3850 for support) - 7th March 2026 - Video courtesy of Graham Bondi
On their return I was just in time to get a thumbs up from driver Ben E as they trundled past the ash dock: not a full technical de-brief I admit, but I will be surprised if anything seriously untoward had occurred.
2807 Tender
Bruce was in conversation with 2807’s crew and then joined them for trial light engine runs up and down the long siding. Geof worked on the RHS leading axle box before paying last minute attention to 2807 when it was in the parlour road. Teresa was needle gunning boot scrapers.
Roger 3 and myself were painting black undercoat on the part of the frames that we had not got to last week. I also put another layer of black undercoat on the tender fall plate that sits on the very front of the frames ahead of the tank.
Bruce was in conversation with 2807’s crew and then joined them for trial light engine runs up and down the long siding. Geof worked on the RHS leading axle box before paying last minute attention to 2807 when it was in the parlour road. Teresa was needle gunning boot scrapers.
Roger 3 and myself were painting black undercoat on the part of the frames that we had not got to last week. I also put another layer of black undercoat on the tender fall plate that sits on the very front of the frames ahead of the tank.
The sheets that go between the frames and the tank have had the paint scratched when moved around with insufficient care. Roger applied another coat with a roller. This will probably need doing to the other side of sheets as required.
Geof had needle gunned the drawbar and I put green anti-corrosion paint on one side.
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Off to The Races - 10th - 13th March 2026
Now let us move on to Tuesday 10th March and the first day of 'The Cheltenham Festival'. I spent the day on shed helping to clean 2807 and 6880, along with keeping the standby engine warm. Luckily, the 'Grange' wasn't required.
3850 & 2807 warming up on shed at Toddington - 10th March 2026
If 'Batman' drove a steam engine, then a '28xx' in black would be a good fit! - 10th March 2026
Standby locomotive No. 6880 - I was tasked with keeping the warming fire going - 10th March 2026
There's something about black which really suits these heavy freight 2-8-0s - 10th March 2026
It's nearly time to depart shed, complete with the customary headboards - 10th March 2026
A resplendent looking 2807, and truly remarkable that this locomotive is over 120 years old - 10th March 2026
All ready for the off at Toddington, and here comes the sunshine! - 10th March 2026
Double trouble at the helm! I say in jest of course, these engines rarely put a foot wrong - 10th March 2026
3850 looks like she's just rolled off the production line at Swindon Works - 10th March 2026
3850 approaches Toddington signal box for the token exchange - 10th March 2026
2807 & 3850 on 'Race Train' duty - 10th March 2026
6880 receiving a good clean - 10th March 2026
Starting to look better - 10th March 2026
3850 & 2807 back on shed early afternoon, ready for a crew change - 10th March 2026
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Inside the DP Shed at Toddington
Inside the DP Shed at Toddington
What a difference two years make. Here are a few 'Then & Now' photos of 35006. As you will see, work is progressing well on the loco's strip-down, but there's plenty more to do. The stripping of the boiler of the various fittings, along with the backhead is nearly complete. The damper operating assembly and brake ejector were recently removed, with the latter putting up a fight. Parts still to be removed include the gauge frame pedestals, manifold brackets and some lower cladding.
On the boiler front, the steam pipes to the cylinders have been removed, and some of the boiler superheater elements have been released. Various parts of the brake gear, sanders and motion have been removed to the allow the loco to be lifted - more on this can be found later on in the blog.
A very barren looking footplate with the backhead virtually clear - 10th March 2026
The loco was being prepared to be lifted up the following week - 10th March 2026
7903 with more parts removed - 10th March 2026
To date 7903s boiler is being stripped of all its fittings, pipework etc and is progressing towards a plan for a boiler lift sometime in the next month, all being well. The boiler will then be sent away for overhaul. A lot of volunteer effort has gone into recovering the castings from the Superheater Elements, so that they can be reused in the new Elements.
At present, the plan is for the locomotive to be lifted at some stage during the summer, so that the wheel-sets can be removed. These will then be sent away so that new tyres can be fitted. At the same time, a general overhaul of other components will also take place.
At present, the plan is for the locomotive to be lifted at some stage during the summer, so that the wheel-sets can be removed. These will then be sent away so that new tyres can be fitted. At the same time, a general overhaul of other components will also take place.
Work continues on the restoration of 2874 - 10th March 2026
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2807 / Cotswold Steam Preservation Limited (CSPL) Update W/E 14th March - Written by Graham Bondi
Saturday 14th March 2026
2807
performed well on the race trains with just one significant report
raised after her test run last Saturday. One of the piston rods was
running rather hot, so a modification to its gland was made on Sunday.
An improvement was seen but the matter remains a category 2 (monitor)
situation.
Work has continued on the tender. On Saturday Geof was checking level lines and Gilbert lubrication on the ‘corner’ axle boxes.
The
intermediate axle boxes needed fitting. The RHS shims had already been
made and fitted. For the LHS substantial shims were required.
Dave marking out ten-thou shims and then drilling them.
Meanwhile, Geof Gilbert and myself installed the RHS intermediate axle box.
It
is more difficult than it looks. I have not often been directly
involved in this task and it is debateable whether I was assisting or
hindering at times. Nevertheless, we got it done eventually.
The top cover and axle box within the horn guides and resting on the fitted tie bar.
Dave
has inserted a shim to the LHS intermediate horn-guides and is
tightening the face plate. The small countersunk nuts are tightened
carefully in rotation. The occasional very gentle persuasion with the
brass hammer can be beneficial.
Dave similarly fitted a shim to the opposing horn-guide and then we inserted the axlebox to check the fit tolerances.
Dave similarly fitted a shim to the opposing horn-guide and then we inserted the axlebox to check the fit tolerances.
At the end of the day, Geof announced that he was happy with all the axle boxes.
In between times I did a bit of painting.
In between times I did a bit of painting.
The drawbar has the first black undercoat on one side.
The
latest batch of rivets done by Ian now have the green anti-corrosion
primer applied. A deep forensic examination of this image reveals a
partial view of the intermediate buffers leaning against the wall. This
reminds me that Bruce was much in evidence preparing a drawing of these
especially in respect of the unique cotter arrangement.
If
it is warm enough there will be gloss painting to do, and perhaps
further undercoat to the front drag box. Otherwise, there is not much
for the Saturday gang to do until we can get the frames in place for the
wheels to be put under. As a consequence, a couple of us are taking a
short break and await Geof’s instruction to take up tools again.
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Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway - Springtime In The Cotswolds featuring 3850 - Saturday the 14th brought a visit to the GWSR. With a favourable afternoon forecast and an early finish from work, I headed down to the Cotswolds. GWR 2-8-0 3850 was on the roster and is seen here at Stanton Cutting and departing Winchcombe in gorgeous afternoon sunshine. The bubble car, which I think looks quite the part also makes an appearance, seen stopping at Hailes Abbey Halt towards the end of the day. Video © Steam Valley Productions
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76077 / Toddington Standard Locomotive Limited Update - 14th March 2026 - Written by TSLL
Just six yesterday, it seems 6 Nations rugby and Caribbean holidays were deemed more important than working on rusty 76077 bits! Not many exciting photos but bits moved on none the less. Captions with the photos as normal. In other news, I’m awaiting photos from Loughborough showing the new sand boxes now in position on the chassis.
The new tender steps had the welds ground flush and then was given a coat of primer. This item will soon be appearing as an item available to sponsor and I’ll post details when it does - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
The sun put in an appearance so painting was undertaken outside - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
The regulator handle had its first coats of high build primer. If you wanted to sponsor this item, sadly you’re too late ! One of the GWSR drivers jumped in and paid for its manufacture - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
One of the steam shutoff valves from the manifold was stripped. Having been made some years ago, they all need stripping, cleaning and checking over - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
Split down prior to cleaning - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
Quick polish on the buffing wheel - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
These are the two injector steam valves, Andrew took them home last week and took 1/8 inch off each side off the mounting bossses - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
Quick preventative coat of paint for the fire grate support carriers - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
Rob has welded up the sandbox lids and these had the welds dressed back, now just awaiting the handles which have been bent to shape - 14th March 2026 - Photo courtesy of TSLL
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Re-creating the GWR era at Broadway and Greet Tunnel on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Monday 16th March was a special day for 3850, as the GWSR hosted a photographic event organised in partnership with 30742 Charters. The '28xx' looked fantastic hauling our freight train, which has been put together by the hard work of many volunteers at C&W and Cotswold Wagon Restorations. The loco crew for the day were Mike Solloway, Jonathan Windscheffel, Tom Willson & Mark Harding. I hear that a terrific day was had by all involved in the event.
3850 approaches Greet Tunnel with our goods train - 16th March 2026 -
Photo courtesy of Cotswold Wagon Restorations / Alex Caulfield
3850 departs Winchcombe - Video courtesy of Cotswold Wagon Restorations / Alex Caulfield
3850 exits Greet Tunnel (Note: Winchcombe box was switched out for the day so signals in both directions are cleared) - 16th March 2026 - Video courtesy of Cotswold Wagon Restorations / Alex Caulfield
Thunderbirds Are Go!
Tuesday 17th March 2026 marked a significant milestone for 35006 with the locomotive being lifted on the jacks so that its wheel-sets could be removed. This includes the bogie, driving wheels and pony truck. Once this is done, the wheels will be cleaned and inspected. The driving wheels will then be sent away for new tyres to be fitted.
Whenever I see a locomotive on the lifting jacks, I always think we should have some appropriate music playing in the background. My vote would be for the iconic theme to Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds. Our engines are F.A.B after all.
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For those of you who use Facebook, here are a number of GWSR related groups which are worth following:
DMLL - Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd
2874 - The 2874 Trust
35006 - 35006 Group
76077 - Standard Locomotive 76077
THL - The Honeybourne Line - a GWR mainline in the makingA very important weekend in May for your diaries, with further news and announcements due soon. *
The GWSR recently launched a new website and the various department blogs can all be found here.
Anyway,
that's all I have for today. More updates and gala announcements will be chuffing
along in due course. As for those plates, well they're still spinning rather relentlessly.
Thanks to Graham, CSPL, TSLL, and my fellow steam department members for their contributions.
Alex (the sooty one!).
* Please Note: All locomotives are subject to availability and changes may be made at short notice.
All published photographs and videos are my own unless otherwise stated/credited.
3850 & 2807 looked gorgeous on the race trains; a fine credit to the GWSR!
ReplyDeleteMay I use a couple of the photos of 2807 for our next (June) 2807 News newsletter please?
ReplyDelete