Diesel Gala 2023
It’s no secret that my train geekery, particularly classic UK diesels comes out fairly often (hey, I am a bona fide ferroequinologist, don’t ya know), and I am very lucky to have the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway so close. It’s also a good ting that my partner likes the shops in Haworth (and secretly quite likes gliding around on trains), and will normally be dragged along without too much fuss.
This year we (or I) made a definite plan and effort to go for a day at the annual Diesel Gala.
One thing I will say is if you want to try and catch, or rine behind, your favourite locomotives, this can end up quite stressful in terms of journey planning and invariably you will either miss things or be waiting around.
A big lure for me was D9520 Class 14, visiting from the Mid Norfolk Railway, though as a smaller diesel this was doing many shorter runs on the day we were there.
We arrived at Keighley in time to catch 47721 Lady Diana Spencer, but I didn’t want to ride behind her as I wanted to catch D9250 for some photos. 47712 entered service as D1948 in 1966, and gained the TOPS number 47505 in 1974. 1979, it became part of the Scottish Class 47/7+DBSO push-pull project and after overhaul at Crewe was re-numbered 47712. It was named “Lady Diana Spencer” in 1981.
After becoming surplus to Direct Rail Services’s requirements it was purchased by the Crewe Diesel Preservation Group (CDPG) in 2013. It was reunited with Driving Brake Second Open 9711 in 2017.
You can read more about 47712 here.
After she had left, D9250 arrived in tandem with 37705 (who previous readers will know we have affecttionately christened Spamcan). You can also see the visitng HSTs waiting in the sidings.
D9520 was built in 1964, and was allocated to Cardiff Canton, after which it worked for BR at Hull, following which in 1968 it was purchased by Stewart& Lloyds Minerals Ltd where it worked Glendon Quarries near Kettering as No. 24 (Plant No. 8311/24).
The Class 14s sadly saw a short lifespan in BR service as this shows – being larger than a typical shunter, yet smaller than a typical mainline diesel the type of work they were best at was waning. They are affectionately nicknamed “Teddy Bears”; various rumours exist as to why.
We Rode 37705 up to Oxenhope after this. I won’t write too much about 37075 as I have done so here.
While waiting at Oxenhope we have some breakfast, in my case a true Yorkshire dish of Pork Pie and Peas with a Ben Shaw’s.
At oxenhope there is the engine shed, where many locomotives which are out of service are stored. There’s also a little book stand, good for old rail magazines for donations.
Here, writing up I am a little lost, as the images and the time my camera says I took them do not match the timetable. Anyway we went back to Ingrow West to catch D9520. The photos here are at Ingrow and are 47712 leading to Keighley – but I am not quite sure how that fits. I said it bacame complex.
We rode D9520, trailing The Vulcan D0266 to Damems and back – though I nearly missed getting on as I was too busy taking photos.
Time for a quick look round Ingrow yard, with the newly repainted crane looking very smart.
Then another ride in the luxurious Mk3 carriages, this time hauled by thr pair of HSTs from Rail Adventure. Great as these are it’s a shae they are no-longer in an original livery. After this we had a break to get a pint and wander around Haworth.
After this we generally rode around and drank beer. Later in the evening 37401 “Mary Queen of Scots” from DRS and 37401 “Isle of Mull” from SRPS povided much of the traction double headed which was quite a treat. We also saw the home fleet’s Class 20 20031. All in all a great diesel day.
