Over the weekend, the Epping Ongar Railway held its massively successful Southern Giants Steam Gala.
Steam action was packed into an intensive 3-day timetable, with locomotives topping and tailing, special brake van rides, a Real Ale Train and even two nonstop services from Ongar to Epping Forest.
4953 ‘Pitchford Hall’ captivated visitors in rain or shine alongside visiting locomotives 34072 ‘257 Squadron’, 926 ‘Repton’, and Hunslet 3781.
Saturday was exceptionally busy, with 926 running services well into the evening.
Alongside the locomotives, there was much to see, including vintage bus rides and various exhibitions at Ongar station with Malcolm Roots’ artwork on display.
If you missed out on this event, there are plenty of upcoming events, including their Fright Night Halloween services, Santa Specials and Lights Express.
“Our Steam Gala has been a resounding success, a real hit with our customers! This event perfectly showcased the Epping Ongar Railway’s mission to educate, preserve, and celebrate rail heritage, making history exciting and relevant for everyone. I’m incredibly grateful to our dedicated volunteers and staff who worked so hard to make this event happen. “
Nick Arthurton, General Manager
Responses
Thanks to every single person who came along to our Steam gala. We really enjoyed your enthusiasm, knowledge and company! And a big shout-out to the team from Rail Advent who took the time to drop by for the whole day on Saturday and reported on our event!