Southern meets Western on the Watercress line | Mid Hants Railway 'Autumn Steam Gala' - 04.10.24

A mixed theme of western and southern steam would grace ‘The Alps’, as the Mid Hants Railway held their 2024 Autumn Steam Gala during the first weekend of October.

The gala would see three visitors, two of which would represent the Great Western Railway, in the form of 41xx Class No. 4144 from the Didcot Railway Centre, and 66xx Class No. 6695, courtesy of the 6695 loco group. Completing the visiting line up would be long term resident Battle of Britain Class No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’, courtesy of Southern Locomotive Limited, having been based at the line since the beginning of August, visiting from its base of the Spa Valley Railway.

The home fleet would consist of Ivatt Tank No. 41312 and S15 No. 506. Hunslet Austerity No. 3781 (or Thomas the Tank Engine, if you prefer) would also make an appearance at the start of the day, running a shuttle service between Ropley and Alresford, before being used for Driver Experiences in Ropley Yard.

The aim of the gala this year was for the line to act as a joint railway hub with the Sothern and Great Western, featuring express trains, local shuttle services, and freight. The Southern engines would begin at Alton with the Western engines beginning at Alresford, with their services only running part way along the line. As the day would go on, inter-regional mainline trains would run from each end of the line, with shuttle services making connections around these mainline services. One of the mainline services would involve a recreation of the Atlantic Coast Express with 34072 at the head, running nonstop through Ropley. This would make for an excellent day out on the lineside capturing the action at various locations along the line, topped off with brilliant sunshine that would be present for most of the day.