Swithland Box Saturday 31st March saw me at Great Central Railway for their 1960's gala. As far as the weather went, I certainly chose the worst day of the weekend with blanket cloud cover and a chilly wind blowing all day, but as always at the GCR, the show was never going to be less than great.

I spent most of the day around Swithland Sidings, which now have the appearance of a length of four track mainline when the passing loops are clear of stock awaiting the restorer's attentions.     I had a chat with some of the blokes working in the area as I wanted a look inside Swithland signalbox, and I was told that the Swithland complex will only be fully utilised during future gala events, and the box will be locked out at other times.   More interestingly, it seems that the next project may be dualling the track from Rothley to Leicester North!

I don't know if it was the weather on Saturday, the fact that there was only one visiting locomotive at the gala, or the so-called petrol crisis, but things seemed to be much quieter than usual.   There were certainly far fewer photographers on the lineside today, and no problem with finding a seat on the trains that I travelled on.   I hope that the GCR still manages to make a profit from this exercise.