Giants of Steam Gala, 11-13 October 2024
Our busiest gala for some years saw the crowds flock to see five large locos on an intensive timetable, with plenty that was new, in spite of just having one main visitor, Gresley A4 Pacific 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’.
Rob Howard’s three photos here show the visitor, and BR Class 5 73082 ‘Camelot’ on Friday 11 October.
As always in this What’s New/Blog, click on the photos to see an enlargement.
6989 ‘Wightwick Hall’, a “visiting” locomotive which has now been with us for over two years, was still popular with the crowds at Horsted Keynes, as seen in Julian Clark’s photo on the Saturday of Giants of Steam. 
The Great Northern Directors’ Saloon, in LNER livery, made it back into service after extended maintenance earlier in the year, to run at Giants of Steam behind ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’. Photo by Jemima White, 11 October.
YouTube videos from Giants of Steam, from:
- Â SatNavDan,
- Â BasicTrainContent,
- Â Chailey Stowe,
- Â E-an-e,
- Â Toby’s Trains,
- Â TheModster,
- Â FrontLineSteam,
- Â Pico Railway Videos,
- Â TheSoutherner,
- Â Sharpthorne Steam, and
- Â Rob Howard.
Nick Gilliam’s photo shows 32424 ‘Beachy Head’ topping Freshfield Bank with the 2.15 service from Sheffield Park (formed of eight Victorian and Edwardian carriages) on the Friday. 
This was the first gala appearance for our new-build Atlantic, ‘Beachy Head’. David Cable’s photo shows it approaching Horsted Keynes on Friday 11 October. 
Peter Hollands’ photo from the Friday shows 73082 ‘Camelot’ and 34059 ‘Sir Archibald Sinclair’ on Freshfield Bank. It was the latter’s first gala appearance since completion of its recent overhaul.
Photo Galleries covering Giants of Steam, from:
- Â Brian Dandridge,
- Â Keith Duke,
- Â Jemima White, and
- Â John Sandys – Friday, and Saturday.
David Cable’s photo shows ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ at the top of Freshfield Bank on the Friday. One feature of the gala was that all five locos were named locomotives. 
David Cable’s photo shows ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ approaching Horsted Keynes on Friday 11 October. 
‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ with the 1.30pm service from Sheffield Park, tops Freshfield Bank in this photo from Nick Gilliam from the Friday of Giants.
