One aspect that many steam rally organisers could learn a thing or two about would be the attitude to 'safety'. As mentioned, the gala took place on and around a network of sidings, points and trackwork which saw constant use all through the day. None of this was fenced and no stewards were needed to 'guard' the movements. Visitors were treated as sensible human beings and expected to be aware of what was happening around them when near the tracks, locomotive klaxons could be used if the drivers needed to draw people's attention, or else the more effective audible warning of shouting "GET OUTTA WAY!". I wasn't aware of a constant stream of ambulances carrying the injured away to hospital so this approach seems to have been appropriate and effective for both the rail and road vehicle movements.


The majority of movements were undertaken by an extensive fleet of Simplex locomotives, whether that was taking troops to the front line trench, shunting ammunition or moving stretchers. The more substantially laid track was used by a selection of appropriate steam locos which could be seen shunting and handing over to the Simplexes. I've no doubt many these days would think narrow gauge railways and locos were built specifically to haul quaint carriages of tourists on rides, so it was good to see shunting and movement of freight. The railway's 'main line' was kept occupied elsewhere on the train ride stuff, leaving the event field free to play uninterrupted by the commercial realities of running a modern railway.