Having gone along today I also have to say what a good time I had, but that wasn't without a certain amount of trepidation in advance.
I confess that I'm not altogether totally convinced by the sudden rush this year to jump on the "oh what a wonderful war" band waggon that seems to trivialise the whole concept into a family friendly fun day which has seen numerous attempts to 'rebuild' battlefields squeezed between the icecream stall and kids face painting. In that vein I also wasn't too sure by today's frequent tannoy announcements "
...not to miss the gas attack on the trenches due to take place in 10 minutes..."
Ok, I accept I'm probably in a minority for feeling this way about the many "commemorations" this year, but it would be equally wrong to focus on this aspect of the event, as there was much more to see than just the reconstructed trenchs.
The Moseley Railway Trust/Apedale Light Railway have clearly gone to a lot of effort in preparation for this weekend's gala. Their adjoining land has had a good sort since my last visit a few years ago, and now forms a valuable event display space.
An extensive network of siding and lightly laid jubilee track has been (and appears to continue to be) laid around the site. In this instance giving the impression of the many light railway systems used to supply the front line troops during the war, but such track would have been equally at home in many industrial and extractive industries back home as well.
Despite heaving with visitors it was possible to take photos of nice little cameos for those so inclined, and with things constantly happening and moving around opportunities were also changing. For the 'family' element there was a frequent programme of events taking place in the display arena - understandably all of a military theme with various donkey whalloping displays by men with sharp things and noisy banging.
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.