13th ANNUAL TRA DMU EVENT
25th - 26th October 2008 Colne Valley Railway & East Anglian Railway Museum

TRA Convention 2008 – confirmation of arrangements
The thirteenth DMU Convention in 2008 is to be hosted jointly by the East Anglian Railway Museum (Chappel & Wakes Colne) and Colne Valley Railway (Castle Hedingham) over the weekend of 25/26 October.  Organisers are Mark Cornell (DUPA) and Tony Fox (PSH).

On both days Class 121 Pressed Steel ‘bubble car’ and trailer W55033/W56287 and Class 141 WYPTE Pacer 141108 are to run at the CVR, with a Class 101/108 hybrid set providing the services at the EARM.  At each location other rolling stock will be stabled for inspection, including the AC Cars Railbus 79978 and Class 101 and 108 vehicles in process of restoration.  Heritage buses will be on display at Castle Hedingham and the nearby Great Yeldham Transport Museum.

A Routemaster service on both days links the EARM, CVR and Great Yeldham.  Train travel direct to the Convention is possible by National Express East Anglia’s mainline service to Chappel & Wakes Colne on the Marks Tey – Sudbury branch.  An hourly frequency operates on both days.  Stansted Transit Bus Service no. 89 runs between Braintree Station (on the mainline branch from Witham) and Castle Hedingham on Saturday only.

Driver experience runs are available, timings depending on demand.  Please contact Mark or Tony (emails below) asap to confirm your interest and preferred time(s).  Thinking so far is that runs will be available at each location before operations start (between 0830 and 1030) on both days, with extras on the Friday if demand is high.  At the EARM driver experience runs can also be slotted in between passenger services on both days.  Once numbers are known we can firm up the schedules.

Costs are:  CVR - £15 per run on either Class 121 or class 141, £25 for both.   EARM - £10 per run on the Class101/108 unit.

Our annual meeting is scheduled for 17:00 on Saturday 25th October at Castle Hedingham Station, after services have finished for the day.  Star turn is Evan Green Hughes with a review of TRA’s Model Maintenance Scheme.  If anyone else would like to book a slot then please contact Tony.  Projection facilities can be arranged if required. 

The traditional fish or pie and chips supper follows the meeting, with liquid refreshment available…  Catering facilities at the Colne Valley are now second to none so it should be an enjoyable evening.

Ample space is available at Castle Hedingham for overnight parking, with full English as an added attraction! 

Contact Mark (mark.cornell at bnymellon.com) or Tony (anthony.fox at which.net) with driver experience bookings or for further information.  Railway websites are www.earm.co.uk and www.cvr.org.uk .

To view details of previous galas:

12th 2007 Churnet Valley Railway
11th 2006 Battlefield Railway
10th 2005 Llangollen Railway
9th   2004 Railcar50 Severn Valley Railway
8th   2003 Chasewater Railway
7th   2002 Swanage Railway
6th   2001 Mid-Norfolk Railway
5th   2000 East Lancs Railway
4th   1999 West Somerset Railway
3rd   1998 Llangollen Railway
2nd  1997 Midland Railway Centre
1st   1996 Dean Forest Railway