Up Front Steaming podcast

Up Front & Steaming is podcast channel all about heritage steam railways. In each episode you will hear the joy, passion, fun and nostalgia shared by the thousands of people that volunteer and work for the 200 heritage railways in the UK, plus the delight of millions who ride on heritage railways every year.

Series Two will kick off with an interview with Mel Holley, the editor of Trackside, the journal of railway preservation. This will be followed by episodes featuring a selection of heritage railways as well as people who have a story to tell about steam railways, both the originals and the preserved

The series is hosted by Tom Burgess, a prolific podcast producer and BBC trained presenter who has had a lifelong interest in railways and is a fully trained diesel and steam locomotive driver

In this episode we talk to Ian Crowder a volunteer on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway which offers a leisurely round trip of 28 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway through the beautiful Cotswold countryside.

Ian had a career in public relations and media is now, as you may guess, the press officer on the railway as well as a fully trained locomotive fireman and driver plus the part owner of a steam locomotive or rather parts of a locomotive as it is currently being restored. Ian talks about his interest in railways, how to attract visitors and what makes the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway so special. You can find out more at www.gwsr.com

Former clergyman, Brian Mason talks about what is like to be a booking office clerk, an on-train ticket inspector, a guard, a station master and a station staff assessor/inspector on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway which offers a leisurely round trip of 28 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway through the beautiful Cotswold countryside. Brian has done all those jobs and more. You can find out more at www.gwsr.com

There is more to running a railway than driving a train! The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has over 900 volunteers that come together to ensure a fun time for all who travel on the GWSR which offers a leisurely round trip of 28 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway through the beautiful Cotswold countryside. Alison Cater is one of those volunteers, in this episode she talks about her many roles on the railway and how she enjoys the community of friends that help make the line such well-oiled machine and how it makes everyone happy. You can find out more at www.gwsr.com

What is like to drive a steam locomotive and indeed actually own one? I talked with John Cruxon about Foremarke Hall which he restored from a rusty wreck to a fully working steam locomotive. John's loco now hauls trains on the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway which offers a leisurely round trip of 30 miles through the beautiful Cotswold countryside. Find out more at www.gwsr.com. This episode is produced in partnership with the GWSR for Upfront & Steaming, the heritage steam railway podcast.

The first series on this channel features the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway which offers a leisurely round trip of 30 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway through the beautiful Cotswold countryside. You will hear the fascinating story of the dedicated people who rebuilt and now operate this amazing steam railway which were once part of the route of the former Great Western Railway's main line from Birmingham to Cheltenham, via Stratford-upon-Avon.

In this first episode we talk with Richard Johnson, chairman of the GWSR plc who tells us the story since 1981 from when there was an empty track bed to the fully operational steam railway carrying thousands of passengers every year. You can find out more at www.gwsr.com

Up Front & Steaming is all about heritage steam railways where we hope you will feel the joy, passion, fun, nostalgia shared by the thousands of people that volunteer and work for the 150 heritage railways in the UK, plus the delight of millions who ride on heritage railways every year. Series is hosted by Tom Burgess who has had a lifelong interest in railways and is a fully trained diesel and steam locomotive driver and recently started rebuilding his childhood model railway. If this is an interest of yours, then this new series is for you. www.upfrontandsteaming.com