Summer Steam Festival 2025: A Record-Breaking Success!
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We launched the summer holidays in style with our hugely successful Summer Steam Festival, held over the weekend of 12th–13th July. The event drew record crowds, with busy trains and a vibrant atmosphere.
A highlight of this year’s festival was the visit of Exmoor Steam Railway built "Anne" from The Perrygrove and Valley Railway Adventure. This marked a historic reunion, as it was the first time that both "Anne" and Our No.5, "Königswinter" had operated on the same tracks since their days at Longleat Railway, where they were known as "John Hayton" and "Ceawlin" respectively.
Another highlight was the naming of our steam locomotive No.24. The 2-6-2 Sandy River locomotive has recently been completely overhauled by John Fowler Engineering in Bouth, Cumbria and after debuting at the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 150th Anniversary Celebrations, has been running in here at the railway.
The naming ceremony took place at 12:45pm on the 12th of July, with the locomotive named ‘Lucy-Lou’ by Heather Matthews-Gallagher, daughter of the late Geoff Matthews, a former British Railways driver and long-time volunteer here at CCLR, who passed away in January 2025.
Heather made a speech reflecting on her father’s joy at helping out at Cleethorpes during retirement, even as his mobility declined. One of our directors, John Kerr, then explained that Geoff had fondly given affectionate nicknames to many of the line’s locomotives, and one name stood out for No.24. In his honour, it was decided to name No.24 using one of Geoff’s favourites, Heather then unveiling the nameplate.
The rest of the day featured a series of double-headed services, culminating in a spectacular triple-header with "Anne", "Bonnie Dundee" and "Lucy-Lou".
Saturday also saw Lakeside Station host live music, a showcase of vintage vehicles, including members of the East Coast Classic Car & Motorbike Club, a vintage Dennis bus, and several miniature steam vehicles.
Sunday continued the momentum, with "Lucy-Lou" leading the first train of the day. Highlights included a special double-header nicknamed the ‘Fairbourne Flyer’ with two former Fairbourne Railway locomotives, "Rachel" and "Lucy-Lou", and further appearances from "Königswinter". Once again, triple-headed services closed out the day in grand style. The vintage vehicle display returned, joined by several classic buses and a vintage fire engine.
The event also provided an opportunity for representatives from Eastleigh Lakeside Miniature Railway, our newest sister railway purchased by Seaside Railway Group, to meet and connect with their fellow colleagues from Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and Scarborough North Bay Railway.
Peter Bryant, one of our directors, reflected on the event: “We are delighted with the success of our recent festival – with fantastic weather and a great atmosphere, it was a special moment for all the team at CCLR to see No.24 finally named ‘Lucy-Lou’, in honour of our friend Geoff.
Great fun was had by all over the weekend, and we are so grateful to our team who worked so hard in the run up and over the festival. We are already planning for next year’s event – 11th & 12th of July 2026 – a date for everyone’s diaries.”
Next up for us here at CCLR is the popular Rail, Ale & Blues Festival, taking place from 12th to 14th September 2025, marking 10 years since the inaugural event.
