The Severn Valley Railway on the main line
For many years the SVRSevern Valley Railway was closely associated with steam excursions on the main line. In the mid-1970s, even before the company acquired the final section of the line from Foley Park, the SVRSevern Valley Railway set out to become a ‘BRBritish Rail or British Railways approved’ steam centre, supplying locomotives and rolling stock overhauled to BRBritish Rail or British Railways standards for use on main line excursions and charters.
The normal arrangement was that locomotives would leave the SVRSevern Valley Railway and travel to other steam centres, in particular the Bulmers Railway Centre at Hereford, to run tours from there. The time spent away could vary from days to months. In between, locomotives would return to the SVRSevern Valley Railway for repairs and overhauls, as well as working services on the SVRSevern Valley Railway itself. The SVRSevern Valley Railway also organised some of of these railtours.
The first recorded use of the SVRSevern Valley Railway's rolling stock on the main line was an excursion from Bridgnorth to Paddington on 13 November 1976. This was hauled by a BRBritish Rail or British Railways Western Class diesel locomotive from Bewdley, and later by a Class 47 Diesel. (Railtour details on Six Bells Junction)
The first recorded use of an SVRSevern Valley Railway based locomotive in revenue-earning service on the main line was 6960 Raveningham Hall, which hauled the ‘Cathedrals Express’ from Hereford to Chester on 8 April 1978. (Railtour details on Six Bells Junction)
SVRSevern Valley Railway-based locomotives which hauled revenue-earning services on the main line
The following lists are an attempt to collate information on all main line revenue-earning services and other significant appearances by SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotives. Links are provided to tour information on external websites, in particular Six Bells Junction (SBJ) and UK Steam (UKS), where more information on the precise route and timing may be found. The issue number and page of articles in SVRSevern Valley Railway News is also shown.
2857
Date | Tour name | Route | Notes | Web | SVRSevern Valley Railway News |
10 Sep 1985 | GW 150 Freight Demo | Kidderminster-Hereford-Newport + return | 25 SVRSevern Valley Railway wagons also used | 78-17 |
4930 Hagley Hall
Date | Tour name | Route | Notes | Web | SVRSevern Valley Railway News |
22 Sep 1979 | Inter-City | Hereford - Chester - Hereford | D/H with 45000. 4930 first main line run | SBJ | 53-12 |
04 Oct 1980 | Deeside Venturer | Newport - Hereford - Newport | SBJ | 56-12 | |
14 Feb 1981 | Welsh Marches Express | Hereford - Newport - Hereford | SBJ | 60-30 | |
14 Mar 1981 | Welsh Marches Express | Hereford - Newport - Hereford | SBJ | 59-24 | |
?? Oct 1981 | Welsh Marches Pullman | 4930 worked 2 tours in October 1981 (SVRSevern Valley Railway News) | 63-10 | ||
17 Oct 1981 | Welsh Marches Pullman | Shrewsbury - Hereford | Locoperf | 63-10 | |
20 Mar 1982 | Welsh Marches Express | Hereford - Newport - Hereford | D/H with 45000 | SBJ | |
17 Apr 1982 | Welsh Marches Express | Hereford - Newport - Hereford | D/H with 7812 Erlestoke Manor | 64-28 | |
24 Apr 1982 | Welsh Marches Pullman | Shrewsbury - Hereford | D/H with 7812 Erlestoke Manor | SBJ | 64-29 |
19 Feb 1983 | Welsh Marches Pullman | Hereford - Newport - Hereford | SBJ | 67-30 | |
26 Feb 1983 | Welsh Marches Pullman | Shrewsbury - Hereford | SBJ | 68-31 | |
22 Jan 1985 | Post Office special | B'ham Moor St-Stratford-Leamington Spa-B'ham Moor St | PO charter celebrating 150th anniversary of post by rail | 76-21 | |
02 Feb 1985 | Red Dragon | Newport - Swindon - Gloucester | SBJ | 76-37 | |
08 Apr 1985 | Great Western Limited | Plymouth - Bristol Temple Meads | D/H with 7819 after working L/E from SVRSevern Valley Railway overnight | SBJ | 76-12 |
25 Jun 1985 | GW150 Exhibition Train | Highley-Hereford | D/H with 6960 Raveningham Hall | 77-26 | |
06 Jul 1985 | Western Stalwart | Kidderminster - Cardiff Central - Hereford | DH with 7029 Clun Castle | SBJ | 77-40 |
07 Jul 1985 | Great Western Limited | Bristol Temple Meads - Totnes (terminated) | DH with 5051 Drysllwyn Castle | SBJ | 77-13 |
13 Aug 1985 | GW150 Celebrations Excursions | Swindon Gloucester - Swindon | SBJ | ||
30 Dec 1985 | Santa Special | Kidderminster - Hereford - Kidderminster | D/H with 3440 City of Truro | SBJ | 79-12 |
22 Mar 1986 | Tiddly Dyke Tour(s) | Andover - Ludgershall (5 x return) | SBJ | 80-4 | |
23 Mar 1986 | Sunday Steam Specials | Andover - Ludgershall (6 x return) | 4930 last main line appearance | 80-4 |
7325
Date | Tour name | Route | Notes | Web | SVRSevern Valley Railway News |
19 May 1995 | Kidderminster-Newport-Gloucester-Worcester | D/H with 7802 from Gloucester. L/E from Worcester due to hot box on tender. | 115-44 | ||
04 Nov 1995 | Stourbridge - Bristol - Swansea | Possible duplicate of 11 November[1] | |||
11 Nov 1995 | Stourbridge - Bristol - Swansea | D/H with 70000 Britannia from Bristol | 117-2 | ||
18 May 1996 | Steam on the Met | London Underground 'Steam on the Met' (2 weekends) | SBJ | ||
19 May 1996 | Steam on the Met | London Underground 'Steam on the Met' (2 weekends) | SBJ | ||
25 May 1996 | Steam on the Met | London Underground 'Steam on the Met' (2 weekends) | SBJ | 119-58 | |
26 May 1996 | Steam on the Met | London Underground 'Steam on the Met' (2 weekends) | SBJ | ||
27 May 1996 | Steam on the Met | London Underground 'Steam on the Met' (2 weekends) | SBJ | ||
11 Jan 1997 | Taffy Apple | Worcester-Hereford-Swansea-Gloucester-Worcester | D/H with 42968 | 122-4 | |
25 Oct 1997 | Meldon Meanderer | Bristol - Exeter - Meldon Quarry | D/H with 42968 | 125-70 | |
08 Nov 1997 | Pilgrims Progres | Exeter - Plymouth - Bristol | D/H with 42968 | 125-70 | |
15 Nov 1997 | Hardy Flyer | Bristol Temple Meads - Yeovil Pen Mill - Bristol | D/H with 42968 | 126-48 | |
22 Nov 1997 | Lickey Incliner | Bristol-Bromsgrove-Stourbridge-Gloucester | D/H with 42968, first preserved steam on the Lickey Incline | 126-2 | |
31 Jan 1998 | Inclined Salopian | Gloucester - Lickey Incline - Bescot | D/H with 42968 | 126-49 | |
21 Mar 1998 | Chester Chuffer | Bescot-Chester + return | SBJ |
Other locomotives still resident on the SVRSevern Valley Railway which have worked on the main line in preservation are:
- 7802 Bradley Manor
- 7812 Erlestoke Manor
- 7819 Hinton Manor
- 34027 Taw Valley
- 42968
- 43106
- 45110
- 46443
- 48773
- 75069
- 80079
- BR Class 50 50031 Hood
- BR Class 50 50035 Ark Royal
- BR Class 50 50044 Exeter
- BR Class 50 50049 Defiance
(lists to be added)
SVRSevern Valley Railway Carriages used on the main line in preservation
The following carriages travelled on the main line while based at the SVRSevern Valley Railway, either as part of revenue-earning rail tours or to attend celebratory events:
Rail 150, Shildon 1975
- Clapham Buffet 9631
- LMS 26986
- LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Passenger Brake 4236
The SVRSevern Valley Railway GWRGreat Western Railway set
In the mid to late 1970s the SVRSevern Valley Railway provided a rake of GWRGreat Western Railway carriages for use on mainline excursions. The first rail tour used 10 carriages, subsequent excursions normally featured a rake of 11. The following carriages were used[2]:
- GWR 5883 Brake Third
- GWR 1116 Full Third
- GWR 1146 Full Third
- GWR 1086 Full Third
- GWR 1087 Full Third
- GWR 7284 Composite
- GWR 6562 Brake Composite
- GWRGreat Western Railway 9631 'Clapham' Buffet Car ( No longer resident)
- GWR 9627 Restaurant Third
- GWR 9615 Kitchen Diner First
- GWR Full Third 2119 (from 1977[3])
Rail tours recorded in SVRSevern Valley Railway News as using the SVRSevern Valley Railway rolling stock included the following (external links are to tour details on www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk where listed there):
- 13 November 1976: Bewdley to Paddington[2] link
- 23 April 1977: Bridgnorth-Hereford-Chester[4] link
- 3 July 1977: Paddington-Newport-Shrewsbury[5]link
- 15 October 1977: ??-Liskeard[5]
- 6 May 1978: Bewdley-Kingswear[6] Link
- 4 November 1978: Bridgnorth-Pwllheli[7]
However their use on the main line was short-lived; the C&WCarriage & Wagon notes in SVRSevern Valley Railway News for summer 1980, reporting on the SVRSevern Valley Railway coaches attending the Rainhill celebrations, ended with the comment “What a pity the whole train cannot go out again”[8].
Rocket 150, Rainhill 1980
Main line support coaches
GWR 6913 Brake Composite was overhauled to main line standard in 1985 for use as a support coach for SVRSevern Valley Railway locos working on the main line. The first trip following the overhaul was with 7819 Hinton Manor[9].
SVRSevern Valley Railway Wagons used on the main line in preservation
As part of the 1985 GWRGreat Western Railway 150 celebrations, the SVRSevern Valley Railway was asked to produce a demonstration goods train to be taken on the main line to Newport, hauled by GWR 2857. BRBritish Rail or British Railways C&WCarriage & Wagon inspectors approved 25 wagons to run, the eventual line-up being as follows[10]:
- GWR 65801 Mogo Van
- GWR 80982 Signal Dept Van
- GWR 80603 Ballast Wagon
- GWR 80225 Ballast Wagon
- GWR 80684 Ballast Wagon
- GWR 94059 China Clay Open Wagon
- GWR 58725 Improvised Gunpowder Van
- GWR 93016 Mink 'A' Covered Goods Van
- LNER NE 274231 Coke Hopper (Now scrapped?)
- LNER NE 307306 Coke Hopper (Now scrapped?)
- LT Ballsat Hopper Wagon 436
- LT Ballsat Hopper Wagon 410
- GWR 40554 Chaired Sleeper Wagon
- GWR 42272 'Loriot L' Machinery Truck
- GWR 97398 5 plank Open Goods Wagon
- GWR 42138 'Loriot D' Machinery Truck
- BR B 943286 Bogie Bolster (Now at Battlefield Line)
- GWR 107291 Macaw B Bogie Bolster
- GWR 60841 Bogie Bolster
- Esso Oil Tank Wagon 2686
- GWR 68501 'Toad' 20T Goods Brake Van
- SV14192 BRBritish Rail or British Railways Flat ED (see below)
- SV14191 BRBritish Rail or British Railways Flat ED (see below)
- GWR 105873 'Mica B' Refrigerated Meat Van.
- Regent Oil & Texaco 431 Aviation Fuel Tank Wagon
A BRBritish Rail or British Railways Brake van was provided at the rear. The return trip took place in September 1985.
Three BRBritish Rail or British Railways Flat ED wagons were supplied by Universal Pictures for The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. They were originally classified as 'Horse Box Underframe of unknown ID'[11], and given the temporary numbers SV14191, SV14192 and SV14193. Later research proved their identities to be 906811, 906825 and 906830[12], although it is not clear which two took part in the goods train.
References
- ↑ Shown as 4 November in Siviter (2008)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 41
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 44
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 46
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 45
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 48
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 50
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 56
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 77
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 78
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book v7
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book v9