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September 2024
LMS 11456 arrives at Kidderminster on 10 September ready for the Autumn Steam Gala. MARTIN WHITE
Welcome to your latest edition of Branch Lines!
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Are you visiting either or both of the forthcoming enthusiast events? The autumn season is almost upon us, and we have great news on the guest line-ups for both the Steam Gala and the Diesel Bash. We’re hoping for strong attendances, smooth running of operations, and of course, to see you again!
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The Railway is up for yet more prestigious recognition, with the announcement that we’re finalists in no fewer than three categories at the 2024/2025 Visit Worcestershire awards, and we’ve just welcomed a new addition to the home-based fleet. A three-carriage Class 101 DMU set arrived yesterday, and should soon be in service.
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All this, and much more from across the line in your September edition of Branch Lines. We hope you enjoy it!
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The Branch Lines team is Amy Baker, Pete Cherry, Karen Crick and Gary Essex
Lesley Carr, editor
Contents
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What's new?
Autumn Diesel Bash to host a rare Class 25 appearance
A locomotive that’s rarely seen away from its home base at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) will be joining the line-up at the Autumn Diesel Bash. Class 25 No D7628 will take part in the event between 3 and 6 October.
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‘We’re extremely grateful to the NYMR for agreeing to D7628’s appearance,’ said managing director Gus Dunster. ‘Securing this locomotive is quite a “coup” as it is very rarely seen away from its home base, and we are very pleased to be hosting it.’
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The loco will be appearing at the Autumn Diesel Bash, subject to availability, alongside SVR home locomotives and additional visitor Class 25 No 25262 as previously announced.
There’ll be a busy timetable for the four-day celebration, which is expected to attract visitors from all over the country. The Diesel Depot at Kidderminster will open for tours, which can be pre-booked on the day at the 50 Fund stand on Kidderminster concourse.
Before the main gala, on Wednesday 2 October, both the visiting Class 25s will take part in an all-Sulzer preview day, when they’ll double-head on a number of services for the first time in preservation.
 
There’s more information, and one-day and multi-day rover tickets for sale, at svr.co.uk now.
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Class 25 D7628 from the NYMR will be a guest at the Autumn Diesel Bash. KENNY FELSTEAD​​
First chance to see ASG guest in LMS livery
The forthcoming Autumn Steam Gala (19-22 September) will be the first opportunity to see the brand-new LMS livery that’s just been applied to guest locomotive 11456!
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The saddle tank engine has been repainted and varnished into its authentic identity as LMS 11456, and appears courtesy of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Trust and the East Lancashire Railway.
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‘Quite simply, it looks stunning,’ said managing director Gus Dunster. ‘We can’t wait to see it paired with our beautiful set of vintage LMS carriages at the Autumn Steam Gala. It’s going to an historic moment, as this is something that hasn’t been seen for more than 80 years!
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‘Alongside our own Stanier Mogul, No 13268, it’s going to be quite the sight! This really is shaping up to be a fabulous event.’
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The event stars three other guests - 2999 ‘Lady of Legend’, 45596 ‘Bahamas’ and Black Five 44932.
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The SVR home fleet will also be in service including 4930 ‘Hagley Hall’ and Stanier Mogul 13268 in LMS lined-black livery.
A busy timetable will be operating with early morning and late evening services along with goods trains and trains stopping at Eardington Station.
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Timetable, details and tickets are at svr.co.uk.
Click on the gallery for larger images and descriptions..
SVR is triple finalist for Visit Worcestershire Awards
The railway is in the running to scoop three separate accolades in the Visit Worcestershire tourism awards for 2024/2045: Large Visitor Attraction, Business Event Venue of the Year and the Unsung Hero.
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The regional tourism awards celebrate excellence in the industry, and this year there have been more applications than ever before.
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‘The competition is very tough,’ said managing director Gus Dunster. ‘We’re absolutely delighted to have made it to the finals in three very different categories.
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‘We pride ourselves in putting our visitors front and centre, whilst also keeping focus on the history, passion and commitment that have made us “the leading standard-gauge steam railway”, according to VisitEngland.
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‘We’re constantly listening to visitor feedback and making improvements. This is borne out by 150 five-star visitor reviews on TripAdvisor in the last year, and the fact that we’ve held more than 50 bespoke corporate events in the past year, with excellent levels of satisfaction and repeat bookings. ​
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‘I’m especially pleased that our young volunteer Charlie Delaney is now getting the recognition he deserves as a finalist in the Unsung Heroes category. At just 18 years old, Charlie volunteers across several roles, including trainee
locomotive cleaner and newly passed out guard, and as a member of platform staff at our Kidderminster station. Plus, he’s done plenty of shifts as a Christmas elf! He’s nothing if not versatile, and Charlie embodies the dedicated spirit of all our volunteers.’
​Charlie added, ‘I’ve always loved railways and the SVR in particular. Volunteering here is my chance to pay back the place that has given me and my whole family such pleasure over the years.  I love being part of this relaxed and happy family of volunteers.’
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Visit Worcestershire will announce the award winners at a special event planned for March 2025.
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Charlie Delaney with 4930 'Hagley Hall' during Bewdley Bike Week this year. SVR
Second DMU joins home fleet
The Railway’s permanent home fleet has increased with the addition of a three-carriage Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit, which arrived yesterday from its former base at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
The Class 101 DMU is owned by the SVR-based DMU Group (West Midlands) after a generous donation funded its purchase.
Nos 50170 and 50253 have previously appeared at the SVR during the Railcar 50 event in 2004.
Together with the third vehicle, 59303, they’ve been returned to their original, as-built condition in BR green livery.
Managing director Gus Dunster said, ‘These latest residents will be a welcome addition to our well-established Class 108 DMU. The return-to-service of two of its vehicles last December has proved incredibly useful. ​
‘These agile vehicles are ideal for running shuttle services along part of the line, and for providing services at times when a full-size train wouldn’t be economic. Before the closure of the Severn Valley line by British Railways in the 1960s, DMUs like these were a familiar site on passenger services. Their quirky, retro appearance is very popular with our visitors who particularly enjoy the forward-facing view of the line from the front carriage!’
The board of the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited has approved the vehicles coming onto the line, as is required for any additional permanent rolling stock.
Apart from a small amount of cosmetic work to one unit, the set is fully operational, and James Cooper of the DMU Group (West Midlands) said, ‘This is an exciting development for us. Acquiring the Class 101 will allow us to provide the SVR with an operational DMU of suitable passenger capacity, at the same time as allowing regular downtime for maintenance of all our DMU vehicles.
‘The Class 101s share many common parts with the Class 108, including the engines, and because they are blue square rated, they can work in multiple or combined with Class 108 vehicles.’
Of the existing Class 108 DMUs on the SVR, 52064 has recently been repainted at Bridgnorth, and the other two operational vehicles are scheduled to be painted before the 2025 season. They have performed well in service this year with a few repairs required recently. The DMU Group is looking at options to get the bogies overhauled on the remaining two Class 108 vehicles.
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DMU on the back of Allelys low loader being brought into the SVR 11th September. LUKE VINES
Other News
Filming a curtain-raiser for the SVR’s 60th anniversary
Two days of filming took place during the busy summer season to capture footage for use in a short ‘curtain-raiser’ film that will help launch the celebrations for the Railway’s 60th anniversary next year.
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‘We received an offer to make this film free of charge,’ explained Lesley Carr, head of communications. ‘We’re very grateful to Birmingham-based Tinker Taylor films for helping us to highlight the importance of this milestone in our history.
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‘Alongside managing director Gus Dunster, the film will feature a range of volunteers, each of whom brings their own skills and talents to bear at the Railway. It’s about celebrating our past, and very importantly looking to our future, including the key role we’ll be playing in the national Railway 200 initiative in 2025.’
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Look out for the film in early 2025, when the SVR will launch its 60th anniversary year.
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​Click on the gallery for larger images and descriptions..
Behind the scenes at Bewdley Station Fund shop
A new video launched recently on the SVR’s YouTube channel, looking behind the scenes at the Bewdley Station Fund shop, housed inside a former milk van.
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Created by SVR volunteer ‘Atlas Baudelaire’, the film features Sue Wassall, the shop’s manager. She talks about how she and the shop team have developed the range of merchandise on sale, and gives a personal account of how volunteering at the Railway has transformed her outlook on life.
What's coming up?
Festive joy at the Severn Valley Railway
The Railway has got everyone covered for Christmas with a range of experiences.
The hugely popular Santa Trains will be departing Kidderminster for a pantomime at Arley station, starting Saturday 30 November. Experience a magical steam train journey to see the all-new Christmas panto show.
Firm favourites Jingle and Jangle are back again for 2024 and they will be joined by Monsieur Poirat for ‘Jingle, Jangle and the Great Christmas Mystery’.
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A new Relaxed Santa Train will be departing from Kidderminster on Sunday 8 December. This experience is designed to welcome anyone who might find visiting a railway and seeing a pantomime a bit overwhelming.
A relaxed show brings down the volume, keeps lighting on at a low level throughout and with reduced audience size, there’s more space around each group.
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Following a sell-out success last year, the Enchanted Express will be departing from Bridgnorth starting Saturday 30 November. The magic begins with the unmistakeable voice of Dame Julie Walters as narrator.
Meet Santa and friends on-board with this interactive experience, inspired by the festive tale “Twas the Night before Christmas”. There’s a present for each child and reserved seating for the whole family.
For those who enjoy carols and classic festive songs, Carol Trains will be departing from Kidderminster on 13, 14, 20, 21 and 23 December.
Experience the magic of heritage train travel in the dark, heading from Kidderminster for a Christmas concert amongst the locomotives at The Engine House, Highley.
Musicians from across Shropshire and Worcestershire will sing you into the festive season with songs from across the eras; feel free to join in and sing along!
All aboard for festive fun on the Severn Valley Railway. For more information on any of the above experiences and to book tickets, go to svr.co.uk.
Festive dining delights
Festive on-train dining experiences take place in December and are ideal for a celebration with friends and family, or a trip for foodies looking for a unique setting.
There’s a fantastic selection of dining experiences to choose from, including an Enchanted Afternoon Tea, Evening Santa Pies, a Festive Spice Train, Evening Yuletide Dining Experience and Festive Gin Trains.
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A limited number of places are available and can be pre-booked now, so why not celebrate the most wonderful time of year on the Railway?
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Book festive dining trains at svr.co.uk.
Across the Railway
A busy time for the SVR’s permanent way team
The permanent way team has been putting in plenty of late turns in recent months. They’ve been operating the ballast train during weekday evenings, after public services have finished, coupling the Seacow ballast wagons to 20048 and a 'Shark' brake van fitted with a ballast plough.
Permanent Way manager Paul Ingram explained ‘We are dropping 220 tons of ballast per month. This will carry on until the end of the year, so we can fill up some low and empty beds including the shoulders. This will help to facilitate drainage, and keep down vegetation, along with physically securing the track.’
The team has also been busy replacing the leaky dam* in Eymore woods, adjacent to Eymore cutting. The location, between Trimpley woods and Victoria Bridge, has seen some flooding and washouts over recent years. A Victorian syphon culvert carries a stream underneath the cutting, and the volume of water from heavy rainfall has overwhelmed this.
Excess water flow damaged the previous leaky dam, so the team has built a far more robust replacement, using redundant sleepers and fishplates. With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, the dam will help to slow down the flow of water through the woods to the cutting drainage system during heavy rainfall.
*Leaky dams are a form of natural flood management, designed to reduce the downstream flood peak by temporarily storing water, holding it back within the stream's channel or encouraging it to spill onto the banks behind the barrier and slowing the flow.
Rolling stock
EMF and 2857 Society announce collaboration
The Erlestoke Manor Fund has finalised an agreement with the 2857 Society to allow the tender of ex-GWR 2-8-0 No 2857 to be attached to the EMF’s ex-GWR 4-6-0 7802 ‘Bradley Manor’ for a period of 12 to 15 months, upon the latter’s anticipated return to service later this year after a major overhaul.
Harry Bradley, chair of the 2857 Society, commented, ‘The good working relationship between both groups over many years has allowed the mutually beneficial arrangement to occur, as 2857 is currently out of service until well after 7802’s return to traffic.’
Adrian Hassell, chair of the EMF, added, ‘The 4000-gallon tender, which has long been partnered with 7802, is in need of expenditure and repairs to ready it for further service. This would divert resources from the current focus of returning 7802 to service for the 2025 season, whilst the agreement provides useful income for the 2857 Society.’
 
The EMF is still building the new 3500-gallon tender for 7802, whilst 2857’s tender is due to move to Bridgnorth in late September for recommissioning and repainting into BR lined green to match 7802.
2857 with the tender which is to be loaned to 7802. KENNY FELSTEAD
7802 Bradley Manor with its 4000 gallon tender at Kidderminster station. SVR
Bridgnorth MPD has its hands full with Autumn Gala prep
For once, all the guest locos are present and (almost all) correct, but the staff at Bridgnorth MPD aren’t getting things easy, with some tricky ashpan issues to deal with before the Gala, as volunteer shedmaster Martin White reports:
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Usually the days and weeks running up to a gala can be frantic for the MPD staff at Bridgnorth. Often this is due to the delivery of guest locos by road heavy haulage, sometimes at the last minute, requiring urgent and time-critical staff efforts to get them ready. However, this time, it appears as if the visitors will be less of a problem.
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LMS Jubilee ‘Bahamas’, has been on the Railway for a couple of weeks and has already operated some trains. And in the last couple of days, the other two visitors arrived. Ex-Lancashire and Yorkshire saddle tank No 11456 came by road on Tuesday 10 September from the East Lancs Railway, whilst Black Five 44932 arrived the same day via the main line connection. So, all of the visiting locos are present with a week to go before the gala starts.
However, many of the home fleet of locos, plus GWR 2999 ‘Lady of Legend’, are in the midst of having running repairs and routine boiler washouts and examinations, with much still to be done before the gala commences, by a workforce that is smaller than it has been previously. Ashpans are one of the current issues, and we believe these have been the main cause of many of the recent lineside fires. Both ‘Lady of Legend’ and 13268 are undergoing repairs to the ashpans and doors.
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For those readers who aren’t technically savvy on such matters, in layman’s terms the ashpan sits beneath the fire grate and is designed to catch and retain the ash that falls through the firebars. For the coal to burn effectively there needs to be a supply of air drawn through the firebars from beneath, ie through the ashpan. The amount of air is managed by the loco fireman, altering the opening of the damper doors in the ashpan. But if the doors let the air in, they can also let hot cinders and ash out.
The damper doors are positioned to avoid this from happening, but if the volume of ash in the ashpan builds up, it can contribute to hot cinders rolling down the accumulated piles of ash and out through the doors. Keeping the damper doors closed reduces this risk but requires better fire management by the footplate crew. It also adds to the risk of hot embers building up in the ashpan, which in turn can cause overheating, warping and distortion of the ashpan and doors. This leads to gaps where the doors close and ineffective retention of the cinders. In very simple terms, this is what our locos have been suffering from.
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There are other factors involved, such as the effectiveness of ashpan sprays to cool the ash and cinders, and the volume of hot cinders created by the current coal we are burning. However, with the source of coal being fairly restricted, there aren’t many alternatives available!
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Carefully unloading LMS 11456 at Kidderminster on Tuesday 10 September. MARTIN WHITE
People
Roger celebrates 25 years on Westerns
Western Locomotive Association chair Roger Smith celebrated 25 years as a Class 52 Driver in August by driving D1062 Western Courier.
Roger's quarter-of-a-century of driving the iconic diesel hydraulic locomotives exceeds that of most British Rail drivers, who operated the locos during their 15 years in service, between 1964 and 1977.
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The day was celebrated with a service train operating two round trips from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth where passengers could enjoy real ale from the bar car and fish & chips.
A cab pass was organised for ex-Old Oak Common secondman Clive Rooker (a current heavy-freight driver for Colas), Kevin Wells, a current driver from Exeter (and former Class 47 and 50 driver) and Colin Marsden, editor of ‘Modern Locomotives Illustrated’. Both Kevin and Colin happen to be Roger’s neighbours down in Dawlish, Devon.
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Roger remarked, ‘In all my time as a Class 52 driver, not once has a Western let me down with a complete failure. The general consensus from drivers on BR was that they would always get you home!’
25 years as a Thousand's driver for Roger Smith. SVR
SVR volunteer honoured for his voluntary service
Longstanding SVR volunteer Chris Dyche was among 50 residents from the West Midlands to be honoured for their voluntary service, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the county of West Midlands.
Chris joined the SVR in the late 1960s, and became a volunteer booking office clerk at Kidderminster station in 1996. He has been chair of the SVR’s Stourbridge Branch for the last 15 years. Not content with just volunteering at the SVR, Chris also became a member of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Society (SWCS) in the 1970s, volunteering on their restoration work parties. He’s now the Society’s vice president.
Chris was among those invited to a gathering in the Great Hall of the University of Birmingham on June 23, to be recognised by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Sir John Crabtree CVO OBE.
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Lance Cartwright, a trustee at Stourbridge Navigation Trust, said, ‘It is so pleasing to all of his fellow trustees and the Severn Valley Railway to see him honoured at such a high-profile event for his significant voluntary efforts. Chris has made a massive difference to the community and is an exemplary example of volunteering.’
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Mike Jenkins, Kidderminster’s booking office manager added, ‘Chris’s knowledge of steam locomotives and heritage railways is second to none. He's always proven to be a reliable member of the team and we all value his professionalism and great customer service.’
​Chris Dyche with award certificate. STOURBRIDGE NEWS
Fitter machinist vacancies
The Railway is recruiting replacements for two full-time fitter machinist posts, based at Bridgnorth. Both roles will assist in the overhaul and maintenance of the steam locomotive fleet.
Full details are at svr.co.uk and the closing date for applications is 27 September.
v1 12th September
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Any opinions or views expressed in this newsletter are entirely the opinions of the contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Directors of Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC. which owns the Severn Valley Railway, Severn Valley Railway Company Limited, the members of which are responsible for its operation, or the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust.