The Severn Valley Railway is the heritage railway that has it all - tunnels, viaducts, beautifully restored stations and the impressive Victoria Bridge over the River Severn, at the time of construction, the 200-foot railway bridge was the longest single span cast iron bridge in Britain. The railway is home to a substantial fleet of locomotives, both steam and diesel, complimented by a large collection of railway carriages representing all regions of Britain's railways. There is a museum at Kidderminster and the station is an authentic recreation of GWR terminus. Bridgnorth station is close to the attractive town, divided into upper and lower towns, the town is connected to the station via a substantial footbridge and the steepest inland funicular railway in Britain connects the two halves of the town.
Taking 9 years to construct, the line was opened in 1862, today's Severn Valley Railway was originally part of the much longer Shrewsbury to Hartlebury line. The Bewdley to Kidderminster section opened in 1878 and like many railways in the area was operated by the GWR. The line served the local community and transported coal from mines served by the line to nearby power stations as well as customers further afield. The end came in 1963 when passenger services were withdrawn, a mere two years later a plan to save the Severn Valley line was hatched in a pub.
I owe a massive thank you to the staff, footplate crew and volunteers who assisted me in shooting this video.
Please join me for a trip with BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 locomotive No.75069, designed by R.A. Riddles for mixed traffic use on secondary routes.
To plan your own Severn Valley Railway adventure or to learn more about the line, please click on this link - svr.co.uk/plan-your-visit/
Map at 00:28 - Google Maps
Map at 00:34 - www.openrailwaymap.org/
My mistake - I misspelt Bridgnorth - there is no 'e'. I hope the good people of Bridgnorth will accept my apologies for misspelling the name of their wonderful town.