Severn Valley Railway Society
The Severn Valley Railway Society ("SVRS") was the first organisation formed to preserve the Severn Valley Railway. It arose from a meeting of railway enthusiasts at the Cooper’s Arms in Kidderminster on 6 July 1965. Structurally it was a simple society of members run by a committee.
History[edit | edit source]
The SVRS was responsible for raising the funds to buy the Railway. During the first few months it established the "Save the Severn Valley Railway Fund", which sought donations based on based on £1 covering the cost of one foot of the Railway.[1]
The SVRS conducted the initial discussions with British Railways (BR) through 1965 and 1966, however it quickly became apparent that for legal reasons a Limited Company would be necessary to buy the line from BR and obtain a Light Railway Order to operate the railway. In May 1967 the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited was formed for this purpose.
The SVRS continued as the 'public face' of the SVR through 1967 and 1968, during which time it continued to promote the railway, ran gala events at Bridgnorth, and also ran four joint rail tours with the Manchester Rail Travel Society, with the profits from those activities going into the "Save the Severn Valley Railway Fund". In 1968 it was involved in the production of the first published history of the Severn Valley Railway, a 60 page volume entitled 'The Severn Valley Railway' by D.J. Smith.
By late 1969, with the opening of the SVR in sight, it was considered that the original Society was no longer required It was therefore merged into the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited on 6 December that year,[2] although the name was still used on membership applications until at least 1971. In accordance with this change, issue 14 of Severn Valley Railway News for Autumn 1969 was the last headed "The Magazine of the Severn Valley Railway Society"; issue 15 became "The Magazine of the Severn Valley Railway Company".
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Letter announcing a meeting of the Birmingham branch of the Severn Valley Railway Society on 4 April 1966. -
Undated Severn Valley Railway Society poster.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
Links[edit | edit source]
- Ticket from Andrew Fairholm's collection from the Six Bells Junction website for the Manchester Rail Travel Society / Severn Valley Railway Society Preservation Special 28 October 1967