Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1983

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1983 timetable

This page provides a timeline of events on the Severn Valley Railway during 1983, a year of anticipation as the SVR moved ever closer to its goal of reaching Kidderminster.

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January 1983

257 Railway Squadron took over the SVR for 3 days and staged simulated warfare between Bewdley and Highley, much to the surprise of local residents.

March 1983

Bridgnorth by-pass was completed on time and within budget. The line re-opened on 5 March 1983, with 80079 hauling the first passengers across the new bridge.

SR 30777 'Sir Lamiel' arrived for a one month visit to the SVR.

April 1983

On Saturday 30 April, less than 2 months after re-opening, Bridgnorth was again isolated. A major collapse of the embankment occurred just south of the new bridge, closing the line and the riverside road to Highley below it.

May 1983

BR Standard Class 9 92220 'Evening Star' arrived for a two week visit. Fortunately Sir Lamiel was south of the embankment collapse at the time, so both visitors were able to work between Bewdley and Hampton Loade during their stay. The collapse also affected the Western Locomotive Association’s Spring Diesel Weekend. It was the third time in five years this had happened, following previous collapses at Sterns and Folly Point.

Work took place 14 hours per day 7 days per week to repair the line. Shropshire County Council deployed their direct labour force on a ‘without prejudice’ basis and worked jointly with the SVR to reopen the line on Wednesday 18 May. 92220 Evening Star had the dubious honour of hauling the first service over the repaired embankment.

Kidderminster Goods Depot was formally closed by BR on 16 May, and negotiations began in earnest with BR on leasing an area of land in the freight yard to establish the SVR’s proposed new station.

September 1983

Action on the SVR on 10 September 1983 (Wikimedia Commons):

• 
  3205 and 46521 depart from Bridgnorth
• 
  47383 at Highley
• 
  A BR Bewdley to Birmingham New St shuttle service

Late 1983

The SVR launched a share offer to raise money for the new station. The initial target was £300,000 with a minimum of £90,000 by the end of February 1984. (£230,000 was achieved by the deadline, the total exceeded £370,000).

The Board announced a number of changes to the locomotive fleet. 45690 Leander had been acquired from 'Leander Locomotive Limited' (LLL). The purchase also included unrestored sister 45699 Galatea, then at Carnforth, which could be restored or used as a source of spares for Leander. To finance the deal, the Ivatt Class 2 46443 had been sold to LLL and would move to Loughborough in June/July 1984. Finally WD 193, which had been on loan to Hereford since January 1981, was in the process of being sold.

December 1983

Four locos hauled more than 30,000 passengers on the Santa Special services. A decade earlier a single saddle tank WD 193 had done the job single-handed.

Steam locomotives used

A table of steam locomotives used and their mileages can be found on the Steam Locomotive Mileages page.

See also

• The Severn Valley Railway in preservation

Severn Valley Railway

Southern Railway

British Rail or British Railways