Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1987
This page provides a timeline of events on the Severn Valley Railway during 1987. Three years after its opening, Kidderminster Town won the Association of Railway Preservation Societies' BR Award for the most meritorious entry.
Passenger numbers for the year totalled 183,394, a slight reduction from the year before attributed to fewer passengers on Santa trains.[1]
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Mock poster from Bridgnorth, 1987
Winter 1977-78 edit
March 1987 edit
3205 left the SVR, 20 years to the day since arriving as the first locomotive.
April 1987 edit
45699 Galatea arrived by low loader from Carnforth. Galatea was regarded as a source of spares for 45690 Leander.
May 1987 edit
The May Diesel Extravaganza saw visits from a ‘Deltic’ and a Class 44 ‘Peak’. Operation of the latter was interesting; “If you don’t get up enough speed, it overheats, and if you get up too much speed, it blows up!”
Summer 1987 edit
SVR locomotives 7819 Hinton Manor, 75069 and 46443 provided the motive power for BR’s Cardigan Bay Express summer season. Pannier tank 7760 from Tyseley and 0-6-2T 5619 from the Telford Steam Railway spent summer at the SVR as cover for their absence, participating in the Summer Steam Gala before departing in August and September respectively.
Bridgnorth District Council announced plans for a country park at Alveley. The SVR sold an area of surplus land for incorporation into the park.
September 1987 edit
53809, a former Somerset & Dorset Railway engine then based at the Midland-Railway Centre at Butterley was booked as the guest engine, but did not arrive in time. Taw Valley hauled a ten coach staff special on Saturday evening as its first train following restoration.
BR marked the closure of the old Birmingham Moor Street Station on Saturday 26 September 1987 by the use of steam on the final day. 46443 was one of the locomotives taking part, working a return service to Dorridge.[2][note 1]
October 1987 edit
Having failed to appear at the Steam Gala, 53809 worked services during the Diesel Weekend on 10-11 October[3].
December 1987 edit
Kidderminster signal box was commissioned, together with the loop between Kidderminster Footbridge and Hoo Road Bridge. Working over the section to Bewdley was by Acceptance Lever rather than by Electric Token in part due to the distance from the signal box to the end of the loop. The loop also saw the SVR’s first use of an electric points machine, rather than direct connection to the signal box using rods.
Ticket sales for the Christmas services totalled 29,634 Santa tickets and 2,255 Mince Pie tickets.[1]
Steam locomotives used edit
A table of steam locomotives used and their mileages can be found on the Steam Locomotive Mileages page.
See also edit
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Notes edit
- ↑ After departure of the last passenger train from the old Moor Street station, hauled by 7029 Clun Castle, the lines were slewed to join the 'new' Moor Street and Snow Hill Stations, which reopened on Monday 28 September and Monday 5th October respectively.